#28 How leucaena can double cattle units per hectare and transform profitability with Jaime Elizondo

After many years of experimentation, Jaime Elizondo is scaling his leucaena silvopasture system in order to increase his stocking rate from 3 to 6 cattle units per hectare: doubling his profitability.This bold statement has been made by one of the most experienced regenerative graziers we know of, and shouldn't be taken lightly. Beyond improving his grass productivity and providing fodder for his cows, Jaime is planting trees for a multitude of benefits such as biodiversity, cattle wellbeing and soil regeneration. In this interview Jaime is talking directly to farmers and graziers with a wealth of practical information as we break down key topics in his pollarding system. He discusses how he establishes the trees, rotates the animals around them, how he pollards and how cattle digest strong chemical compounds produced by trees. We hope you enjoy!• TABLE OF CONTENTS02:00 - Introduction09:20 - Why started planting trees15:20 - Why leucaena?18:30 - Tree density and cattle stocking rate20:50 - How to direct seed leucaena30:25 - Competition between trees and grass34:00 - Adapted animal genetics for silvopasture38:00 - Leucaena rate of inclusion in cattle feed intake39:40 - Pollarding vs direct browsing of leucaena44:05 - Fencing and protecting trees48:30 - Tree - grass interactions and tree densities53:10 - Silvopasture and non-selective grazing rotations• RESOURCEShttps://www.rwranching.com/https://www.facebook.com/RealWealthRanchinghttps://www.instagram.com/realwealthranching/?hl=en• GET IN TOUCH www.regenerativeagroforestry.org• SUPPORT US www.gumroad.com/regenagroforestry• FOLLOW US on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.