Sheep and Cattle

Sheep and Cattle

Should They Be Grazed

Together or Separately?

By W. H. Lynv, Co. Act.

Usually it is not what we don't know that hurts hut what we do know and don’t do that causes trouble or perhaps even failure. Many fanners think that sheep, cattle, and horses shouldn’t graze together simply because, this axiom seemingly haa been handed down verbally from generation to generation and give this as a reason for not keeping; sheep.

A couple of weeks ago 1 mentioned in Rapp-Chats that cattle, especially those with horns and more especially Angus seem to hate dogs and consequently serve as a natural protection to sheep if allowed to run together and stated that more would be published at a later date on whether or not it was good management tb pasture different types of farm animals together or separately.^ The following is a complete report on findings conducted here in Virginia by the V.PJ. Animal Husbandry Department and the Experiment Station co-operating: A.H. g The Improvement, Managemeat

and Nutritive Value ef

Pasture, VIII. A Comparison efl

Two Systems ef Grasing Horses,

Cattle, and Sheep.—C. M. Kincaid, George W. Litton, and R. E. , Hunt.

This experiment was started In v 1943 for the purpose of comparing segregation of horses, cattle, and , sheep and rotation grazing with the usual system of grazing in which the three classes of livestock are grazed together continuously for the entire grazing seaeon..

Experimental Plan:

1. Pasture Lots.

An area of permanent, pasture, largely blue grass and white clover, containing 112 acres furnished the pastures used. The field was first divided into two 56 acres - replicates with the division such that each replicate could be divided into two equal sized lots which were accessible to shade an water, and which were more or less alike in topography and soil .. fertility. One lot in each replicate