Saskatchewan farmer Barry Ukrainec and his flock of spurge busters
When Barry Ukrainec purchased his 80-acre farm southwest of Saskatoon 20 years ago, there were only a few small patches of leafy spurge on his property. Within a couple of years, however, the weed had begun to spread rapidly. The rural municipality’s local weed inspector was monitoring the invasive species and landowners were given three options to control the problem: mowing, spraying or using sheep. Biological control with beetles was also being implemented in some areas of western Canada and the northern US.
“For about 15 years I took the route of paying to have it mowed. However, they didn’t always mow it at the right time, so I knew that wasn’t a long-term solution,” Ukrainec says.
A herbicide called Tordon 22-K was used to control the weed along the ditches and roadsides, but this wasn’t an option for Ukrainec. “I’d done some research into the sprays and realized that Tordon doesn’t break down easily in sandy soils, and can therefore get into the water table.”
The use of beetles is one of the more cost-effective ways to control spurge in terms of time and money. Three species of beetles are currently being utilized — the brown dot spurge beetle (Aphthona cyparrissiae), the black dot spurge beetle (Aphthona nigriscutis), and the black spurge beetle (Aphthona lacertosa). The adult beetles feed on the tops of the plants, while the larva feed on the roots. Once established, the beetles are self-sustaining. But, Ukrainec says, it also takes time for the beetles to multiply and for landowners to see long-term results.
Ukrainec felt his only alternative was to purchase sheep to control the weed. He already had a small herd of Black Angus cattle, but cattle will generally not eat leafy spurge because it causes scours and mouth blisters. Sheep however, can eat it without harmful effects. In fact sheep and goats prefer spurge to grass if they have access to the young plants.
“I’d never had sheep, didn’t know anything about them other than they could be a nuisance and make great coyote candy,” he says. With a full time career as Food and Beverage Service Manager with the Travelodge Hotel in Saskatoon, Ukrainec knew he’d be in for a great deal of additional work. Not to mention the learning experience.
In the spring of 2009 Ukrainec purchased five Dorper ewes with very good bloodlines from a reputable breeder. Buying purebred animals gave him the added benefit of selling breeding stock as well as butcher animals. He chose the Dorper breed for a number of reasons, including the fact they don’t need shearing; their hair/wool sheds spontaneously. They are non-selective feeders, excellent browsers and thrive in varying climates and conditions. The animals are slightly smaller than some breeds and are docile, hardy and prolific. They are also very good mothers.
The downside to the Dorpers is that there aren’t very many bloodlines currently in Canada. “It’s a very small association and there are only about nine or 10 reputable breeders that are working to improve the breed here in Canada,” Ukrainec says.
A significant commitment in terms of time, labour and expense was involved in putting up adequate fencing, installing efficient gates and erecting shelters for the animals. But Ukrainec knew this would have to be a long-term project for it to be successful.
“Leafy spurge seeds stays viable for over eight years, so you’d have to do it for many years before you get it off your land. And if it’s growing on adjacent land, deer can be bringing in new seed every year. So you really never get rid of it completely — but you can manage it.”
Enter Wily Coyote
Dealing with predators, primarily coyotes, has been another interesting and valuable experience. Ukrainec purchased a female llama at the same time he acquired his first ewes. Females, he learned in hindsight, aren’t as good as males who instinctively guard their territory better than a female.
Coyotes became a real issue about two years ago when a pair set up a den on the adjoining property. “It was a mated pair of parents that had retained their previous year’s pups and were looking after their current batch of pups as well. The female was training her last year’s pups to hunt. It’s a very dominant female that can have that kind of control. The predation specialist told me that likely it was the female who was the killer and it was important to get her because she is the pack leader. Once the mother is gone, the pups from last year have no boss to teach them and the pack will disperse. The male doesn’t take over very efficiently.
“I lost 13 sheep out of a flock of about 50 through the course of the summer when I was away at work. The coyotes came up and over a 48” page wire fence with barbwire over top of that. I’ve heard since that they can climb an 8-foot elk fence—they get right beside the fence and use it like a ladder to travel back and forth. I knew, by this time, I had to get some dogs because the llama wasn’t working,” he says.
