Grazing cattle on leafy spurge is a way to manage weeds while adding nutrients to the herd’s diet.
Lester Pryce, a land manager with the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration, walked about 50 producers through the steps that can be used to train cattle to sample something new.
Speaking at the Saskatchewan Pasture School in Saskatoon June 19, he said it is best used where there are large infestations of the noxious weed like in the PFRA pastures at Elbow, Sask.
“If you can make use of it and control the spread, that’s a plus,” he said.
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Pryce said smaller weed patches are probably best handled with chemical control.
In two year trials that began at Elbow last summer, Pryce detailed how he began by creating a salad of cut spurge with a spritzer of molasses. In a short video, all but one animal readily chewed the mixture, sometimes from his hand.
He gradually limited access to other feed sources, then moved the cattle onto small fields before bringing them onto larger areas.
Pryce said younger animals are more inclined to try something new and animals often learn eating behaviour from their herd mates.
More research is needed on how leafy spurge affects their performance, rate of gain and reproduction.
He also was unsure of the impact of seeds ending up back on the ground through the manure.
Researchers at Utah State University found cattle will also snack on spotted knapweed and Canada thistle.
The plants did not cause any ill effects, such as blistering of the cow’s mouth. The spurge is close to alfalfa in nutritional content.
A website for the Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility describes leafy spurge as a naturalized herb that grows across southern Canada. If large amounts are incorporated in hay, poisoning can occur, it reported.
Sheep are more resistant to leafy spurge and can also be trained to eat it. They can devote up to 70 percent of their diet to leafy spurge while cattle will accommodate five to 10 percent.
Pryce advised producers to survey their weeds and grazing lands and use only healthy animals in any small scale experiments.
He expected some belly aches to ensue, comparing it to humans trying spicy food for the first time.
“You get to where you actually like it,” he said.
Other tips include adding variety to winter feed rations to get cattle used to trying new menu items, providing cattle in corrals with free choice hay and mixtures of grain pellets and molasses to improve palatability and reducing other feed gradually.
Start small with a limited number of animals, he advised.
Pryce also advised against the sudden crash diet approach.
“Don’t starve the cattle into eating whatever you want them to eat.”
