8. Seasonal Distribution of Growth… (lb/acre/day)
Cool season plants
Alfalfa
Bluegrass
Brassicas
Chicory
Clovers, annuals
Clovers, perennials*
Fescue*
Orchardgrass*
Prairiegrass
Ryegrass, annual*
Ryegrass, perennial
Cereal grains*
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Jan
Feb Mar
Apr
May Jun
Jul
Aug Sep
Oct Nov Dec
9. Seasonal Distribution of Growth… (lb/acre/day)
Warm season plants
Bahia
Bermuda
Bluestem
Browse
Corn
Cowpea*
Crabgrass
Dallisgrass
Gamagrass
Johnsongrass
Millet*
Sorghum-Sudan
Soybean*
Sudan
Switchgrass*
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Jan
Feb Mar
Apr
May Jun
Jul
Aug Sep
Oct Nov Dec
10. Seasonal Distribution of Growth… (lb/acre/day)
Cool and Warm season plants
www.forages.ncsu.edu
jmlugin@ncsu.edu
11. Ideal Grazing Plan on Your Farm
75% cool season forages
25% warm season forages
30% Legume mix
14. Forage Quality & Goat Requirements
PROTEIN
20
Protein, %
15
10
Weanling Does in Early Lactation
Yearling
Dry and Early Pregnant
Does
5
0
Vegetative Pasture
Mature Pasture
Browse
16. Soil Testing is Key
•
•
•
•
•
Test 6 months before establishment
Gives you time to apply lime
Grasses need pH 5.8-6.3
Legumes prefer pH 6.0-6.5
Some forages like lespedeza grow well in low
fertile soils
• Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) can be
incorporated into soil before planting – needed
for legumes
23. Prepare a smooth, firm seedbed to
drill seeds
These seedbeds are firm and have no
large hard clods. The shoe impression did
not sink into the soil (firm) yet it made a
clear impression. Your footprint should
never go deeper than ½”
For a sandy soil, more small clods would
be desirable to inhibit wind erosion.
When you plant onto soft soil, the
seeds will go too deep and never break
through the soil
24. www.forages.ncsu.edu
Tech. Bull. 305, Chap 11
Broadcasting seeds
• Seeding rates are 25-50% higher than drilling
• Lower soil-seed contact
• Run over field with cultipacker, drag, animal
hooves
26. Seeding Depth is Critical
Soil level
¼“-½”
Small seeds like legumes
Grass seeds
1-2”
Plant seeds a little bit deeper in sandy
soils because of moisture stress
Large seeds like corn,
millet, sudangrass
27. Establishing Warm Season Annuals
•Plant Pearlmillet,
Sorghumsudan
hybrids, Sudangrass,
Soybeans, Cowpea,
Crabgrass, Sun Hemp in
late April – early May
•Earlier = less weed
competition
•Apply N to grasses
•Graze June – Aug/Sept
28. Establishing Warm Season Perennials
•
•
•
•
•
Plant Sericea Lespedeza – Late February – Early March
Plant Bluestem, Gamagrass, Switchgrass - March/April
Graze May – Aug (not during year
of establishment)
Plant into a fallow field
or winter annual field
grazed down
• Bermudagrass sprigs – March
• Bermudagrass seeds – April/May
29. Establishing Cool Season Grasses
Tall Fescue, Orchardgrass
• Ideally plant in Sept 1 – Oct 15
• Insect problems
– army worms, grasshoppers
•
•
•
•
•
Kill existing sod 2 weeks prior
No till drill into a thin stand
Planting too late = freezing
Plants need 3-4 leaves before frost
Fertilize with N or add clovers
30. Establishing Cool Season Grasses
Tall Fescue, Orchardgrass
• Plant in March
• Problems with annual
weeds (mow)
• Plant early so seedlings
can handle summer
heat and drought
• Kill sod the previous
fall
• Plant a winter annual
prior to spring planting
31. Establishing Legumes
• 30% mix of legumes in
cool-season pastures can
replace 150 lb N/yr/acre
• Sow clovers (ladino,
crimson, red, others) Sept-Oct
• Possibly band spray roundup before fall planting of
clovers
• Frost seed clovers in late
winter (Feb-March)
• Plant Austrian winter pea,
vetches in Sept – Oct
• Alfalfa - Sept-Oct
32. Establishing Legumes
• If you drill into fescue
sod make sure stubble is
<2” tall
• If you broadcast seeds,
could have animals
press seeds into the
ground with hooves
• Inoculate seeds or use
inoculated seeds
33. Establishing other Winter Annuals
• Plant small grains
(rye, oats, wheat),
annual ryegrass and
brassicas/turnips in
Aug and Sept
• Graze late
winter/early spring
• If you drill into
bermuda grass/existing
sod make sure stubble is <2” tall
34. Grazing animals after establishment
• Be very careful not to weaken your stand the 1st
year!
