Workshop: Controlling Unwanted Vegetation

Use of Small Ruminants to Control Unwanted Vegetation is the title of a workshop to be held Saturday, February 21, 2015, at the University of  Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).

The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Richard A. Henson Center on the campus of UMES. Several speakers will describe their practices, accomplishments, and challenges.

The cost of registration is $25 per person or $40 for couples.

View flyer

2014 Hay & Pasture Conferences

Three regional Hay and Pasture Conferences  will provide opportunities for farmers as well as agribusiness and agency personnel to obtain practical and quite useful information on some of the latest technology and practices related to forage production, management, and utilization.

• January 14
  Delmarva  Hay & Pasture Conference
  Delaware State Fairgrounds, Harrington, DE
• January 15
  Southern Maryland  Hay & Pasture Conference
  Baden Volunteer Fire Hall, Brandywine, MD
• January 16
  Tri-State Hay & Pasture Conference
  Garrett College, McHenry,  MD

The conferences will emphasize efficient pasture systems design that accommodates natural features and management challenges. One of the featured speakers will be Don Wild, retired Conservation Agronomist and Grazing Specialist with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in New York. Over his 39-year career, Wild has assisted hundreds of livestock and dairy producers implement grazing systems to better manage their forage resources.

Certified Crop Advisor, pesticide and nutrient management, and Conservation Planner certification credits will be offered.

http://mdforages.umd.edu/UpcomingEvents.htm

Workshop: sheep, goats, unwanted vegetation

Sheep and goats and unwanted vegetation is the focus of an all-day workshop scheduled for Saturday, February 16, 2013, at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Maryland. The workshop begins at 9 a.m.; registration begins at 8:15 a.m.

Morning sessions will involve commentary detailing the market developments in the U.S. sheep and goat industry, success stories from sheep and goat farmers and the biology and/or botany of invasive plant species on Delmarva. Afternoon sessions will include information about poisonous plants for small ruminants in a targeted grazing scenario, a presentation on natural choices, and a session covering sheep and goat husbandry.

A registration fee of $25 is required for each individual, and a $40 fee is required for each couple. The fee will provide a continental breakfast, conference materials, lunch, and refreshments. If interested, online registration is available at www.umes.edu/1890-mce. Registrants also have the option of mailing in their registration or registering at the door. For more information, call (410)  651-6211 or (410) 651-7930.

Small ruminants are ideal for managing unwanted vegetation.

The workshop is an effort of the University of Maryland Extension's (UME) 1890 Program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), in collaboration with Nevin Dawson, Forest Stewardship Educator at the Wye Research and Education Center in Queenstown, Maryland.

Using sheep and goats as tools to manage unwanted vegetation in woodlands and recreational areas is more than a notion. UMES scientist and extension specialist Dr. Enrique Nelson Escobar is principal investigator of a three-year USDA/NIFA grant titled "Management of Unwanted Vegetation Using Small Ruminants (Sheep and Goats) in Tree Farms and Recreational Areas on Delmarva."

Source:  MarylandNewsZap.com

2013 Appalachian Grazing Conference

The 2013 Appalachian Grazing Conference will take place March 8-9 at the Waterfront Place Hotel in Morgantown, West Virginia. This is an opportunity that no Appalachian livestock producer should miss!  There will be presentations of interest to those with cattle, goats, and sheep.

The theme for the 2013 conference is Grass-THE Green Energy.

For more information, visit the web site at http://www.grazeappalachia.org/.

New Grazer's Newsletter

“Maryland Grazers' Network News & Notables,” is a newsletter for individuals interested in the benefits of grass-fed beef, dairy, and sheep. Each issue includes a section on marketing. 

Download Summer 2011 issue

Targeted goat grazing demonstration

Join  Adkins Arboretum for Goats vs. Weeds: a targeted grazing demonstration Thursday, June 2 from 10 a.m. til noon or Saturday, June 4 from 2 to 4 p.m. to learn how targeted grazing with goats can be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly method of controlling invasive plants.

Participants will see goats in action and learn how to implement this practice on their own land.  Presenters will include Nevin Dawson, Forest Stewardship Educator, University of Maryland Extension; Dr. Sylvan Kaufman, Sylvan Green Earth Consulting; and Brian Knox, Supervising Forester for Eco-Goats.

 The program fee is $15 for members, $20 for the general public per session. Register online at www.adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0. Light refreshments will be served, including goat cheese.

Through a grant from Shared Earth Foundation, the Arboretum is partnering with University of Maryland Eastern Shore and University of Maryland Agricultural Extension in a three-year program to test the effect of grazing in eradicating aggressive invasive species in targeted areas of the Arboretum’s meadows.

News release

Using sheep and goats as lawn mowers

Mendota, a city in Fresno County, California, is considering using sheep or goats for grass trimming and weed control. Using sheep and goats as replacements for mowers and herbicides is a growing trend across California.

Fresno Bee image

Rob Rutherford, an animal sciences professor at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, says, "If the grazing is done correctly, we mimic the elk and antelope who were out there before we were here."

