ASGA Call 102: Solar Cattle, Sheep, and Goats – Multi-Species Grazing in Solar Arrays
December 1 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST
On pasture and rangeland, ranchers often employ “multi-species grazing” with mixed herds of sheep, cattle, and goats to diversify market opportunities and improve outcomes for their livestock, pasture management, and ecological systems. Multi-species grazing can also extend to poultry and other forms of livestock.
Farmers and solar developers have long wondered whether the livestock and vegetation benefits of multi-species grazing can be applied to solar energy sites. While sheep are widely used on solar arrays, adding cattle or goats has faced technical hurdles related to site design and equipment, which has thus far limited their adoption.
At the webinar, we’ll hear from experienced solar graziers who have added cattle to their solar sheep flocks. These graziers are managing multi-species herds on operating solar arrays that were not built with catttle in mind.
The graziers will share how they implemented multi-species grazing, their management strategies for solar arrays, lessons learned, and the potential for expanding multi-species agrivoltaics.
In addition to the mixed cattle and sheep operations, we’ll hear from graziers who are adding goats to their sheep operations, including one operator who is mixing sheep, cattle, and goats on solar.
Dr. Anna Clare Monlezun, an expert on grazing animals, will provide an overview of the benefits of multi-species grazing for livestock production, farmer profitability, and ecological systems.
The presentations will be followed by a Q&A with the solar graziers and Dr. Monlezun.
Speakers:
- Dr. Anna Clare Monlezun, Graze LLC
- Josh & Rebekah Pierce, J&R Pierce Family Farm
- Anthony Hendrich, Poolbrook Contracting
- Max Wade, Galloping Goats Grazing
- Beau Carter, Southern Sol Grazing Company
Solar Cattle, Sheep, and Goats: Multi-Species Grazing in Solar Arrays
Tuesday, December 1st at 2:00pm EST via Zoom