Cows going after the plantain first - there is now amazing science that shows that grazing animals are geniuses at selecting the diet they need and want… present them with diversity and they find it and are healthier

Every plant has a different root system and carries different nutrients and minerals etc up to the leaves We used to think of cows and sheep mindlessly eating everything - but they actually evolved to be brilliant at selecting the things they needed

Apparently they even self medicate - plants like plantain have medicinal qualities or help them with intestinal worms etc

The loss of condition associated with out-wintering is caused by the wrong cattle, on not diverse enough sward, not moved often enough Because cows select like this pastures quickly lose the best nutrition they need and feed quality deteriorates as the weather burns more energy

Out-wintering and growing winter stockpile pastures are skills to be learnt - we are in our eighth winter and every year we get better It isn’t just leaving cows in the same place outside for longer on worse and worse feed - that doesn’t work

On our own land we now like every grazing cell to border scrub/hedge or woodland species so their diet includes that too when they need it This field is someone else’s land so it’s sub optimal but still diverse grassland

And lastly we’ve learnt that a plant isn’t a plant is a static way A plant growing in healthier soil has a higher BRIX value - higher nutritional value so a) stand sup better to winter and b) has higher feed value I am a grazing nerd x

Now imagine you are a cow with all these skills and you’re out in a field with one species of grass - ryegrass and the best stuff was grazed out a month ago You’d know it was rubbish And you’d be reaching over the fences or to the trees for what you really needed

I went to @LambExAU in Western Australia four years ago and listened to scientist after scientist advising their farmers to offer diversity to livestock - not for nature’s benefit, but for the performance of the animals themselves It’s good for nature and cutting edge farming

Diversity encourages maximum intake and helps the animal balance their rumen Cows aren’t meant to have the runs all the time - Shit is meant to have structure, the ideal shit has slightly less roughage in the diet than this one, but you get the idea

A lot of sheep and cattle escaping is really a dialogue of the deaf between farmer and animal The animal knows it should now be eating something else… the farmer thinks they know best and doesn’t Animal says ‘screw you, I’ll jump the wall or get through the fence’

The scientists @LambExAU were saying that some plants make others more palatable on the gut in combinations And others stimulate diet And if diversity is provided the animals do the hard work of selection as and when they need what they need

AI is transforming healthcare! A KSM-led study shows AI can detect Celiac disease 4 years earlier @TalPatalon @MedPredict