Progress report for FW24-011
Project Information
The purpose of this project is to determine whether grazing goats
in timbered landscapes can control unwanted brush encroachment
while not having a negative impact on the growth or mortality of
desired coniferous tree species, primarily Douglas fir and
Redwood. Additionally, the goats will be confined to the test
areas using the innovative technology of virtual fencing. The
desired outcomes are to determine if goats can be utilized to
reduce the use of herbicides to control unwanted vegetation and
reduce the use of fossil fuel dependent, high-cost mechanical
removal of unwanted vegetation.
The study sites will include the following: 1) Oregon white oak
and California black oak woodlands with heavy Douglas fir tree
encroachment, where the fir trees are less than 5 years of age
(goal: to use goats to eat young Douglas fir trees where firs are
unwanted); 2) timber ground with redwood trees that are less than
5 years of age threatened by brush encroachment (goal: to use
goats to eat brush but not harm young Redwood trees) and 3)
Douglas fir trees under the age of 5 years and threatened by
brush encroachment (goal: to use goats to eat brush but not harm
young Douglas fir trees).
Through this research, we expect to find that with frequent
virtual fence moves the goats do not cause significant damage to
desired Douglas fir and Redwood trees. We also expect that
low-frequency moves of virtual fencing may result in damage to
young Douglas fir trees in areas they are not desired. If our
hypotheses are correct, timberland owners could use goats as an
ecologically friendly method for treating brush encroachment.
This project will provide information for producers on the value
of virtual fencing. This will show reduced time and labor,
allowing for an efficient and easy method of rotating goats.
The purpose of this project is to determine whether grazing goats
in timbered landscapes can control unwanted brush encroachment
while not having a negative impact on the growth or mortality of
desired coniferous tree species, primarily Douglas fir and
Redwood. Additionally, the goats will be confined to the test
areas using the innovative technology of virtual fencing. The
desired outcomes are to determine if goats can be utilized to
reduce the use of herbicides to control unwanted vegetation and
reduce the use of fossil fuel dependent, high-cost mechanical
removal of unwanted vegetation.
The study sites will include the following: 1) Oregon white oak
and California black oak woodlands with heavy Douglas fir tree
encroachment, where the fir trees are less than 5 years of age
(goal: to use goats to eat young Douglas fir trees where firs are
unwanted); 2) timber ground with redwood trees that are less than
5 years of age threatened by brush encroachment (goal: to use
goats to eat brush but not harm young Redwood trees) and 3)
Douglas fir trees under the age of 5 years and threatened by
brush encroachment (goal: to use goats to eat brush but not harm
young Douglas fir trees).
Through this research, we expect to find that with frequent
virtual fence moves the goats do not cause significant damage to
desired Douglas fir and Redwood trees. We also expect that
low-frequency moves of virtual fencing may result in damage to
young Douglas fir trees in areas they are not desired. If our
hypotheses are correct, timberland owners could use goats as an
ecologically friendly method for treating brush encroachment.
This project will provide information for producers on the value
of virtual fencing. This will show reduced time and labor,
allowing for an efficient and easy method of rotating goats.
