How much of a diet overlap would one expect to see between cattle and sheep, and what stocking rate is recommended?
Dietary overlap of cattle and sheep can be high or low depending upon biodiversity, forage diversity and availability, environmental conditions, and management. The dietary overlap can range from 30% to 70%, however, when grazing cattle and sheep on leafy spurge infested rangeland the dietary overlap has the potential of being low until a significant reduction in leafy spurge occurs. Once this happens, individuals need to consider reducing the number of sheep in order to reduce the competition for desirable, available forage for cattle, yet still be effective in controlling leafy spurge.
