This 'Weed Control Using Goats' manual is provided under Creative Commons Licence CC-BY-SA 4.0 For more information go to www.mla.com.au/creative-commons © Meat & Livestock Australia Weed control using goats A guide to using goats for weed control in pastures Weed control using goats A guide to using goats for weed control in pastures Contact: Meat & Livestock Australia Ph: 1800 023 100 Published by Meat & Livestock Australia Limited ABN: 39 081 678 364 Reprinted with amendments May 2007 © Meat & Livestock Australia, 1993 ISBN: 1 7403 6248 9 This publication is published by Meat & Livestock Australia Limited ABN 39 081 678 364 (MLA). Care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication. However MLA cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in the publication. You should make your own enquiries before making decisions concerning your interests. The inclusion of trade or company names in this publication does not imply endorsement of any product or company by MLA or any contributor to this publication. MLA and the contributors to this publication are not liable to you or any third party for any losses, costs or expenses resulting from any use or misuse of the information contained in this publication. Introduction 1 How goats control weeds 1 What type of goat? 1 The goat’s role 2 Pasture management 2 Preparation 3 Weed palatability determines stock ratio 4 Weed palatability 5 Highly palatable weeds 5 Moderately palatable weeds – growth stage 6 Moderately palatable weeds – availability 8 Husbandry 9 Miscellaneous 10 Conclusion 10 Appendix 11 contents Glossary 15 Peak industry council 16 Breed societies 16 Further reading 16 Introduction along fence lines. Goats will also eat any weeds that germinated too early or too late to be affected by Weeds in pasture greatly reduce the short- and herbicides. Similarly, degraded non-arable country long-term profitability of the pasture. The traditional with woody and other weeds may be reclaimed by methods of weed control in pastures are cultural, goat grazing. biological, chemical, mechanical or grazing. Not all control methods are necessarily effective or desirable. Successful pasture management requires an understanding of the grazing component. Using goats to control weeds can assist traditional control methods in providing efficient, sustainable pasture management when conducted according to best practice. Further detailed best practice information for existing goat producers and those considering entering the goat industry can be found in Going into goats: Profitable producers’ best practice guide. The Going into goats guide is a comprehensive publication written by producers for producers and is available from MLA. Blackberry controlled by grazing goats. How goats control weeds What type of goat? Goats help control weeds by: The Australian goat industry consists of meat, fibre and • preferentially grazing the weed and so placing dairy sectors, all of which can be employed for weed it at a disadvantage control at various stages of the production cycle. • preventing the weed from flowering and Specialist meat-producing goats, Boer goats, dispersing seed rangeland goats and their crosses are most commonly used for weed control. Fibre-producing Cashmere and • ringbarking or structurally weakening some Angora goats are also well suited to weed control, shrub species although care should be taken to avoid fibre Preferential grazing entanglement and contamination. These are generally only used off-shears and when the risk of cold stress is Preferential grazing is an ecological control method at a minimum. Dairy goats also play a role in weed based on an animal’s tendency to graze one plant control at some stages in the production cycle, but this species in preference to another. Goats tend to is less common due to the intensive nature of the dairy preferentially graze many weeds rather than desirable industry. pasture species required for sheep and cattle production, especially clovers. The weed is thus placed at a competitive disadvantage. Fertiliser application will further assist this process by encouraging pasture growth. All grazing animal species have different dietary preferences. For example, the pasture composition will vary between a paddock grazed only by sheep and an adjacent paddock grazed only by cattle. Goats tend to preferentially graze many plants considered unpalatable to sheep and cattle and thus classified as weeds. This presents the opportunity for goats to be incorporated in grazing systems as a strategic weed control tool. Goats may also be used in conjunction with conventional weed control methods. They are efficient Feral low grade cashmere or meat-type goats (above) are browsers and grazers of weeds that may have been recommended for weed control. missed during spraying and effectively control residual weeds in rocky outcrops, corners, around trees and 1 weed. From these assessments and knowledge of ‘Rangeland’ refers to goats