During the summer and fall of 2024, Lone Star Ranch made the decision to not renew the contract with the current virtual fence company. In the fall of 2024, a new virtual fence company was selected and new collars were placed on goats. At this time, the PI, Lauren Sizemore, put in a no cost extension, feeling that the new virtual fence company offered a superior product, therefor wold result in better results for the Western SARE grant. By the time the new collars were placed on goats in the fall of 2024, both the PI and TA decided that waiting until the following year to implement the study would be best. However, in May of 2024, sites on the Lone Star ranch were selected for the project. Following is an updated timeline:
April 2024- Western SARE Grant Funds have been approved
May 2024- Three research sites will be finalized on Lone Star Ranch by Lauren (PI) and Jeff (TA)
May 2024 2025- Portable Vence tower will be built- Cody Sizemore
June 2024 2025 - Identified sites will have measurements and pre-grazing data collected by Lauren (PI) and Jeff (TA)
July/August 2024 2025- Site 1 treated with goats by Lauren (PI)
August/September 2024 2025- Site 2 treated with goats by Lauren (PI), site 1 post grazing data collected by Lauren (PI) and Jeff (TA)
September/August 2024 2025- Site 3 treated with goats by Lauren (PI), site 2 post grazing data collected by Lauren (PI) and Jeff (TA)
October 2024 2025- Site 3 post grazing data collected by Lauren (PI) and Jeff (TA)
November and December 2024 2025- Data analyzed by Lauren (PI) and Jeff (TA)
January 2025 2026- set dates for and send save-the-dates for WSARE project Field Day and University of California Cooperative Extension Spring Livestock Workshop by Lauren (PI) and Jeff (TA)
April 2025 2026- University of California Cooperative Extension Livestock Education Day presentation on WSARE results and general Virtual Fence experiences for both beef and small ruminants by Lauren (PI) and Jeff (TA)
May 2025 2026- WSARE project Field Day by Lauren (PI) and Jeff (TA)
August 2025 2026- Final grant report by Lauren (PI) and Jeff (TA)
Cooperators
- - Technical Advisor
Research
Research objective: The purpose of this project is to determine if grazing goats in timbered landscapes can control unwanted brush encroachment without having a negative impact on the rate of growth, confirmation, or survivorship of desired species of confiner.
There will be a total of 3 research sites.
Site 1 will be located on the Lone Star Ranch, in Kneeland, California. Existing virtual fencing technology will be used to manage goats and keep them within the research site for the duration of this project. This site is an Oregon white oak and California black oak woodlands with heavy Douglas fir tree encroachment. The site was selected because it has a lack of brush. The objective of this site is to observe and quantify the impact the goats will have on the Douglas firs when they have no alternate brush to browse on. Prior to the goats being placed at the research site: 1) pre-treatment photo documentation will be taken at each of three transects. 2) Young Douglas fir will be measured within each transect (height, width, presence/absence of browse, % of tree browsed, and a tree health score of 1-5) for each fir tree within each transect; 3) the goats will be equipped with virtual fencing collars and battery and body condition score will be recorded; 4) virtual fences will be created on the computer. Post treatment protocols will include: 1) post treatment photo documentation 2) previously marked Douglas fir trees will be monitored following pre-treatment protocol, and 3) goat body condition score will be reevaluated
Site 2 will be located on the Lone Star Ranch, in Kneeland, California. Virtual fencing technology will be used to manage goats and keep them within the research site for the duration of this project. This site is timberland with young Douglas fir and brush encroachment. The objective of this site is to observe and quantify the impact the goats will have on the young Douglas firs and/or the unwanted brush. Prior to the goats being placed at the research site: 1) pre-treatment photo documentation will be taken at each of three transects. 2) young Douglas fir will be measured within each transect (height, width, presence/absence of browse, % of tree browsed, and a tree health score of 1-5) for each fir tree within each transect; 3) Brush will be measured within each transect (height, width, presence/absence of browse, % of plant browsed, and a health score of 1-5) for each unwanted brush species within each transect; 4) the goats will be equipped with virtual fencing collars and battery and body condition score will be recorded; 5) virtual fences will be created on the computer. Post treatment protocols will include: 1) post treatment photo documentation 2) previously marked Douglas fir trees will be monitored following pre-treatment protocol, 3) Unwanted brush will be monitored following pre-treatment protocol and 4) goat body condition score will be reevaluatedSite 3 will be located on the Lone Star Ranch, in Kneeland, California. Virtual fencing technology will be used to manage goats and keep them within the research site for the duration of this project. This site is timberland with young Redwood and brush encroachment. The objective of this site is to observe and quantify the impact the goats will have on the Redwoods and/or the unwanted brush. Prior to the goats being placed at the research site: 1) pre-treatment photo documentation will be taken at each of three transects. 2) young Redwood will be measured within each transect (height, width, presence/absence of browse, % of tree browsed, and a tree health score of 1-5) for each Redwood tree within each transect; 3) Unwanted brush will be measured within each transect (height, width, presence/absence of browse, % of plant browsed, and a health score of 1-5) for each unwanted brush species within each transect; 4) the goats will be equipped with virtual fencing collars and battery and body condition score will be recorded; 5) virtual fences will be created on the computer. Post treatment protocols will include: 1) post treatment photo documentation 2) previously marked Redwood trees will be monitored following pre-treatment protocol, 3) Brush and herbaceous plants will be monitored following pre-treatment protocol and 4) goat body condition score will be reevaluated
All sites will be using virtual fencing technology on the goats to keep them within their allotted boundaries. Use of Virtual Fencing has been successfully used before on these goats. The same group of goats will be used at each research location. Although not ideal to assess potential differences in timing of grazing, using the same individuals does eliminate potential differences in livestock behavior. Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGDs) will also be present with the goats for predator control at each site. Each dog will be equipped with a virtual fence collar so movement of the LGDs can also be observed.
