Feeding lambs willow

Man_in_black

Member
Livestock Farmer
Read a couple of articles on this lately, with supposed all sorts of benefits from dwg to natural worming & even pain relief.... Just wondering if anyone here been doing it long enough to comment on it? We've plenty of willow growing in certain parts of farm, happily harvest some & chuck in to fat lambs if it works.
 

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pgk

Member
Willows are very good for graze and minerals for most classes of livestock. It also makes a great plant to have as fed during a drought and is very easy to propagate from cuttings. Livestock parasites will not be on Willow plants. Infected larvae can not migrate that high off the deck.
We Pollarded a lot of willow last year during the drought, lambs took a couple of days to take to it then cleared both leaves and bark. Noticed today weaned ewes were on hind legs eating willow leaves in watermeadows. They are clearing some land which owner had let go, notice they are eating a catholic mix of willow, alder, nettles, thistles, bramble etc seem very content🙂
 

Macsky

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Highland
Read a couple of articles on this lately, with supposed all sorts of benefits from dwg to natural worming & even pain relief.... Just wondering if anyone here been doing it long enough to comment on it? We've plenty of willow growing in certain parts of farm, happily harvest some & chuck in to fat lambs if it works.
How does one harvest willow leaves on scale?
 

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Expanded and improved Sustainable Farming Incentive offer for farmers published

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Expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive offer from July will give the sector a clear path forward and boost farm business resilience.

From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and The Rt Hon Sir Mark Spencer MP Published21 May 2024

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Full details of the expanded and improved Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer available to farmers from July have been published by the...
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