raised on land where weed palatability (Appendix), a stocking strategy can the indigenous vegetation is predominantly be devised. grasses, herbs and shrubs suitable for grazing and browsing, and where the land is managed as Figure 1 An example of estimating the percentage of weed cover in a pasture: here, the thistle takes up about 30% of a natural ecosystem. This includes natural the groundcover. grasslands, shrublands, deserts and alpine areas. The goat’s role The principal role of the goat is to place the weed at a competitive disadvantage to the surrounding pasture by: • selectively grazing • reducing the plant’s stored energy reserves • trampling and ringbarking The advantages • savings in the cost of chemicals, labour, time and machinery • sustained and efficient levels of control • returns from goat products • environmental (reduced chemical use) Furthermore, the producer maintains control at all stages by being able to decrease or increase grazing pressure depending on prevailing seasonal conditions. Other control methods do not give the producer the same level of control. Pasture management In most cases it is also important to have a competitive Grazing management base pasture to out-compete the weed and colonise bare areas. Clover is a good choice, as it is not highly Monitor the grazing impact of goats on weeds and selected by goats, and should be a major component pasture during the period when the weed is most of the pasture (more than 30%). It is advisable to apply palatable to the goats (Appendix). Ensure there is fertiliser at the start of the weed control program to sufficient pasture to satisfy the nutrition requirements give the clover a competitive advantage. The of the animals and to compete effectively with the application rate will depend on the paddock’s fertiliser targeted weeds. history and level of soil phosphorus. Goats tend to eat the immature seed head of most Assessing pasture and weeds thistles. The presence of mature seed heads after the first month of flowering indicates that goat stocking Before you can devise a stocking strategy you need to rates are too low to achieve control and should be assess pasture quality and quantity and the degree of increased. Similarly, all flowering points on other weeds weed infestation. The degree of weed infestation is need to be eaten by the goats to achieve weed control best judged in the weed’s late vegetative stage, before and prevent fruit and seed production. Stocking rates flowering. This can be done by estimating the should be adjusted to achieve this while being careful percentage groundcover of the weed in a 0.5m x 0.5m not to overgraze the pasture and deplete groundcover. square as shown in Figure 1. Repeat the assessment in about 30 random positions across a paddock to gain Depending on the comparative density of weeds and an overall impression of weed infestation. For larger pasture, you may need to add pasture seed and woody weeds, such as blackberry, broom and gorse, fertiliser and adjust the ratio of goats to sheep or estimate the proportion of paddock taken up by the cattle. Alternatively, if all the seed heads are being 2 eaten, but the pasture is overgrazed, the number of For information on aspects of fencing for goats see goats may be reduced. If all the seed heads are being Going into goats: Profitable producers’ best practice eaten but the pasture is not sufficiently grazed, guide. increase the number of sheep or cattle. Control of widespread weed infestation Where the weed infestation is so great that it would require too many goats to control, other methods may be employed to bring the weeds to a manageable level before you introduce the goats. This combining of weed control practices is called ‘integrated control’ and may include slashing, cultivation, spraying, pasture establishment or renovation and cropping. These methods may be used weeks, months or years before introducing goats, depending on the situation. Woody weeds Nodding thistle in clover. The thistle will be palatable to In dense infestations of woody weeds such as goats once it flowers. blackberry, scotch broom or gorse, slash paths through the infestation to allow greater access for the goats. Preparation Any necessary improvements must be made before goats arrive on a property. These improvements include water points, fences and yards. Goats test the lower portion of fences; any drains, low areas and diagonal stays will need to be covered with netting or fabricated wire to prevent goats escaping. Electric fencing is a reliable and inexpensive method of upgrading existing fences. As a general rule, any fence that will contain crossbred ewes will contain goats. For localised woody weed infestations it may be best to isolate the infestation with fencing. This has two benefits: it confines your goats to the infested area, so that fewer goats may be required for the job of Slash tracks through thick infestations (in this case, scotch broom) to allow goat access.