Controlling Weeds with Goats and Sheep. A Southern SARE project. Dr. James (Jim) Pierre Muir Associate Professor, Forage Ecologist Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Stephenville Texas



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	Controlling Weeds with Goats and Sheep

	A Southern SARE project

	Interested in controlling unwanted vegetation without resorting to a mower or herbicides? Goats and sheep may be the solution. They love to browse plants that others consider weeds, such as greenbriar (Smilax sp.), mesquite (Prosopis juliflora var. glandulosa), many hardwood tree saplings and many broadleaf plants.
	Land managers and flock herders across the southeastern USA, St. Croix and Puerto Rico are testing the concept of commercializing ISDGB (intensive, short-duration goat/sheep browse). The idea is this:
	Land managers pay sheep and goat herders to knock down invasive vegetation!!

	"Hiring out goats and sheep to control brush". Digitial Video for viewing - (QuickTime required). Click to Download or View. Without bulldozers or the indiscriminate use of herbicides, weeds such as kudzu or greenbriar can be suppressed. In addition, densely overgrown hardwood forest areas can be opened up for clearing or grazing by other species.
	Sounds easy, however, some questions remain. For example, how much should herders be paid for setting up temporary fencing, transporting animals, protecting them from predators (including two-legged ones), and loss of animal productivity?
	Technical questions include: How long and how often do weeds need to be hammered? Is there a season when plants are more vulnerable? Are there plants that flocks will simply not eat? Do decimated plants really die or do they recover? If climbing plants are not accessible to browsers, can they be controlled? Is there a "mop-up" role for herbicides? Researchers and extension specialists at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (north-central Texas), Fort Valley State (Georgia), USDA Agricultural Research Service (south Florida), University of the U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Croix), and University of Puerto Rico are attempting to answer these questions. A grant from USDA´s Southern Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education (SARE) is supporting the effort. If you are a land manager or sheep/goat owner interested in becoming involved in this research effort (or applying results commercially), give your closest researcher a call. North-central Texas Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Stephenville Dr. Jim Muir 254-968-4144 j-muir@tamu.edu Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Stephenville Dr. Lisa Boggs 254-968-4144 (summers) Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford 580-774-3090 (fall and spring) lisa.boggs@swosu.edu South Georgia Fort Valley State University Dr. Tom Terrill 478-825-6814 terrillt@fvsu.edu South Florida USDA-ARS Dr. Sam Coleman XXX-XXX-XXXX swcol@ifas.ufl.edu St. Croix University USVI Experiment Station Stuart Weiss 325-692-4035 sweiss@uvi.edu Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Dr. Elide Valencia 787-464-2264 elideval@uprm.edu


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