Data will be collected prior to the goats going onto the research sites by the PI and will be collected again by the PI after the goats have left the research area. We will be able to quantify the impact on the Douglas firs, Redwood, and multiple brush species. This will give forest landowners the data to determine if goats can be utilized to reduce the use of herbicides to control unwanted vegetation and reduce the use of fossil fuel dependent, high-cost mechanical removal of unwanted vegetation.
Tools and Materials will include:
Portable Virtual Fence tower- this is to ensure service to the
virtual fencing collars is available. The goats wear collars that
communicate with GPS and reception towers to form a virtual
fence. This will ensure goats are maintained within their virtual
fence boundaries and accurate locations of goats and alerts if
goats are outside of their boundaries.
Virtual Fence Collars for each goat- this will give a reading
every 30 minutes of where the goat is located. If the goat
approaches the boundary, they will receive and audio que and if
they continue to proceed, they will get an electrical shock.
Research Outcomes
During the summer and fall of 2024, Lone Star Ranch made the decision to not renew the contract with the current virtual fence company. In the fall of 2024, a new virtual fence company was selected and new collars were placed on goats. At this time, the PI, Lauren Sizemore, put in a no cost extension, feeling that the new virtual fence company offered a superior product, therefor wold result in better results for the Western SARE grant. By the time the new collars were placed on goats in the fall of 2024, both the PI and TA decided that waiting until the following year to implement the study would be best.However, in May of 2024, sites on the Lone Star ranch were selected for the project.
Education and Outreach
Participation Summary:
The objective of the education plan is to inform timberland owners (both industrial and non-industrial), land managers, and livestock producers of our findings and whether grazing goats in timbered landscapes can control unwanted brush encroachment while not having a negative impact on the growth or mortality of the desired species of conifer.
Throughout the duration of the project, social media posts will be made weekly to demonstrate active goat grazing and how progress is going. Through these posts, we will be promoting WSARE, sharing our current findings and engaging our local timber industry members as well as other local producers. Once the research has been completed and the data has been analyzed and quantified, we will: 1) host a field day to share our findings and 2) prepare and present PowerPoint presentations regarding our findings of using goats to graze timberlands at our annual local University Extension events.
The field day will target both livestock producers and people who do not currently have livestock, but are interested in browsing goats, private and industrial timberland owners and managers. A flier will be created for the field day. This will be sent out to the local cattlemen’s association, UCCE mailing list, non-profit organization mailing lists, our large timberland managers in the region, California Licensed Foresters Association and The Farm Bureau for distribution of the field day. The use of social media such as Facebook and Instagram will be used to create an event and distribute information pertaining to the field day. The field day will include an in person, on the ground tour where we will demonstrate how we used virtual fencing technology to contain the goats on a specific area. The tour will include site one, where we will observe and discuss the impacts goats had within the Oregon white oak and California black oak woodlands with heavy Douglas fir tree encroachment oak, where there were few other plant species for the goats to browse on. We will also visit site two, where we will observe and discuss the impacts goats had on the young Douglas fir and brush encroachment. We will then visit site three, where we will observe and discuss the impacts goats had on the young Redwoods and brush encroachment. This tour will be an all-day event, held on the Lone Star Ranch, where all three sites will be located. In addition to the tour stops at the WSARE demonstration/research project funded through these funds, we will also include other stops in our tour agenda to include demonstrations and comparisons of:
- Virtual fence and utility of cattle grazing on rangelands.
