Meeting Three Challenges of a Grass Economy: Livestock and Forage Selection
By Tim Steffens, Ph.D.

I have been asked many times in my career, "What kind of grass should I plant?" I usually answer with a question of my own, "What do you want?" Their usual reply is something like, "I want something that will produce a lot of grass." I then tell them that is a simple question with a simple answer. "Just plant (Insert into the space the high producing variety or species common to the area), fertilize it heavily and irrigate." Then they will often say they aren't willing to do that. This opens the way for us to discuss some of the things I'd like to review here. You see, in my experience, finding the right answer is usually fairly simple. Determining the right questions is the difficult part of making good management decisions. What I want to discuss here is how to go about asking the right questions regarding selection of livestock and forage species to meet management goals.

In making any management decision, you should always properly answer the question - "What do I want?" What are your goals for the operation? A properly formulated and stated goal defines success, but the structure of the business determines the odds of achieving it. A good goal should include a statement of the quality of life desired, the means of production required to finance it, and landscape description that will sustainably support these forms of production. I won't go into how to arrive at this well stated goal, but Alan Savory's book, Holistic Management (Washington, DC: Island Press, 1999), has the best discussion on the subject that I have found.

No two places have the exact same set of circumstances and resources, so there will never be one set answer to the question of what type of forage to plant or what type of animal to produce. So the second question to ask is - "What are the things you already have that can help you achieve your goal?" That is, what are the unusual circumstances or resources available that provide you a potential "unfair advantage" compared to potential competitors? Maybe you have some very productive warm season native rangeland and need some type of cool season forage to extend the grazing season. Or maybe you have access to abundant, cheap crop residue or small grain pasture.

Once you have determined those things that are particular to your operation that provide you an advantage compared to others, you need to figure out what is still needed to complement these assets by comparing what you want to what you have. In the two cases from the above paragraph, even in the same general climate and soils, the optimum forage or livestock choice would be different.

However, the choices you have from which to select are not unlimited. What are your limitations? You have to bear in mind your climate, soils, topography, available water, size of operation, laws affecting your marketing plan, time you are willing to devote to marketing, predators, knowledge base, risk affinity, economic risks - your "insurmountable opportunities." Not all plants or animals are suitable for all situations. For instance, most cool season perennial forages will not persist where hot, dry summers are common. And sheep are usually not very well suited to hot wet climates. However, always remember that all constraints are self imposed... you can always move to another situation.

Finally, what outside resources can you bring to bear? These include knowledge - yours or someone else's, low cost forage or production methods, potential customer recruitment, capital or labor that is available as a result of your location, experience, or ingenuity.

Once you have formulated a good goal and identified your particular advantages, limitations and the outside resources you could potentially bring to bear to make a successful operation, the choices of what type of forages and livestock becomes much easier. There are two basic ways to do this - either choose the type of forage you want and select a type of livestock that will do well on it or select a type of livestock and then make a forage resource suitable to produce it. Probably the optimum method is to choose a species and class of livestock that most closely fits the type of forage resource you already have and then select other forages to complement them to make the livestock production more efficient and profitable. The following discussion provides information that will help to make these decisions.

Choosing a species of livestock

Most people who want to start in the livestock business dream of being a cowboy. Cattle have a lot of things going for them besides romance. First, they are generally easy to obtain and easily marketed through normal commodity channels anywhere in the United States. Almost any town in America is relatively close to a livestock auction where cattle are bought and sold. Marketing outlets for other species of livestock are often less easily found.

There are also several different ways to produce and market them - for instance you can raise cows and calves, stocker cattle on grass, grain fed cattle, privately marketed grass finished beef, registered seedstock, or some other way. However, keep in mind that cattle generally require longer periods of high quality forage than some of the smaller species of livestock and have a more limited diet choice (They prefer grasses). They are also not as well suited to rough, rocky or broken country, or sparse forage as some of the smaller species. Their size also can make them more intimidating and often more difficult for the inexperienced to work with, especially without specialized facilities, which may also be expensive.

Sheep, though becoming less common in recent years, are probably the next most familiar species of livestock for most people. Goats, though less familiar, are the fastest growing segment of the livestock industry, especially in Texas and the southwestern United States. Though they have a reputation for being stupid, they simply have a different set of priorities than many other species. Once you learn that they are very safety conscious, and that they find their safety in being part of a large group, they are usually more easily handled than other livestock species. Goats are also more independent and intelligent than most other grazers - not necessarily a positive trait since this intelligence makes them more adept at finding ways to escape and to avoid doing what is desired! The facilities required are also usually less expensive. However, pasture fencing will need to be either net wire or several strands of power fencing to effectively hold them.

They also provide the opportunity to market several different potential products - live lambs or kids, meat, wool, mohair, or cashmere depending on the species and variety, textile products, and even cheese. Several of the higher end cheeses, like Roquefort, are made from sheep milk. Some people are also making beauty soaps from sheep or goat milk. Both sheep and goats also make better use of rougher or drier country than cattle. In both cases, predators like dogs and coyotes and internal parasites are the two biggest hazards to their health and often lead to common misconceptions often heard such as "A sheep is born looking for a place to die." But it is true that their susceptibility to parasites probably make them a less optimum choice in hotter, more humid climates. They are also less available in some parts of the country and may require special marketing because they are not as widely consumed by the general public. However, in places with a high or growing Hispanic, Carribean or Muslim population, like many major metropolitan centers and college towns, this may be an untapped marketing bonanza for an entrepreneur.