• Let the plants build up root mass
• Don’t graze seedling
legumes until 6” tall
• Don’t graze seedling
grasses until 8” tall
35. What grows in sandy/low fertility soil?
•
•
•
•
Sericea lespedeza
Pearlmillet
Bahiagrass
Prairiegrass
(Rescuegrass/Matua)
• Native warm season grasses adapted to a wide
variety of soils (Gamagrass, big bluestem,
switchgrass)
Brassicas (turnip, kale, mustard)
38. Rotationally Grazing
• Extend grazing season
• Stronger pasture
stands
• More uniform grazing
• Higher quality forage
• Less weeds
• Make hay on extra
land?
• Soil & water
conservation
42. Winter Annual Forages – Experimental Site
4.5 a– 9 paddocks, 0.5 a each
Water connections
Each plot is ~72’ x 302’
Lane
CR
TT
RG
CR
RG
TT
TT
RG
CR
P9
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
R2
R2
R2
R1
R1
P6
R1
Road
P7
R3
P8
R3
R3
43.
44. Fence Types
Physical Barrier
– woven wire (traditional, high tensile)
– wood
– barbed wire (not recommended)
Mental Barrier
– any fence that distributes an electric
shock when animal comes in contact
45. Components of an Electric
Fence
Wire
Posts
Insulators
Connectors and Switches
Charger or Energizer
Grounding System (Ground Rods)
Surge Protector, lightening diverter
46.
47. Perimeter Fence
12 1/2 gauge
high tensile, class 3
galvanize steel d wire
Distance from soil
surface (inches)
6, 14, 22 (24), 32, 42
51. Integrated GI Parasite
Management Program
Goal is not to create parasite-free animals. It is normal for sheep and goats
to have parasites.
Goal is to prevent clinical disease and production losses
Part II – Management tips & alternatives
Jean-Marie Luginbuhl
NC STATE UNIVERSITY
52. www.acsrpc.org
Management Tips
Do NOT buy resistant worms
All new additions should be quarantined and
aggressively dewormed upon arrival
Deworm with 3 dewormers from different drug
classes
– Moxidectin (cydectin), levamisole (prohibit), and
albendazole (valbazen) upon arrival
– Follow recommendations about use of dewormers
Should remain in quarantine for 10 - 14 days
– Perform FEC to confirm that no eggs are shed
Place animals onto pasture
55. Management Tips
Nutritional Management
Animals on a high plane of nutrition
and in better body condition are
better able to withstand worm
burdens.
Nutrition in early pregnancy can
affect the immune response to
internal parasites.
Sheep receiving higher levels of
protein prior to lambing have lower
fecal egg counts.
Supplementing grazing lambs with
protein has been shown to reduce
fecal egg counts.
Nutritional supplementation is most likely to be beneficial when pregnant females
and young animals are below optimal body condition at a time when pasture
quality and/or quantity is limited.
56. Management Tips
To greatly reduce pasture
contamination in the spring
– Treat during mid-winter
(December or January or
February) to destroy dormant
larvae in the GIT of goats
58. Management Tips
Periparturient egg rise
Temporary loss of immunity to
parasites at the time of
parturition. Egg counts ↑
Often coincides with hypobiotic
(dormant) larvae resuming their
life cycles in the spring
Dams are the primary source of
infection to their offspring
Consider deworming with an
anthelmintic effective against
hypobiotic larvae (valbazen,
ivomec, panacur, safeguard,
synantic) at kidding
Increase protein in late gestation
ration to counter egg rise
59. Consider host resistance
Most susceptible
Weaned lambs and kids
Orphan lambs and kids
Yearlings
High producing females
Late-born lambs and kids
Geriatric animals
Goats more than sheep
Unadapted breeds
Less susceptible
Mature animals
Males
Dry does and ewes
Pets
Mature wethers
60. Management Tips
Put weanlings and lactating
animals on cleaner pastures
Separate growing animals from
older animals
younger animals are more
susceptible
61. Management Tips
80:20 rule
Approximately 20 percent of the
herd/flock sheds most (~80 percent) of
the GIT parasite eggs
Cull animals that regularly show signs of
heavy worm infestation
These animals may re-infest your entire
herd/flock on a regular basis
Culling worm-susceptible animals will
increase herd/flock resistance and reduce
pasture contamination
62. Comparison of Genetic and
Non-genetic Control Strategies
Strategy
Reduction in FEC’s
Genetic Selection
69%
Protein supplementation
35%
Strategic deworming
28%
Experimental vaccine
0%
Australia, 2002
•Monitor sheep, run in the plots after the end of the experiment had
lower FEC’s when run in the plots previously grazed by
supplemented sheep (35%) or selected sheep (46%).
