ENLC Hosts Successful Sixth Annual Winter Meeting

ENLC closed out the month of January by hosting our sixth annual winter weed meeting. We had over 90 participants.  This year’s focus was on using all of the tools in the weed warfare tool box – everything from mechanical to chemical to livestock.  We also introduced a weed identification pop quiz following some of the breaks.   Clayton Henroid, Tri-County Weed Program; Maria Ryan, SNWA, and Barry Wallace, Crop Production Services were the winners of the pop quizzes. 

Some of the highlights from the meeting were:

Jeff Burnham, Utah State University, talked about the use of Plateau as a control for cheatgrass and burr buttercup following fire.  He noted they do get control of the annuals for about two years, but following that there is a significant bounce back of the cheatgrass and burr buttercup.  He said the invasive forbs are also knocked back for one year and then they start to increase during the second year post treatment.  The perennial grasses are impacted by the Plateau, but they do come back.  Sandbergs bluegrass was most significantly impacted by this treatment.  Their research showed following burning and mowing to reduce sagebrush cover – this was an effective treatment to reduce the invasive species following the disturbance – although there was the trade-off because of the impacts on the native species.

Joseph Robins, Agricultural Research Service, discussed the role plant materials have in revegetation.  He noted before you reseed look at other ways to solve the existing problem, such as fertilization, weed control, water management, brush control, or grazing management.  He said with a weed invasion – at least temporarily we lose ecosystem function, loss of desirable perennial plant material and we lose top soil.  In one weather event we can lose inches of soil which will take thousands of years to regenerate.  Weeds change the soil characteristics including organic material, carbon, nitrogen and water.   He also noted in 2000 there were 31.5 million acres of cheatgrass in the Great Basin.  Robins stressed using the proper plant materials to reseed an area, which is often a mix of native and non-native plants.  He said the goal is to stabilize the site as quickly as possible.

Kathy Voth, Livestock for Landscapes, discussed training livestock to eat weeds.  She went through several videos demonstrating how she trained cows, goats, and sheep to select for certain weed species.  She said all animals can detect the nutrients they need and often invasive species (weeds) have higher protein levels than is found in the pasture plants the animals might otherwise consume.  Her process teaches the animals to try different forages. 
Voth’s basic training steps are:

1. Know your plant.
Begin by finding out about the nutritional value and the toxins in your target plant. Many weeds are very nutritious, but like all plants they contain toxins. Prevent illness by knowing your toxins.

2. Choose the right animals to train.
Young animals are more likely to try new things; females stay in the herd longer and teach their offspring. Train only as many as you can handle. They will teach everyone else for you.

3. Reduce the fear of new foods
Setting up a daily routine of feeding animals something nutritious but unfamiliar gives them positive experiences with new foods and makes them comfortable trying new foods. Feed them something new twice a day for four days. When you introduce your target weed on the fifth day, they'll eat it because it's just one more new thing in their routine of new things.

4. Practice in pasture.
Each new plant requires that your animal learns a new grazing technique. Give them a day or two to practice in small "classroom" size pastures. Then when you send them out in the world, they'll have the skills they need.
She has a long list that can be found on her website of weeds that she has trained livestock to consume.  Voth noted grazing weeds doesn’t necessarily eliminate the problem, but can be beneficial to the livestock and the landscape.  The size of an infestation can be reduced by using time targeted grazing – namely hitting the plants before they went to seed for several years.
Voth told the crowd she had focused on training livestock because we will never get a handle on the weed issues if chemicals are all we use.  In 2000 over five billion dollars was spent on weed control and this number has only increased since then. 

For more information on Voth’s projects and training process you can visit her website at livestockforlandscapes.com.

In addition to these presentations we had presentations covering: opportunities with NRCS’s EQUIP Program; contracting livestock for weed control; pesticide safety; BLM and Forest Service updates on their weed programs; and new innovations in technology which allow chemical applications to be very precise.
The 2012 Winter Weed Meeting is scheduled for January 18 and 19, 2012.  We hope to see you there.

Images coming soon.