Sheep and goats have different forage preferences than cattle, often eating species that cattle will not, and vice versa. When comparing the species, cattle will often eat coarser species of grass than sheep or goats. Sheep have a preference for succulent forbs (broad-leafed herbaceous species that we often call weeds). Goats will make better use of browse (foliage from woody plants) than the other two. The smaller ruminants need a higher quality diet than cattle, generally, but often need it for a shorter period of time than cattle - they are often weaned and sold for meat right off of their dam at 3-4 months of age. Also because of their smaller size and mouth anatomy, they can be more selective when eating and select a higher quality diet from the same resource than cattle. Because of these different diet preferences and different abilities to use terrain, cattle and sheep or goats can often complement each other and make fuller use of a forage resource, and if properly stocked, do it while improving the rangeland for both species.

Pasture raised poultry are another species and production method that has been rediscovered in recent years. There is currently more demand for pasture raised chicken, turkey, and eggs in most areas than there is supply. Grass and the insects found in forages can often make up about 30% of the diet for these birds. They are often better suited to smaller operations, though they also generally need much higher quality forages. However, because of the increase dietary requirements associated with exercise and thermal stress in this environment, they often require more time and total feed to get to a market weight than their confinement raised counterparts. They will also require special facilities and more labor per unit produced. If you are not willing or able to do your own slaughtering and processing, and custom facilities are not available locally, there may also be a problem. Because of their need for high quality forage and their susceptibility to inclement weather, they may also be seasonal in their production, creating possible problems for marketing if your customer base demands a fresh product year-round. There are several excellent books available and other information that can be found on the internet that can help you get started in a pastured poultry enterprise.

Several other specialty animals like bison, llamas, alpacas, ostriches and emus can also be produced on pasture. However, many of these species require special facilities and have gone through at least one boom-bust cycle thus far (and many have been in the "bust" phase for several years). Because of the foregoing factors, they are often not easily disposed of if you decide you don't like them. In various parts of Texas, many emus and other exotic creatures running wild where their former owners simply set them free when the market deteriorated, causing environmental problems. Therefore, investigate these species carefully and thoroughly with someone that is NOT trying to sell you some before making a commitment.

Forage Selection

When considering different forages as part of your overall operation, again you must answer several questions. Since there are many times more species and varieties from which to choose, and since climate, soils, topography, and the amount of management a person is willing to supply differ over regions and among operations, a detailed discussion of individual species cannot be undertaken here. However, the questions that need to be answered still go back to what you have, what you want, and what you lack to make the forage resource more economically meet the needs of your selected grazer.

First, determine the best use and timing of that use for the forage resource you already have. Then determine if the production cycle of the livestock can be manipulated so that the animals' requirements can better be met from that forage resource. For example, many producers are calving or lambing at a time when forages are dormant in their area. This is the time when the cows' requirements are highest and the availability of quality is often near its lowest. They can often decrease costs and improve the overall efficiency and profitability of the operation by calving or lambing on green grass. Many who have changed to this type of production say they would never willingly go back to winter calving.

However, almost all operations have one or more times during the year when they have a shortfall in either quantity or quality of forage. Find out when these shortfalls occur, and what the limitations to production such as moisture, temperatures, soils, etc. are. Then an ethical and knowledgeable seed salesman, extension agent or specialist, or personnel with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service can help you make selections.

Some basic points to keep in mind, though, include avoiding mechanical harvest if at all possible. Machinery raises overhead costs in an operation. In our constant quest for efficiency over the past 50 years or so, we have done an amazingly good job of finding ways to kill plants that want to grow naturally in an area, making plants grow there that wouldn't normally, inventing machines to harvest and transport what is produced at great cost... in order to feed animals that would have eaten what grew there in the first place all by themselves! The closer we can keep it so that the animal harvests its own feed that grows naturally, generally the lower the costs will be, the higher the profit will be, and the more enjoyable raising livestock will be.

Generally, perennial plants - those that come back year after year from a stump, crown or other perennial part - will be cheaper to grow in the long term. However, in many places, if you need for instance a cool season, high quality forage resource in an area with hot, dry summers, you will be forced to plant cool season annuals like ryegrass or small grains because perennial cool season grasses will not survive for long in these climates. In many cases the perennials may also not produce the forage quality desired for, say, finishing livestock for slaughter. The following table will provide some guidance for at least selecting a type of forage that is needed (numbers indicate ranking).

Notice that the two sides of the table are in almost reverse rank order from each other. This means that the highest quality forage for a particular season may not be well adapted for the situation. So another lower quality forage may need to be chosen or significant management input like irrigation and fertilization may be necessary to produce that species.

Conclusion

When selecting forage and livestock species for an operation, first know what you want by stating clearly a goal that includes lifestyle, form of production and desired landscape components. Then determine what you have, what you want, and the shortfall between the two. You will then need to determine what the limitations of your situation are. Every area or situation has some limitations, but always remember that all limitations are self imposed. Then determine what the existing forage resource is best suited for, and select a livestock species that will best utilize that forage resource. After that, select complementary forages in consultation with experienced people that will make the total forage resource better meet the needs of the livestock. Remember that you should always strive to the extent possible to keep overhead costs down by selecting perennial species that are well suited to the environment and have the animal harvest its own forage. GOOD LUCK!