HOULTON — If you are raising livestock, whether large animals like beef cattle or small animals like sheep and pigs, you are likely supplementing their diets with grain.
With that grain comes with a financial burden and in many cases is not a necessary part of their diet.
According to Darrell Emmick – a grazing specialist from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) based in New York – growers who produce quality, high protein forages don’t need to feed protein in the barn or in the concentrate mix. This can be offset with establishing a rotational grazing system to maximize the forages you have available.
A rotation system typically consists of fencing designed specifically for the type of livestock you raise, one or more portable water tubs, a pipeline and a supply of water. The NRCS provides technical advice to livestock growers of all sizes on how to set up these systems. A rotation system can be costly to set up. In some cases the NRCS can provide financial assistance through its Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), helping livestock producers of any size “EQIP” themselves to graze more efficiently.
Eligible practices include: fence; water tubs; water lines; and wells.
“We’ve already helped set up several farms in southern Aroostook with systems that provide clean water to their livestock while maximizing forage production,” said NRCS District Conservationist Helena Swiatek.
“We are currently taking applications for next fiscal year, but that deadline is Aug. 15.”
For more information, contact the NRCS at (207) 532-2087, ext. 3, or visit the NRCS office at 304 North St., in Houlton.