•The largest and most persistent effect on FEC’s and worm
contamination of pasture was achieved by genetic selection.
63. Additional Management Tips
Fix water leaks around tanks
Avoid grassy pens
Fence off moist areas
GIT nematode larvae thrive under moist,
shady and warm conditions
65. “Zero” grazing
bedded pens, dry lot with no green vegetation, slatted floors
Sheep/goats put in
confinement or dry lot do
not usually get reinfected with GIT worms.
Coccidiosis could still be
a problem, if
preventative measures
are not taken.
– Good sanitation
– Proper feeders
– Coccidiostats
66. “Resistant” Breeds
Some sheep and goat breeds are more resistant to worms.
Sheep
Gulf Coast Native
Hair sheep
Goats
Spanish/Brush
Myotonic/Tennessee
Fainting goat
Kiko
St. Croix
Barbados Blackbelly
Katahdin
NOT
Traditional wooled breeds
NOT
Boer goats
Dairy goats
Angora goats
Maybe
Dorper
Royal white
Other breeds?
?
Pygmy
Savanna
69. Boer goats in South Africa
Strikingly different environments
Boer goats imported to humid southeast US
70. Graze multiple species
Sheep and goats share the same
internal parasites, but they are
different from the parasites that
affect cattle and horses.
Producers who graze multiple
species of livestock report fewer
parasite problems.
Cattle and horses “vacuum”
sheep/goat pastures of infective
worm larvae.
There are other benefits to mixed
species grazing, such as
complimentary grazing habits.
72. When Are Larva On Pasture A Problem?
Why & How Do Seasonal Increases Occur?
( If No Treatment)
How did these larva
get here
From here?
Kidding/Lambing Rise
Spring Rise
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
J
73. Fecal Egg Counts
(What happens in ewes and lambs)
Ewes
Lambs
Lambing
Weaning
F
M
A
Spring
M
J
J
A
Summer
S
O
Fall
N
D
J
Winter
F
74. Consider marketing animals before summer rise in FEC
Winter lambing/kidding
Market by July 1
Lambing
Kidding
J
F
Winter
Weaning
M
A
Spring
M
J
J
A
Summer
S
O
Fall
N
D
75. Consider marketing animals before summer rise in FEC
Fall lambing or kidding
Weaning
J
F
Winter
Lambing
Kidding
Early marketing
M
A
Spring
M
J
J
A
Summer
S
O
Fall
N
D
76. Evaluation of Sericea lespedeza as a summer forage and natural gastrointestinal
parasite control for grazing goats
J-M. Luginbuhl, J.E. Miller, T.H. Terrill and H.M. Glennon
NC STATE UNIVERSITYGlennon
Heather
77. Sericea lespedeza
Lespedeza cuneata (high tannin variety)
Warm season legume that
grows in acidic soils
with low fertility and
tolerates drought well.
Will produce more
biomass if fertility is
higher.
Fed as . . .
– Fresh forage
– Loose or ground hay
Goats readily eat it
Sheep will eat it
For control of barber pole
worm only
78. S. lespedeza AU Grazer: 35 lb/a
No-till drill
Planting date: 3/22/07
Sims Brothers, Inc.
