As interesting as this discussion is, based on my experience as a F&V grower and my work in agricultural policy here in Washington, D.C. I need to urge extreme caution at the moment with regard to purposely introducing any ruminant animal into a fresh produce environment.
In response to the growing number of cases over the past decade where fresh produce has been implicated as the source of food borne contamination and resulting human illness, especially last fall's incident with E. coli in leafy greens that resulted in three fatalities and hundreds of sick people, there is a very real threat that Congress will enact a law requiring producers of fresh produce to adopt or eliminate certain cultural practices that potentially compromise the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables. They don't care that there are differences in growing spinach and tree fruit, it's all consumed direct from the plant without an intermediate heat treatment. We're doing our best to keep the debate logical from the perspective of producers and I think we're being effective thanks in large part to grower-initiated state-level fresh produce safety programs in California, Florida and Virginia that demonstrate both a legitimate concern and a meaningful response. But purposely introducing ruminant animals into a fresh produce environment, particularly when the source of the virulent strain of E. Coli 0157:H7 has been directly traced to ruminant animals, is the exact wrong action to be taking at this critical time. Your exposure to liability would appear not worth the limited financial gain to be expected, but I recognize that's an individual business decision. Understand however, that in this case one grower's initial problem becomes a much bigger problem for the entire grower community. As it regards the safety of fresh produce the grower community doesn't have any more strikes left; there will be regulation after the next major incident. I urge all growers of fresh produce to do all they reasonably can to be sure they're not the next unwitting victim of unintended consequences. Examine your practices with a view of their possible impact on contamination of the product you raise, especially if you sell it direct to consumers. Irrigation water, human sanitation, animal waste, and packing line wash water are not the exclusive, but the most usual sources of contamination. Ronald L. Gaskill, Director Congressional Relations for International Trade American Farm Bureau Federation(r) 600 Maryland Ave., SW; Suite 1000W Washington, D.C. 20024 Tel: (202) 406-3674 Fax: (202) 406-3604 Cell: (202) 213-0179 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Fleming, William Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 2:40 PM To: Apple-Crop Subject: RE: Apple-Crop: Referral needed - orchards and sheep I recall years ago reading of what's called a Spanish halter used for sheep grazing in orchards. What the halter did was to keep the sheep from being able to look up. When they can't look up the only orchard foliage they are able to eat is the very lowest hanging. Bill Fleming Montana State University Western Ag Research Center Corvallis, MT 59828 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bill Howell Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 11:10 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" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.
