September 20, 2003

Tallapoosa County Cattlemen and Forestry Management The Bottle, Alabama

Sid Brantly, Grazing Lands Coordinator

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Innovators sometime stand alone in their group.

Many times they turn on the light for others to follow.

Management AlternativesGrazing management at the highest level of intensity. Foraging behavior is directed by management.

Animal Behavior can get out of hand if you let the animals decide what to do.

Living Fence

Freeze proof waterer

Good livestock and well maintained equipment are necessities

There are 164 million acres of forest in the Southeastern United States.

In mature industries, an unfair advantage may be critical to sustain economic viability.

Silvopasture

Integrates intensively managed forest overstory with sustained production of well managed, forage understory.

Research in the 1970’s by Clifford Lewis, Henry Pearson, Nathan Byrd, and George Tanner in South Georgia and Florida highlighted Silvopasture as a land use opportunity for increasing wood production while maintaining acceptable levels of livestock production.

Research by Terry Clason provided a financial comparison of silvopasture and open pasture in Louisiana; with the silvopasture exceeding open pasture by 7.3% At the end of the five year study, they noted that silvopasture management maintained a high quality forage resource and enhanced timber production.

Silvopasture managers in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina have utilized native, warm season grass mixtures, bahiagrass/crimson clover, bermudagrass/sub.clover, and tall fexcue/clover mixtures principally for livestock forage.

Understory forages provide for annual income from grazing livestock and often contribute to wildlife habitat and open space aesthetics.

0

50

100

150

200

89 92 95 98 101

Pulp

Calves

Saw

PulpCalvesSaw

Deep Breath…. This may sting a little.

_______________________________________________________________Water Intake Optimal Decrease 20% Decrease 40%------------------ ------------- ---------------- ---------------Feed Intake 13.6 lbs. 13.0 lbs. 10.6 lbs.----------------- ------------- ----------------- --------------% Change 4.5% 22%_______________________________________________________________

Water Intake Can Affect Forage Intake

From Journal of Animal Science, issue 31:130

Artificial shade structure with auxiliary water cooling system.

Monitoring and dealing with shade is critical in silvopasture management.

The advantage of increased sawtimber production.

Rectangular or evenly spaced tree configurations maximize timber production.

Wide row configurations maximize forage production within the silvopasture system.

Silvopasture systems favor hay production until seedling height is above the grazing animal’s reach.

Equipment access is still possible in silvopasture systems in the southeast. Row configuration should account for equipment type and size.

Nutrient utilization and conservation is another advantage.

Silvopasture

Silvopasture management in the Southeast entails planting or thinning to tree-stocking densities between 35 and 300 trees per acre (when thinning existing plantations to achieve silvopasture objectives, a basal area range of 25 to 45 is typical) in order to maintain canopy cover between 35 and 50%.

OK to be hooked ON silvopasture ….. Not BY silvopasture.

Timber is grown simultaneously to provide a long-term product, adding to prolonged, financial sustainability and can also contribute to specific wildlife habitat and aesthetics.

Grazing management is one of the most critical elements in silvopasture establishment and management.

Livestock are very selective

in their choice of plants and

plant parts and will consume

the most palatable plants and

plant parts first.

100 (17 days)90

100 ( 12 days)80

7870

5060

2-450

040

030

020

010

% STOPPAGE OF ROOT GROWTH

% LEAF VOLUME REMOVED

The pasture begins a downward

spiral that ends when the desirable

plants are replaced by weeds and

plants that are grazing resistant

because of low palatability or

short growth form.

The structural characteristic of a soil is determined by the

degree to which soil particles are held together in individual

aggregates

3.5 – 7.0Truck

0.65Sheep

1.7Horse or cow

1.4 - 2.1Wheel tractor

0.32 – 0.63Crawler tractor

STATIC LOAD(kg/cm3)

VEHICLE OR ANIMAL

Planned period of non-use for recovery of vegetation and soil

30-4510-1218-22Eastern

gama

30-408-1216-20Johnson grass

15-302-34-8Tall Fescue

7-151-24-8Bermuda

10-201-26-10Bahiagrass

DAYS OF REST

TARGET HEIGHT Begin EndFORAGE

Rotational Stocking SystemsDesign, Layout, & Management Guidelines

Rotate Animals Through More Than One Paddock Throughout The Grazing Season

Short Grazing Periods

Long Recover or Rest Periods

Fences, water, managed grazing, and tree seedling care are paramount to successful silvopasture establishment and management.

Silvopasture examples - South Carolina

Silvopasture examples - Louisiana

Silvopasture examples - Florida, Georgia, Alabama

Perhaps establishment will be driven by the greater total production potentials and advantages from enterprise diversification; but side benefits may be valuable to all.