Ukrainec purchased two six-month-old Ackbash pups that had been trained to guard sheep. Ackbash are large white dogs (averaging between 75 to 140 pounds), native to western Turkey. They are known to be intelligent, courageous and natural guardians with a strong maternal nature towards any animal under its charge. “They have to be bonded from birth with sheep and shouldn’t have very much interaction with people. They aren’t trainable like a German shepherd, for instance. They function more on instinct. They will assess a situation, make a decision on their own and use as much force as they think they’ll need. Barking will sometimes keep predators away, but if a coyote comes in they would not hesitate to kill it. Coyotes will still come into the pasture, and I’ve watched the dogs function. As a pair, they both take after the coyote. One dog will continue the chase and the other has a tendency to run back to the sheep, round them up and make sure they’re all safe.”
Ukrainec says he’s seen the dogs go into a forested area first to make sure it’s safe, at which point the sheep will follow. “The sheep have now cleaned the spurge out of that area, as well as the underbrush, which improves the pasture.”
Parasites:
While Dorper sheep are generally not as susceptible to parasites as some breeds, the wet summer of 2014 proved to be a bad year for internal parasites for Ukrainec’s flock. He lost about 30 lambs to barber pole worms. These parasites usually affect the younger stock. Symptoms such as diarrhea, anemia and weight loss precede death. “I lost these lambs when they were in the two to three-month stage. I had never dealt with this before, and had to deworm them every two weeks three consecutive times before I got it under control.”
Barber pole worms have a three-week cycle: the sheep excretes the eggs in its feces, the eggs hatch and in their final stage, crawl up on the stems of grass. The sheep eating the grass become re-infected. One of the best ways to control them is to rotate your pasture. Ukrainec’s list of future projects includes fencing the rest of his land and creating more rotational pastures. This would allow him to move the sheep off parasite-infested land more often. He’s also thinking about purchasing another dog to guard the sheep in their separate pastures.
“The sheep have done a wonderful job on the spurge. In our area, the spurge begins to grow about the first week of April. When I let the sheep out in the spring they will walk the entire pasture to pick out the young spurge plants. It’s amazing. I took the weed control specialist on a tour of the pasture last summer, and we couldn’t find a single spurge plant anywhere in areas where the sheep had access to it.”
What is Leafy Spurge?
Leafy Spurge (Euphoriba spp.) is an aggressive, deep-rooted perennial that is native to central and southern Europe. It was transported to North America in the early 1800s and spread across Canada and the northern U.S. Severe infestations can be found in the southern Prairie Provinces and southern Ontario. There are isolated pockets of the weed in the southern interior of B.C. An estimated two million hectares in North America are infested.
The plant grows to a height of 40-90 cm. (15 to 36”), is very adaptable and thrives under a variety of soil and growing conditions. It spreads by seeds as well as from an extensive root system that displaces native vegetation. Public and private land, abandoned farmland, roadsides and other uncultivated land are often affected. The roots, which can reach a depth of up to 8 meters (26 feet) and spread horizontally up to 4.5 metres (14.8 feet) a year, release a toxin that prevents other plant growth nearby. The ripe seedpods explode and can throw the seeds up to five meters. Seeds remain viable for at least eight years.
Cattle will not eat spurge because the stems contain a milky sap that can cause mouth blisters and scours. In fact, cattle will avoid heavily infested sites, which can lead to overgrazing in non-infected areas increasing the likelihood of leafy spurge spreading to these areas as well.
Controlling weeds through targeted grazing
Using livestock to manage weeds in a specific location for a limited time is known as targeted or prescribed grazing. Short-term, high-intensity grazing stresses weeds and reduces seed production. The benefits include improved pasture quality, and an increase in biodiversity. The practice is also environmentally friendly.
Livestock, particularly goats and sheep, will access hilly, rocky and wooded areas where other weed-control options are less practical. Many weeds provide a good source of nutrients and are palatable to livestock.
Typically goats and sheep are used for prescribed grazing but cattle can also be used, depending on the targeted weed. Sheep, and goats in particular, are designed to handle thorny and woody vegetation. Goats have a relatively large liver mass which allows them to process the chemicals in some weeds that cattle cannot tolerate.
One of the keys to successful prescription grazing is that the livestock used should be in the specified location for only a short period of time so as not to cause irreparable damage to surrounding vegetation. Grazing should be done when the weed is most vulnerable.
Other factors to consider:
- cost of, and locating animals
- fencing, water and hauling costs
- predatory animals
- compatibility with other wildlife
— Edna Manning