The cities of San Luis Obispo and Rocklin, east of Sacramento, have used sheep and goats for grazing to cut down weeds and grasses. But in Mendota, there's a catch: the city prohibits grazing animals.

So the city is revising its rules to allow sheep to graze on large swaths of city land zoned for public facilities. The city is considering using sheep at its airport and sewage treatment plant, which have large open areas.

The goal of the grazing plan is to reduce dust, pollution, herbicide use and fire danger -- and maybe save the city money.

Read full Fresno Bee article

Goats and Gardens

The Public Health Garden at the University of Maryland, College Park, is a student teaching and community garden demonstrating sustainable agriculture and environmental best practices in support of public, environmental and community health.

This year, goats are being used to eat unwanted vegetation at the garden site. The Public Health Garden has planned several educational events (on May 1 and 2) to highlight the role of goats in sustainable agriculture and landscape management. To learn more, visit their blog.

The Public Health Garden is located on the College Park campus, between the School of Public Health and the Eppley Recreation Center. The goats are from Eco-Goats, a business that leases goats for targeted grazing.

Targeted grazing webinar

Offering Targeted Grazing Services to Landowners: 
A Primer for Producers

A follow-up to the July 22 webinar:
“Goats and Sheep: A Weapon Against Weeds”

Invasive species cause environmental damages and losses of up to $120 billion per year nationally. Invasive species crowd out native woodland plants and animals, robbing native wildlife species of crucial food and cover sources. Climbing species can also strangle trees and bring down limbs. What can you do to stem the invasion?

Machines often can't get to problem areas, manual removal is very labor intensive, and herbicides can inflict collateral damage water, plant, and animal resources.

Targeted grazing with goats and sheep can be a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly method of controlling invasive species on your property. Goats and sheep graze in places that mowers can't reach and humans don't want to go, including thickets of both brambles and poison ivy.

Goats eat a wide range of unwanted vegetation, which on the East Cost includes kudzu, Oriental bittersweet, Tree of Heaven, multiflora rose, Japanese honeysuckle, mile-a-minute, and more. Sheep prefer grasses and forbs. Livestock will graze all day, going through very dense material at about a quarter acre per day per 30 animals. They respect electric fences, making this an easy and effective source of mobile containment.

Interest in this control method is building quickly, but there are very few service targeted grazing service providers available to landowners.  This webinar will pick up where the July 22 webinar left off and speak directly to goat and sheep producers who are interested in offering targeted grazing services to landowners.

The webinar is free and will be held on October 7 at noon, eastern time. Contact Carol Taylor to register (carolt@umd.edu or 410-827-8056, ext. 135). Note that registration is limited to the first 100 respondents. A recording will be available at www.naturalresources.umd.edu soon after the live presentation.

Presenters will include Brian Knox, President of Sustainable Resource Management, Inc. and supervising forester for Eco-Goats; and Dr. Nelson Escobar, Small Ruminant Production and Management Specialist with University of Maryland Extension.

More targeted grazing webinars

As a follow-up to the targeted grazing webinar held on July 19, a series of sequel webinars is being planned. The first one will be targeted towards sheep and goat producers. It will be held on October 7 at 12 noon.

Image by Brian Knox

The webinar will provide information on starting a targeted grazing enterprise.  More details will be provided as the date approaches. A second webinar will likely focus on landowners who are interested in leasing goats and/or sheep for targeted grazing. 

A recording of the July 19 webinar is available for viewing at http://www.naturalresources.umd.edu/ResourcesWebinars.html. For those who do not have high-speed internet access, a CD-ROM version of the webinar is available for loan.

For more information about the Targeted Grazing Webinars, contact Nevin Dawson, Forest Stewardship Educator at (410) 827-8056 x125 or ndawson@umd.edu.

Targeted Grazing Webinar

There will be a Targeted Grazing Webinar on Thursday, July 22nd at 12 noon.  To register, contact Carol Taylor at carolt@umd.edu or (410) 827-8056 ext. 135.  A webinar is a seminar that is presented through the world wide web.

If you are unable to attend the webinar, you may view a recording of it at www.naturalresources.umd.edu.  The recording will be posted to the web soon after the live presentation.

Targeted grazing with goats and sheep can be a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly method of controlling invasive weeds on your property.

Instructors for the webinar include Nevin Dawson, Forest Stewardship Educator; Susan Schoenian, Sheep & Goat Extension Specialist; and Brian Knox, Supervising Forester for Eco-Goats.

The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) has an online educational module on targeted grazing. A handbook on targeted grazing can also be downloaded from ASI's web site.

Targeted Grazing Handbook

As targeted grazing has gained a foothold in the land management arena, both research and experience have evolved to provide land managers and grazing-service providers with more definitive tools for managing vegetation.

The Targeted Grazing Handbook represents a compilation of the latest research on harnessing livestock to graze targeted vegetation in ways that improve the function and appearance of a wide variety of landscapes.

The handbook is available for $25 and includes the material in both printed form and on a CD. Copies can be ordered by calling the American Sheep Industry Association at (303) 771-3500, ext. 32 or by email at info@sheepusa.org.

Download PDF version
Targeted Grazing Order Form
Targeted Grazing Brochure