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Running sheep with cattle1/9/2023 ![]() Mariecia Fraser, The Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences “Cattle will eat the stuff the sheep leave behind, which improves the quality of the sward.” Sheep can also use grasses in different ways, with a comparison of Scottish Blackfaces and Welsh Mountain breeds revealing Blackfaces ate more heather than Welsh Mountain sheep. However, she warned continental cattle wouldn’t cope as well as traditional breeds in difficult weather. ![]() A study looking at the effect of breed type on the use of Molina grass, found continental breeds used grass just as well as traditional breeds such as Belted Galloway and Welsh Black. She said: “Cattle will eat the stuff the sheep leave behind, which improves the quality of the sward.”Ĭontrary to widespread belief, she said it didn’t matter what breed of cow was used for conservation grazing. She said studies had proven it would also benefit lamb growth rates and reduce parasite burden, adding: “It’s a win-win situation.” ![]() “They are larger and have a bigger mouth, so they are looking for quantity, not necessarily quality.” Speaking last week at the British Grassland Conference, Malvern, Dr Fraser said cattle were less selective when it came to grazing and would eat low digestible grasses often avoided by sheep, therefore increasing plant biodiversity. Mariecia Fraser, from The Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) said selective grazing influenced plant competition, and when minor species were grazed too heavily it could reduce their competitiveness. Grazing cattle and sheep together on upland areas can increase plant biodiversity and boost performance.
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