Sheep Continued from Page 7
of lambs of different ages and having feed year-round for the young heifers and the chickens. We’re also not grazing in the young trees.” Montes said the sheep leave the tree bark alone if they can find enough food on the ground. Researchers are discovering that live- stock can be helpful in regenerating soil degraded by using systems based on chemical solutions to address crop issues. “Input systems focused on aboveground management intensify soil degradation,” said Krista Marshall, a UC Davis gradu- ate student who is studying the soil im- pacts from adding livestock to orchard production systems. “Integrating livestock increased the ability to build carbon in the soil and sup- ply nitrogen to the crop,” she said. “It also increases soil biodiversity. More diverse microorganisms help manage soil pests and cycle nutrients.” Livestock foraging must cease when the lambing season approaches. Food safety is another challenge that must be overcome when bring- ing livestock into the orchard. The ani- mals must be removed the last 90 days before harvest. “Animal manure can be a source of pathogens like salmonella and E. coli
Benina Montes, left, says integrating sheep into orchards requires mastering animal husbandry and horticulture. At Massa Organics, sheep, above, were brought in “as weed whackers” and are removed 90 days before harvest.
Photo/Burroughs Family Farms
157,” said Alda Pires, UC Cooperative Extension associate specialist in urban agriculture, food safety and veterinary epidemiology. “There will be a similar risk as in manure application.”
While there has been little research on the safety of orchard grazing, studies of manure applications indicate that safety is a complex question. “There are many factors that influence the risk of contamination, including the health status of the animals, their diet, the stocking density, the cover crop type, the irrigation system and the soil type,” Pires said. Farmers who use livestock in their or- chards follow restrictions. “We can’t have them in during the harvest even if the nuts are caught with- out hitting the ground,” said Raquel Krach, co-owner and operator of Massa Organics south of Chico. “There is an exclusionary period of 90 days before the harvest when the sheep can’t be in the orchard.” Massa Organics occupies 250 acres, mostly in rice, with about 50 acres de- voted to borders and a riparian corridor. The farm began using sheep years be- fore it planted almonds in 2016.
“We’ve had sheep since 2011,” Krach said. “We brought them in as weed whack- ers. We have around 1,125 ewes and lambs depending on the time of the year.” At Massa Organics, the sheep are kept out of the orchard during another four- month period to allow the cover crop to become established, plus another month for lambing. In its older blocks, Burroughs Family Farms allows volunteer plants to grow with the cover crop. Massa Organics plants a cover crop mix of 15 legumes, grass, clover and brassica species. Along with the cover crop, Krach also uses compost. However, she said she has found the sheep do a better job of pro- moting soil health. “There doesn’t seem to be much help from the compost,” she said. “I think the sheep are more helpful.” (Bob Johnson is a reporter in Monterey County. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.)
8 Ag Alert August 24, 2022
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