Multi-Species Grazing and Integrated Livestock Systems

By Kim Ricardo and Parker Witt

During this episode of Cattle HQ, Parker Witt, SDSU Extension Crop-Livestock Systems Field Specialist and Kimberly Ricardo, SDSU Extension Forage Field Specialist visited with Jaelyn Whaley, SDSU Extension Sheep Specialist; Dave Ollila, Multi-Species Rancher and South Dakota Soil Health Coalition to discuss multi-species livestock integration and how sheep and cattle can work together to improve grazing management, forage utilization, and overall ranch resilience. Drawing from both Extension and producer perspectives, the conversation explores the opportunities, challenges, and practical considerations involved in incorporating sheep into grazing systems. Highlights include:

• Guest backgrounds, grazing operations, and the landscapes that shaped their management approaches
• Key management differences between sheep and cattle, and why the species complement one another
• Native range versus planted pastures, interseeding opportunities, and annual forage utilization
• Tandem grazing strategies and considerations for grazing livestock together or separately
• Weed management, selective grazing behavior, and plant community responses in multi-species systems
• Water development, fencing infrastructure, and parasite management considerations
• Drought resilience through forage diversity, carrying capacity adjustments, and enterprise flexibility
• Lambing systems, labor requirements, and predator management strategies
• Wool markets, processing challenges, and opportunities for enterprise stacking
• Soil Health Coalition initiatives and practical first steps for producers interested in integrated livestock systems
• The economics of regenerative grazing practices, including where returns are delayed, what investments paid off quickest, and lessons learned from practices that fell short of expectations

For more information on grazing management, sheep production, and integrated livestock systems, please contact an SDSU Extension specialist.