The use of sheep and goats is an effective means to manage invasive plant species.
However the art and practical use of such livestock to manage invasive species is not well understood by many producers, according to Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board General Manager Gordon Shroeder.
“We saw that there was a need for a mentoring program to encourage producers to properly utilize sheep for the purpose of managing invasive species. With this in mind, we developed and are delivering a hands-on course on the use of sheep as a management tool — particularly when it comes to leafy spurge.”
The mentors are long-term shepherds with much experience. Participants are people who have shown interest in being shepherds. In most cases, they own sheep themselves and they are all working on individual projects as well, according to Schroeder.
“There are four mentors and we are looking at 20 participants. Some are young people looking to learn. Some are First Nations members trying to control leafy spurge on band property.”
Shroeder says there are misconceptions about just how much leafy spurge sheep will eat.
“You need to confine the sheep to smaller areas with high concentrations of the weed, so they have a chance to develop a taste for it. Sheep actually prefer to eat leafy spurge than grass once they have developed a taste for it. Part of the problem we have is getting into the pastures, because ranchers fear sheep will eat the grass. That is simply not a problem when the right approach is used. In fact, mixed species (sheep and cattle) grazing in leafy spurge infested pastures has been found to be a better use of resource than either species alone.”
Sheep need a more blended diet between spurge and other foliage including grass, because of the risk of scours if the proportion of spurge is too high or introduced to quickly without “training”. Even with the small amount of grass they might consume, the reduction of the leafy spurge pressure on grass production will result in more available grass for cattle grazing. Pastures with 80% or greater cover of leafy spurge will have no capacity for cattle grazing.
The mentorship program addresses many aspects of the trade such as basic sheep health; how to condition the sheep (score for finish); the basics of working with herding and guardian dogs; understanding plant species; camp set up (where and how to); night pens (proper location); how to deal with predation; how much grazing time is sufficient per day; and, what the agenda of a typical day should be.
“Shepherds tend to get up at
Mentorship participants learn about the psychology of sheep and their behaviour. Sheep are animals that like to follow, Schroeder points out.
“If you can’t control the front end of the herd, you will lose them. Dogs play a crucial role in making the shepherd’s life easier. Some shepherds become so good at their job that they spend much of their time reading books.”
Of course, this kind of life might drive some people crazy. It is all a matter of attitude.
Knowing that their efforts contribute to maintaining the ecological integrity of
Gordon Schroeder
General Manager
Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board
(306) 933-5582
http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/agrifood/boards/SKSheep.htm
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