These Pasture Plants Have Hidden Benefits
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Healthy grazing takes more than just grass, according to Gabriel Francisco, conservation technician with the Van Buren Conservation District in Michigan. Francisco points to common yarrow and chicory as two prime examples. Francisco profiles such plants monthly in regional publications.
“People don’t realize that common yarrow is an important medicinal for sheep and goats on pasture,” says Francisco. “It’s a very mild dewormer and helps keep them at bay if you overgraze. Grazing below a 4 in. height can lead to barber’s pole worms, but common yarrow can help stop them from encysting in the animal’s gut.”
Chicory can have a similar medicinal impact on grazing animals, adds Francisco. “Chicory is also a natural dewormer and helps settle stomach issues like bloat,” he says. “Sheep and goats won’t normally eat it, but if they’re feeling ill, such as from eating too much legume, they’ll seek out chicory to relieve bloat.”
Francisco points out a common misconception that grass is what’s needed for on-pasture weight gain. “People forget about broadleaves and focus just on grass,” he says. “Grass is great, but straight grass isn’t everything. Broadleaf plants have important benefits also.”
Chicory is one that deserves a closer look. Common chicory is high in protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins K, A, C, and B5. It’s also high in soluble fat and low in insoluble fiber. All that makes it an excellent forage. In addition, it’s a great source of calcium, iron and manganese, nutrients vital in bone formation, strength, and durability.
The only downside is that it’s also fairly high in tannins. These make it bitter to grazing livestock. “Researchers in New Zealand and Australia are trying to breed out the bitterness and develop new strains of chicory,” says Francisco. “Ironically, it’s thought that the tannins are what give it anti-parasite benefits.”
Yarrow has its place also, although not everything about it is as positive, warns Francisco. Common yarrow can quickly overtake an area of mildly disturbed soils and seems to do well in sandy and nutrient-depleted areas.
“Common yarrow isn’t very competitive or hardy when other plants arrive and shade it out,” he says. “Most livestock don’t find the taste of the plant palpable, and some studies have noted that yarrow may be toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. Consumed by cows, a chemical in it can cause unfavorable flavors in milk.”
Where yarrow does shine as a pasture plant is with sheep and goats. While they won’t eat much of it due to its bitter taste, when they need it, they’ll seek it out.
Another positive aspect of yarrow is its ability to sink deep roots. It’s drought-resistant, and its leaves are rich in vitamins. Researchers have identified high levels of niacin, vitamins A, niacin (B vitamin), and C, as well as iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium.
Yarrow has long been used in folk medicine as a medicinal. Researchers have established that it contains flavonoids that increase saliva and stomach acid to help improve digestion.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gabriel Francisco, Van Buren Conservation District, 1035 E Michigan Ave., Paw Paw, Mich. 49079 (ph 269-633-9428; conservation_tech@vanburencd.org).
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These Pasture Plants Have Hidden Benefits CROPS New Techniques Healthy grazing takes more than just grass according to Gabriel Francisco conservation technician with the Van Buren Conservation District in Michigan Francisco points to common yarrow and chicory as two prime examples Francisco profiles such plants monthly in regional publications “People don’t realize that common yarrow is an important medicinal for sheep and goats on pasture ” says Francisco “It’s a very mild dewormer and helps keep them at bay if you overgraze Grazing below a 4 in height can lead to barber’s pole worms but common yarrow can help stop them from encysting in the animal’s gut ” Chicory can have a similar medicinal impact on grazing animals adds Francisco “Chicory is also a natural dewormer and helps settle stomach issues like bloat ” he says “Sheep and goats won’t normally eat it but if they’re feeling ill such as from eating too much legume they’ll seek out chicory to relieve bloat ” Francisco points out a common misconception that grass is what’s needed for on-pasture weight gain “People forget about broadleaves and focus just on grass ” he says “Grass is great but straight grass isn’t everything Broadleaf plants have important benefits also ” Chicory is one that deserves a closer look Common chicory is high in protein carbohydrates and vitamins K A C and B5 It’s also high in soluble fat and low in insoluble fiber All that makes it an excellent forage In addition it’s a great source of calcium iron and manganese nutrients vital in bone formation strength and durability The only downside is that it’s also fairly high in tannins These make it bitter to grazing livestock “Researchers in New Zealand and Australia are trying to breed out the bitterness and develop new strains of chicory ” says Francisco “Ironically it’s thought that the tannins are what give it anti-parasite benefits ” Yarrow has its place also although not everything about it is as positive warns Francisco Common yarrow can quickly overtake an area of mildly disturbed soils and seems to do well in sandy and nutrient-depleted areas “Common yarrow isn’t very competitive or hardy when other plants arrive and shade it out ” he says “Most livestock don’t find the taste of the plant palpable and some studies have noted that yarrow may be toxic to dogs cats and horses Consumed by cows a chemical in it can cause unfavorable flavors in milk ” Where yarrow does shine as a pasture plant is with sheep and goats While they won’t eat much of it due to its bitter taste when they need it they’ll seek it out Another positive aspect of yarrow is its ability to sink deep roots It’s drought-resistant and its leaves are rich in vitamins Researchers have identified high levels of niacin vitamins A niacin B vitamin and C as well as iron calcium phosphorus magnesium and potassium Yarrow has long been used in folk medicine as a medicinal Researchers have established that it contains flavonoids that increase saliva and stomach acid to help improve digestion Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Gabriel Francisco Van Buren Conservation District 1035 E Michigan Ave Paw Paw Mich 49079 ph 269-633-9428; conservation_tech@vanburencd org
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