Cows Can Eat Trees – Silvopasture for Browse
Cattle and sheep eat trees. Cattle aren’t termites, but they’ll browse the green leaves and twigs of small trees and shrubs. These plants can serve as value forage when the grass isn’t growing, and over the long run can be an important part of a farm’s bottom line. We aren’t talking about red cedar and sage brush. Published research shows that willow and mulberry fodder banks can yield a market-rate IRR.
Cattlemen and women in other countries plant shrubs for cattle to graze, mostly in the tropics. Farmers plant mulberry in Mexico, Costa Rica and other parts of Latin America, and Leucaena (lew-keena) is common in Australia and Colombia. In this article we’ll talk about what makes sense for the United States, east of The Great Plains.
Why plant fodder trees & shrubs?
When the grass isn’t growing, trees leaves can take the place of hay. There are two times per year when the grass slows down or stops growing: the summer slump when it’s hot and dry, and in the winter. These are the ideal times for cattle to eat the green leaves and twigs from small trees and shrubs. Which trees you plant and how you graze them depends on your climate.
The warmer a climate is, the more we’ll focus on mulberry. Red mulberry grows from Maine to Florida, but grows much faster in Florida. White mulberry, a cousin, has bigger leaves and grows vigorously in the south. Trees can have deeper roots that grasses, and for the summer slump in Georgia, mulberry is a great option. Mulberry can be good for colder climates as well, such as New York State or Pennsylvania.
The colder a climate is, the more we’ll focus on willow. In cold places, our trees should yield both fodder and wind protection. In Northern Europe, “biomass” willow is grown, harvested, and burned for electricity. Burning woodchips for electricity is not often economically viable in the US, but if we feed the trees to cattle, the numbers pencil out much better. In late winter, cattle can graze hedges of shrub-willow as often as every year, after they’ve done their job as a windbreak. These willow hedges can also be grazed in spring after they’ve leafed out, and then rested so that they can grow leaves again. The longer a growing season is, the more often willows can be eaten.
Where do I plant fodder trees?
You can grow shrubs on land that isn’t good for grass. That paddock that you can’t graze until July, because it’s too wet? It could yield more dry matter as leaves and branches than it will as sedges and reed canary.
Do shrubs have good nutrition?
Besides dry matter, tree leaves contain minerals. Mulberry is high in potassium and magnesium, and willow is high in potassium and calcium, which make up an important part of the value of the trees. The fewer inputs we have the buy, the better.
Farmers and graziers want options when grazing their cattle, and we want to decide on a case by case basis whether to graze the trees. The grass will grow depending on how much rain there is, and if we have more than enough grass, we might want to hold off on grazing the trees. Tree leaves are like stockpiled forage.
This hybrid poplar windbreak in Patagonia protects the cattle from cold wind in the winter and hot & dry wind in the summer.
The trees should be multi-purpose. If a few rows of tree hedges are planted north-south, or against the prevailing winds, they’ll protect the cattle from cold winds in the winter. Slowing down the hot, dry wind in the summer can also increase grass growth. When plants are too hot, they don’t open their stomata (pores), and don’t photosynthesize.
Start incrementally as much as you can. It often seems smart to plant one paddock to start, depending on browse pressure from wildlife. We have to tell you that deer and rabbits also love eating trees, so you need about 20 acres before they don’t just eat the whole planting. 20 acres is a lot of trees to plant, so if there’s an acre on the farm that has less deer and rabbit pressure, perhaps thanks to the dogs, that would be good to plant first.
Reduce grass competition on the trees. Young willow and mulberry trees will grow fast, but not if they have to compete with grass. Cultivating 2-3 times before planting is necessary, along with cultivating twice in the first year after planting.
What would this look like on my farm? We built mapping software that also generates economic costs and benefits. On Overyield, you can map out rows of trees for fodder. We also have technical service providers to help out with planning and planting trees.
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