- Past goat grazing and Rx fire efforts to control Himalayan blackberry
- Hack and squirt herbicide control for mature Tan Oak
- Mechanical Douglas fir restoration of deciduous oak woodlands
- Prescribed fire Douglas fir restoration of deciduous oak woodlands
- Traditional timber harvest and reforestation without goat grazing
The research sites on the Lone Star Ranch are located about an hour from the nearest town (Eureka), so lunch will be provided as to not break the continuity of the day’s educational event. During lunch, participants will have the opportunity to mingle, create connections, and have robust conversations around goat grazing on timberlands. We will hand out fact sheets showing our data and findings. Email addresses will also be collected so information can be shared in an electronic format.
The PowerPoint presentation regarding our findings of using goats to graze timberlands at our annual local University Extension event will target producers and people who do not currently have livestock, but are interested in browsing goats; both private and industrial timber land owners and managers. A flier will be created for the presentation. This will be sent out to the local Cattlemen’s association, UCCE mailing list, California Licensed Foresters Association, our large timberland managers in the region, and The Buckeye for distribution of the field day. The PowerPoint presentation will be held at the Ag Center in Eureka, California during an in-person meeting for livestock producers and landowners held at the local University of California Cooperative Extension office. The use of social media such as Facebook and Instagram will be used to create an event and information pertaining to the PowerPoint presentation. This will be a half day event. During the local University Extension event, Lauren will give a PowerPoint presentation on how virtual fencing works and how we implemented it on a working ranch with both small and large ruminants. We will display our data and have a group discussion on our findings. While the field day will be a visual representation of the project, the presentation will show the data and a summary of our findings and data analysis.
The PowerPoint will include site one, where we will present our findings of the impact goats had within the Oregon white oak and California black oak woodlands with heavy Douglas fir tree encroachment oak. The PowerPoint will also include site two, where we will present our findings of the impact goats had on the young Douglas fir and brush encroachment. The PowerPoint will also include site three, where we will present our findings of the impact goats had on the young Redwoods and brush encroachment.
Additionally, if deemed useful, these data and presentations will be available (in-person or via recording) to persons interested in incorporating goat grazing in timberlands in neighboring counties and across the state into the Sierra mountains and into Oregon. If deemed necessary, future works could include assessing timing of grazing, stage of brush growth or desired conifer growth, animal stocking densities and durations, and other aspects of animal health and nutrition.
During the summer and fall of 2024, Lone Star Ranch made the decision to not renew the contract with the current virtual fence company. In the fall of 2024, a new virtual fence company was selected and new collars were placed on goats. At this time, the PI, Lauren Sizemore, put in a no cost extension, feeling that the new virtual fence company offered a superior product, therefor wold result in better results for the Western SARE grant. By the time the new collars were placed on goats in the fall of 2024, both the PI and TA decided that waiting until the following year to implement the study would be best. However, in May of 2024, sites on the Lone Star ranch were selected for the project. Therefor, there has been no education and outreach done to date.
Education and Outreach Outcomes
During the summer and fall of 2024, Lone Star Ranch made the decision to not renew the contract with the current virtual fence company. In the fall of 2024, a new virtual fence company was selected and new collars were placed on goats. At this time, the PI, Lauren Sizemore, put in a no cost extension, feeling that the new virtual fence company offered a superior product, therefor wold result in better results for the Western SARE grant. By the time the new collars were laced on goats in the fall of 2024, both the PI and TA decided that waiting until the following year to implement the study would be best.However, in May of 2024, sites on the lone Star ranch were selected for the project. Therefor, there has been no education and outreach done to date.