If you run livestock in your orchard and your orchard is a U-Pick orchard,
just don't let your liability insurance company know you have livestock
among your trees. Ours requires the orchard be fenced in to keep livestock
out!
Dennis Norton
Royal Oak Farm Orchard
http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.com
http://www.theorchardkeeper.blogspot.com
http://www.revivalhymn.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Smith, Tim" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Apple-Crop" <apple-crop@virtualorchard.net>
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 2:34 PM
Subject: RE: Apple-Crop: Referral needed - orchards and sheep
I'm sorry, I stand corrected. It isn't against the law to run livestock
in an orchard.
I guess you can choose to run livestock in your orchard, just not while
fruit is present?
Read the letter from Ronald Gaskill carefully. Are you certain that
frozen domestic livestock waste, thawing in the spring will never be an
actual or perceived issue re: E. coli? What happened to spinach sales
after that incidence?
I stand by my opinion (opinion!) that production of livestock inside the
orchard environment would not be considered a good practice by most
consumers.
Timothy J. Smith
WSU Extension,
Chelan, Douglas & Okanogan Counties
-----Original Message-----
From: apple-crop@virtualorchard.net
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Arthur Harvey
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 10:44 AM
To: Apple-Crop
Subject: RE: Apple-Crop: Referral needed - orchards and sheep
This is not correct. The example given of animals in orchards during
the fall, does not violate organic rules. Many, if not most, organic
farmers in Maine apply manure in the fall in order to avoid the
cumbersome composting rules. I know, because I inspect those farms for
a certifier.
--- "Smith, Tim" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hello apple-croppers,
There is specific language in the organic rules, and many
import/export agreements forbidding the use of uncomposted animal poo
as a fertilizer.
I don't believe the direct deposit of the animal byproducts would be
considered as "o.k." You may not wish to join in with the system that
sets these conditions, but if you direct market, it would be best if
you didn't let your customers see the sheep in the orchard. It just
doesn't
look very clean, if you catch my drift.
Unless you plan to utilize diapers on the various animals that may
graze under/in your trees, it seems that the market would at least be
nervous about possible E. coli issues.
I don't believe orchards and livestock have ever really been really
compatible, and may be even less so now. It sounds like such a good
idea in the books, but chickens and goats (sheep, hamsters, cattle,
warthogs, etc.) never really add much to the otherwise wholesome image
of low-impact fruit production.
Timothy J. Smith
WSU Extension,
Chelan, Douglas & Okanogan Counties
-----Original Message-----
From: apple-crop@virtualorchard.net
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bill Howell
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 10:10 AM
To: Apple-Crop
Subject: Re: Apple-Crop: Referral needed - orchards and sheep
Several years ago we worked with Linda Hardesty of WSU's Department of
Natural Resource Sciences on a LISA grant to study the potential of
using sheep to control under story growth in a mature cherry orchard.
The pasture treatments were - 1. what existed naturally, 2. a planted
mixture of orchard grass and Bird's foot trefoil. Grazed and
non-grazed plots were set up for each treatment. You should contact
Linda ([EMAIL PROTECTED] ) for more advice on forage for sheep in
an orchard setting for Western Washington.
A larger part of the experiment for us was convincing sheep not to eat
cherry foliage. Those efforts included barriers (movable pens,
fencing, head elevation restrictors for the sheep) and aversion
training (similar to what some alcoholics might endure to wean
themselves from the bottle). We only had problems with debarking when
the animals were allowed to stay in the orchard for extended periods
of time. It was best only to allow them in the orchard for short
feeding cycles.
Bedding down was best allowed in a nearby pen.
All in all, it was a very interesting study. However, in the end I
found the effort more than the wool and meat were worth. I valued my
trees as significantly more important than the small livestock
operation. Someone else might figure out a better way. Linda tells me
she knows of a few growers who allow sheepherders to sweep their
flocks through large orchards in the fall to clean up weeds, leaves
and fruit drops.
Bill Howell
Yakima Valley, WA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stina Booth" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Apple-Crop" <apple-crop@virtualorchard.net>
Sent: Saturday, January 03, 1970 3:54 AM
Subject: Re: Apple-Crop: Referral needed
> I tried sheep under my full sized pear trees, and ended up having to
> put fences around each tree as the sheep were climbing up in the
> tree to eat the young fruit and the leaves. I pulled the sheep
> before they could girdle the bark. I got mixed results as far as
> mowing, and as I am an orchardist, not a livestockist, the sheep
> were small when they went to slaughter. Maybe others have had
> better results, but I found it cheaper and easier to buy lamb from
> my neighbor, and continue to
use
> my mower in the orchard. Best of luck.
>
> Stina Booth
> Booth Canyon Orchard
> Twisp, Washington
> On Friday, June 22, 2007, at 08:02 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> > Hello Listers:
> >
> > Can anyone refer me to a turf specialist in USDA Extension so that
> > I can find these answers?
> >
> > There was a USDA SARE project completed a number of years ago
> > which demonstrated the potential to take income from two farm
enterprises:
> > Trellised tree fruit grown over a grass orchard floor grazed by
Sheep.
> > Sounds impossible, I know, but it was successful as well as
organic,
> > and it reduced floor maintenance considerably.
> >
> > What I would like to know is what was/were the grass(es) used.
> > Here is why. Sheep are vulnerable to endophyte toxicity which is
> > common
in
> > some grass species, therefore the species/varieties of grasses
> > must
be
> > endophyte free. I suspect the answer will be one or more of the
> > rye grasses which I understand are used for grazing in New
> > Zealand. It needs also to be hardy in Zone 6-7.
> >
> > I would also hope that any such endophyte free grass(es) be
something
> > more manageable than the heavy producing forage varieties used for
> > green chop and hay production so that it is possible to use power
> > mowers if necessary, esp. as the harvest season approaches after
> > the sheep have been pulled off.
> >
> > Thanks you kindly!
> > D. Del Boca
> > N.W. Washington State
> >
> >
> >
> >
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> > ----
> >
> >
> > The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard
> > <http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon
> > Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
> >
> > Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not
> > represent "official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no
> > responsibility for the content.
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--
--
-
>
>
> The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard
> <http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon
> Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
>
> Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not
represent
> "official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility
for
> the content.
>
>
>
>
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--
---
The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard
<http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon
Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not
represent "official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no
responsibility for the content.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard
<http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon
Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not
represent "official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no
responsibility for the content.
On another topic, the federal law governing organic foods was recently
amended by lobbyists hired by some manufacturers. This will allow
synthetic ingredients to be added to organic-labeled foods.
If this is important to you, please visit my website,
www.RestoreOrganicLaw.org
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard
<http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon
Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent
"official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for
the content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard
<http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon
Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent
"official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for
the content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard
<http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon
Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent
"official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for
the content.
