Grazing practices

[KrisK]

I have about 35 acres of hayfields which are currently being harvested by a couple of local farmers. We only get one cut of hay in the summer. There are a few areas in those fields that the tractors can't access. Since I don't want a large number of sheep, I was thinking these areas might be good grazing for the sheep. Also, once the fields have been cut, would it be a good practice to temporarily fence areas for the sheep to graze and move the grazing area through the 35 acres? I was thinking not only would the weeds be eaten, but I'd get some fertilizing at the same time.

Thanks!

[Bill Fosher]

It's great practice to graze haycrop aftermath. It doesn't exactly provide fertilizer because the sheep are consuming the grass and depositing droppings made from it. But sheep are excellent at breaking up thatch layers, so the fields will green up earlier the next year and eventually thicken up and yield more forage per acre.

 

The other advantage is that it is essentially parasite free feed.

[KrisK]

Thanks Bill! I'm in the process of reading Storey's Guide to Raising sheep but I don't remember seeing this particular question answered, at least not as clearly as you did.

[Bill Fosher]

Storey's guide to sheep is pretty basic. I'm afraid it's out of print, but if you can find a copy of Bill Kruesi's "A Sheep Raiser's Manual" it has a good section on pasture managment and renovation using sheep.