As you can tell from the picture, the country these cows are running in is "a little tough," yet they they are in this condition without any protein or energy supplements. The cow on the right below is 13 years old. The one on the left is her 2 year old daughter. How are they staying in this condition, under these conditions?
Back in December of 2018 I posted about Using The Unseen Potential by utilizing browse plants not usually recognized as a feed source, and this is a good example of that. The brush in the picture below is called "Javelina Brush." Supposedly the only thing to eat is is javelinas and deer.
Not only has this "inedible brush" kept the cattle in good shape through the winter (without depending on supplements) the browsing by cattle has stimulated new growth in them (which isn't happening in adjacent pastures) but has also stimulated new grass (which you can see in the bottom left of the picture.)
The interesting part is that there was no "training" to get the cattle to eat these plants. All it took was was changing they way they were handled and they added the diversity to their diet on their own. They get handled no more than once a week, and at times go a month or more without being handled.
Rebooting herd instinct has increased the diet diversity in virtually every herd it has been done one, and resulted in lowering or eliminating protein and energy supplements. For more information on how to reboot herd instinct to use in holistic/regenerative grazing programs without adding fences, visit my website.
