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Livestock Pasture Use & Plant Preferences
Does your livestock match your pasture?
Cattle, sheep and goats use pastures differently.
– Terrain: Goats and sheep tend to use steeper areas than cattle.
– Plant Types: Cattle eat mainly grasses while goats browse more shrubs and trees. Sheep are intermediate and have less preference for a specific plant type.
– Selection for Plant Parts: Cattle have large broad mouths and cannot select specific plant parts well, instead they typically take large bites of plants. Sheep and goats have small mouths with prehensile lips which allow them to select specific plant parts
Grazing multiple species can often be complementary, resulting in broader use of available plant types and pasture terrain.
Illustration: John McQuaig
Source: The Prairie Project The Prairie Project
Data:
McDaniel & Tiedeman (1981). Sheep use on mountain winter range in New Mexico.
https://doi.org/10.2307/3898122
Pinchak et al. (1991). Beef cattle distribution patterns on foothill range.
https://doi.org/10.2307/4002956
Does your livestock match your pasture? Cattle, sheep and goats use pastures differently. – Terrain: Goats and sheep tend to use steeper areas than cattle. – Plant Types: Cattle eat mainly grasses while goats browse…
Cover Crop Response to Herbicides
Cover crop response to herbicides will be influenced by a number of factors, including biological and biochemical characteristics of the plant, chemical characteristics of the herbicide, and weather conditions since herbicide application. The table linked below summarizes the response of selected cover crops to selected herbicides. For simplicity, no herbicide premixes are included in the list. The responses are cautious/conservative estimates based on published field research, herbicide labels, and a recent publication from the Take Action campaign (see below). A field bioassay is the most reliable method to determine crop response to potential herbicide residues.
Cover crop response to herbicides will be influenced by a number of factors, including biological and biochemical characteristics of the plant, chemical characteristics of the herbicide, and weather conditions since herbicide application. The table linked…