Some tips on grazing for invasive plant control

Using livestock for controlling invasive plants has a lot of appeal; the animals seem like a natural, green method; they're cute; and at times they can be a very inexpensive way to do some weed control. But there are also various difficulties and issues with using livestock that should be understood before you jump into a grazing program, I've discussed some below. 

Livestock have different eating preferences and needs; Cattle (photo of cattle courtesy of Jack Kelly Clark, UCANR) like grass, sheep like grass and forbs, goats like browse (foliage on stems of woody shrubs, young stems and bark, like photo), and horses like grass.

They eat...

This Slate article talks about the Death Cap mushroom - which is adapting to new hosts and expanding its range - and how to treat cases of Death Cap poisoning: eat milk thistle (Silybum marianum) and drink lots of water.

After making a bunch of extension presentations, and following our 2012 publication of “Preemergent control of medusahead on California annual rangelands with aminopyralid” (Rangeland Ecology & Management 65:418-425), I’ve talked with quite a few ranchers who have successfully used Milestone® preemergence at 7 to 14 oz/acre to control medusahead. (See this blog post.) I should note here that 7 oz of Milestone is the maximum broadcast rate; 14 oz is labelled only for spot treatments.

Recently, Matt Rinella (USDA-ARS, Montana) found that aminopyralid controls seed set in medusahead in the greenhouse. He previously demonstrated this effect for...