3924 County Rd. 87
Union Springs, AL 36089
(334) 738-2619
FAX: (334) 738-2620
email: simsbrothers@yahoo.com
Tifleaf III Pearlmillet: 25 lb/a
No-till drill + urea at 50 lb N/a
Planting date: 5/6/08
79. Field Set-up for Strip-Grazing Lespedeza Study
S. Lespedeza
PM
SL
S. Lespedeza
Plot size: 0.12 ha
Grazing treatments
Sericea lespedeza (SL)
Pearlmillet (PM)
Alternating PM-SL-PM (MIX)
Plot 9
Plot 3
Pearlmillet
PM
SL
Plot 4
Plot 8
Plot 2
Plot 7
Plot 1
Plot 6
S. Lespedeza
Plot 5
Pearlmillet
Pearlmillet
SL
PM
81 weaned goats: 9 goats/plot
80. L09-2 Fecal Egg Counts
S. lespedeza
Mix
Pearlmillet
6000
Eggs/g feces
5000
Switched mix goats
to lespedeza
4000
Put all goats in
barn
3000
2000
Switched mix
goats to millet
1000
0
d0
d11
1 LES
4Mix
8Mil
d 18
d 25
d 32
3LES
1Mix
0Mil
d 39
0LES
1Mix
1Mil
d 46
d 53
1LES
0Mix
0Mil
3LES
1Mix
1Mil
d 60
d 67
0LES
1Mix
0Mil
81. L09-2 Larval Counts
S. lespedeza
Mix
Pearlmillet
1600
No. larvae/g feces
1400
MIX goats
eating PM
MIX goats
eating SL
MIX goats
eating PM
All goats in barn
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
d0
d11
d 18
d 25
d 32
d 39
d 46
d 53
d 60
82. L09-2 Larval Identification
Difference from 100% are Trichostrongylus
S. lespedeza
Mix
Pearlmillet
Haemonchus, %
100
80
60
40
20
0
Mix goats eating millet
d0
d11
Mix goats eating
lespedeza
Mix goats eating
millet
All kids in barn
d 18 d 25 d 32 d 39 d 46 d 53 d 60
83. Aggregate of tanniferous extracts found
around buccal capsule and female vulva
which might affect access to nutrition and
egg excretion
Adult H. contortus worm: control
Adult H. contortus worm: tzalam extracts
Credit: Mrs Martinez Ortiz de Montellano
Adult H. contortus were in contact with tzalam
tanniferous extracts for 24 hours in vitro. Same
effects were seen with sainfoin (Onobrychis
viciifolia Scop.), a temperate legume.
84. Trichostrongylus (Black Scour
Worm)
• Burrow into the wall
of the abomasum
(destroy stomach).
• Symptoms: scouring
and weight loss, ill
thrift; appetite?
Profitable meat goat production is pasture/browse based. Cost per lb TDN is lowest for grazed pastures.
Additional losses (fuel, machinery, labor, loss of leaves in the field and due to fermentation) increased costs of stored forages
Concentrate and by-products vary widely: using byproducts when price is low is the way to go. May need to have it tested for TDN and protein before buying.
Same principle applies as for TDN.
Summer demonstration of volunteer crabgrass-pigweed
Sometimes we have to take advantage of opportunities. In 2001, it was too dry to plant pearlmillet on a large field for summer cover. Then it started to rain heavily,
And we got a beautiful stand of volunteer crabgrass and pigweed
Summer demonstration of volunteer crabgrass-pigweed
Sometimes we have to take advantage of opportunities. In 2001, it was too dry to plant pearlmillet on a large field for summer cover. Then it started to rain heavily,
And we got a beautiful stand of volunteer crabgrass and pigweed
Summer demonstration of volunteer crabgrass-pigweed
Recommend holding animal in confinement on arrival. After the animal acclimates to the new conditions and has recovered from the transport, feed should be withheld for 24 hr (but give free-choice water) and a fecal sample collected for a fecal egg count. Animal should then be treated with a full dose of each of the 3 drugs. The drugs should not be mixed together, but can be given one right after the other. After 2 weeks another fecal egg count (FEC) should be done to confirm that no eggs are being shed. If eggs are shed after this triple treatment, then the animal is infected with super-resistant worms. In such a case the animal must remain in confinement until the fecal egg count comes down to 0 – this could take 6 months. If treatment appears to be effective and FEC is 0, then the animal can be placed onto pasture – but always put them out onto a worm-contaminated pasture –NEVER onto a new/clean pasture. This is because a 0 FEC does not mean there are no worms – only that there are too few to detect. If put out onto a clean pasture, the very few eggs shed (from super-resistant worms) will not be diluted and so over time will become the dominant parasite population.
RG: annual ryegrass
CR: Cereal rye
TT: Triticale
USE WITH EXTREME CARE! An overdose can cause neurological problems or be fatal. Call vet immediately if notice foaming of the mouth or incoordination.
