Multispecies grazing refers to the use of more than one large species of animals to graze a common pasture. This practice is widespread throughout the world but is not common in the U.S. Most references will be made to the use of sheep, goats, and cattle although bison, horses, deer and other species are also used.

Its lack of acceptance is often attributed to prejudices against a certain species, the loss of sheep/goats to predators, increased management skills associated with adding a new species, and costs of fencing.

One benefit is the potential for increased production from the same forage resource. Averaged across nine studies, multispecies grazing increased production by 24% compared to cattle-only grazing and 9% compared to sheep-only grazing.

This is possible because different species of animals choose different plants to graze. Cattle are competing with one another for their favorite grasses out in a pasture. If you mix species, there is less chance for competition because sheep tend to select broad-leaved plants that cattle do not often choose and goats select woody plants that both cattle and sheep avoid. There is always some level of competition between different species, but it is less than within the same species.

A common rule of thumb is that you can add one ewe or goat for every cow without reducing the number of cows. In this situation, individual animal performance is the same as before mixing. The addition of more animals to the pasture results in more total production per acre.

Another way to increase production per acre is to replace a certain number of one species with another, but keeping overall animal units the same. For example, a thousand pound cow is equivalent to one animal unit. Five ewes or six goats are also equivalent to one animal unit. You can replace one cow with five ewes and still have the same number of animal units in the pasture. When replacing one species with an equivalent number of animal units of another species, individual animals tend to perform better. This is due to reduced competition for the same plants. In the first situation, production per acre was improved through increased animal numbers. In the second situation, production per acre was improved through increased individual animal performance.

The ideal mix of animals will depend on the plants present in the pasture and current market prices of each species. Another benefit of multispecies grazing is the opportunity to spread financial risk among different enterprises.

There are also long-term benefits of multispecies grazing. When plants are grazed continuously, they are at a disadvantage compared to ungrazed plants. The ungrazed plants gain an advantage over the grazed plants and begin to dominate the pasture. This shift results in a plant community that is less desirable to the animals in the pasture and will lead to reductions in carrying capacity and/or individual animal performance.

For example, leafy spurge is avoided by most cattle, but is readily consumed by sheep and goats. In a cattle-only pasture, leafy spurge often spreads rapidly unless drastic measures are used. In pastures where sheep and goats are present, leafy spurge can be reduced to manageable levels. Uniform use of the forage will encourage a healthy, diverse plant community.

Loss of sheep & goats to predators can be a struggle for some farms or ranches. Practices such as herding or the use of guard animals can help decrease these losses. A research project mixed goats with the cow herd. After goats and cattle had gone through a calving/kidding season together, they were 'bonded'. The goats stayed with the cow herd and predation losses were greatly reduced. These goats would also be less likely to escape from the pasture because they would not want to leave their new "herdmates".

Another consideration is the cost of weed control. If a particular animal species can be added to the pasture to control a weed, then herbicide use can be reduced. One particular operation added goats to control leafy spurge and cedar trees without expecting them to be a profit center. The goats saved money by being the cheapest method of weed control. Some enterprising individuals get paid to graze their sheep or goats where weed problems exist.

Multispecies grazing is a very sound idea, both economically and ecologically. Each individual producer must examine the benefits and costs to determine the fit for their particular operation.

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