Swath Grazing and Sheep

[jensco]

I am very interested in the possibility of introducing swath grazing into our Dorper sheep operation. We have a small acreage and would like to utilize it to the maximum.

Have other sheep producers used this? Are there nutrition or blot concerns associated with it in relation to sheep? Unfortunately, most of the information I have found so far has all been from the cattle producer.

[nfunk]

I found this and thought you might be interested contacting these people:

Winter Swath Grazing Field Day
Date: 12/11/2001
Location: Gull Lake SK
Description: Starts at 1:30 pm Schreiner Farms is SW-19-11-19W3 and is 11 miles south on Hwy #37, 4 miles W, 1 mile S, ! mile W.

At the farm of Russell and Connie Schreiner Farm

Contact: Rural Service Center
(306) 662 - 5444
bcardiff@agr.gov.sk.ca

[cakadu]

Hi Jensco. Where do you live? I am in Central Alberta and just received a newsletter from the Grey Wooded Forage Association and it has a great article in it on swath grazing. It is written with respect to cows, but you could extrapolate for sheep I am sure. The article was written by Jake Kotowich, Production Economist - Livestock and Forages, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. I'm sure you could contact him about the article and get more information from him. Here is his contact information:

Prod. Economist - Livestock
Economics
303 J. G. O' Donoghue Building
7000 - 113 Street
Edmonton, AB T6H 5T6
Phone (780)422-3086
Fax (780)427-5220
Email jake.kotowich@gov.ab.ca

If you are calling from within Alberta, you can use the RITE Line, which is 310-0000 and then dial his phone number.
Good luck.

Linda

[jensco]

Thanks for the sources! I'm in Manitoba and would have loved to have gone to the demo in Saskatchewan but we were tied up that day.

I would still like to hear from any shepherds out there using swath grazing. Anyone?

[Sheperd]

I am from Ontario, re-located from East Central Alberta and have tried swath grazing both ewes and lambs in both places. Mostly rye or winter wheat. Experienced some problems with very wet, warm winter here in Ont. Sprouting, moulding, dust, loss of quality etc. Always open to new ideas and conversation.

[ridgetop]

Swath grazing sheep does not sound like the way to go if the goal is to maximize return from a small acreage. Sheep will not utilize the coarse stems unless they are processed and mixed. My experience is that waste would be very high. With the current value of good feed it would be very hard to justify leaving it on the ground. Success would really depend on the species of forage grown, weather conditions and grazing management system used. It may be an expensive experiment unless you find someone with experience in your area.