Practicing Grazing of Cover Crops and Regrowth
Practicing grazing of cover crops and regrowth can have two different objectives:
- Destroying the cover crops and weeds;
- And valorizing them by providing an alternative feed for herds (which allows delaying the use of winter stocks and can improve the nutritional quality of their diet).
Presentation
Characterization of the technique
Description of the technique:
It is preferable to choose palatable plant species composing the cover crop, even if some animals (goats, heifers, geese, pigs) can subsist on low-quality feed: a compromise must be found with other criteria (ability of the cover to establish easily, produce biomass and capture nitrogen, sufficiently rapid development before winter and climatic conditions - including rainfall -, structuring effect on the soil, cost of establishment). Establishing a cover crop with a mixture of plant species can be a solution. It is better to wait until the cover has grown sufficiently before grazing it to avoid trampling of grasslands and soil compaction. More generally, grazing management affects the cover crop (and its regrowth), the soil, and the following crop. A partnership system is set up in some regions for farmers without livestock to rent their plots to livestock farmers looking for pastures to feed their herds. (See Bibliography)
You can find here the testimony of Jean-Louis Châtaigne, a farmer in Vendée. And here, that of Samuel Foubert, a landless sheep farmer in Eure.
Details on the technique:
This cover destruction technique is the most economical (no intervention), but requires suitable parcels and/or the possibility to fence the plots. Animals must be moved regularly to avoid trampling of the plots.
Application of the technique to...
Implementation period: During the intercrop period
Spatial scale of implementation: Plot / Farm
All crops: Easily generalizable
All soil types: Easily generalizable. However, pay attention to grazing conditions; soils must be load-bearing to avoid any degradation by animal trampling.
All climatic contexts: Easily generalizable: Continental, Oceanic, Mediterranean, Alpine, Tropical.
Effects on the sustainability of the cropping system
"Environmental" criteria
Effect on air quality: Increasing.
Phytosanitary emissions: DECREASE
Effect on water quality: Increasing
Pesticides: DECREASE
Effect on fossil resource consumption: Variable.
Fossil energy consumption: VARIABLE: There is no use of herbicides nor fossil resources but greenhouse gas emissions from ruminants.
"Agronomic" criteria
Soil fertility: Increasing. Natural fertilizer from animal droppings used in cover crop grazing but risk of soil compaction by some heavy animals: light animals such as sheep, goats are recommended.
"Economic" criteria
Operational costs: Decreasing. No inputs used but possible costs related to herd maintenance (winter shelter, guard dogs, fencing…) which can be reduced by partnering with livestock farmers needing pastures to feed their animals (see Bibliography).
Mechanization costs: Decreasing, no machinery used.
Margin: No effect (neutral). Establishing a cover crop (notably CIPAN) may require a significant investment but if the cover is well established and can be valorized by grazing, it can be profitable depending on forage prices.
"Social" criteria
Observation time: Increasing, time needed for grazing management (fencing, moving animals, monitoring, …).
For more information
- CIPAN: the cover is put for the ewes - Jean-Michel Devynck La France Agricole, Press article, 2010 Link to the article.
- Cover crop: a crop in its own right - Regional Chamber of Agriculture of Brittany Terra n°382, Press article, 2013 Link to the article.
- Grazed covers and harvested covers - Sophie Bourgeois REUSSIR BOVINS VIANDE, Press article, 2010 Link to the article.
- Intercrops for forage use - Chamber of Agriculture of Marne Technical brochure, 2011 Link to the technical brochure.
- Developing a partnership around your intercrops - INOSYS Network Grand Est (IDELE and Chambers of Agriculture) IDELE, Press article, 2018 Link to the article.
- Functioning of the grazed grassland: cover structure and biodiversity - M. Duru et al. Fourrages, Peer-reviewed journal article, 2001 Link to the article.
- Alfalfa and cover crops to reduce feed purchases - Jean-Louis Chataigne Chambers of Agriculture France, Interview, 2016 Link to the testimony.
- Grazing cover crops by ewes - Laurence Sagot, Denis Gaut Inn’Ovin, Press article, 2017 Link to the article
- Establishing relationships between arable farming and livestock farms - S. Boudet, A. Dumontier, A. Le Cadre, S. Pousse Regional Chamber of Agriculture of Centre-Val-de-Loire, Technical brochure, 2016 Link to the brochure.
- Knowing the nutritional value of cover crops - Alexis Ferard ARVALIS - Plant Institute, Website, 2017 Link to the webpage.
Appendices
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