Livestock meets lawn care: MSU sheep maintaining solar facility grounds

Contact: Erin Buckley

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University is putting a new twist on solar facility maintenance—trading lawnmowers for sheep. These eco-friendly groundskeepers are munching away, keeping the grass trimmed, and it’s a potentially sustainable solution that’s as practical as it is clever, proving that sometimes the best innovations are as old as the hills.

Scientists in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, or MAFES, are leading a research experiment, studying the possibility of sheep managing the field at the solar installation, located on MSU’s main campus. As the largest on-campus solar facility in the SEC, it contains 3,420 solar panels that produce millions of kilowatts of energy annually. This renewable energy project continues as the researchers experiment with sheep to maintain the plant growth as opposed to traditional lawn care.

During this trial period, 10 sheep are grazing in the field, which can prove cumbersome for traditional lawn care maneuvering around large solar panels.

Jim Bo Hearnsberger, associate director of campus grounds for MSU Campus Services, discussed project insights.

“This low labor-intensive management strategy allows the university to cut down the manual labor required to take care of the space. Because of the solar panels, it would require much hands-on weeding and intense mowing to properly maintain the grounds,” said Hearnsberger.

The sheep, livestock in the MAFES Foundation Herds, also aid in soil management by providing natural fertilizer for the grass. Rhonda Vann, a research professor in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, discussed future project improvements.

 “This trial period has been successful and has helped us discover ways we can improve this idea to become more efficient in the long run. Extra fencing for rotational grazing is something we are considering adding. In the future, we can hopefully divide the field out where the sheep can graze in sections, which will help us better maintain the field,” said Vann.

She said moving forward the team may experiment with different grasses that the sheep may enjoy more, that would aid in parasite control, a common issue for ruminants. Vann also pointed out why sheep are the better pick for this experiment over other livestock.

“We chose sheep for this project because they’re perfect for managing grass under the panels without causing damage. Goats tend to climb on equipment or chew on wiring and cows are too large for the space. But one thing we want to add to the facility is a heat abatement strategy for the animals. Because the solar panels attract heat, including certain supplements to provide relief from the heat would be beneficial for the animals,” Vann explained.

Assisting in this trial are William White, facilities manager of the MAFES Foundation Herds, and Christy Bratcher, animal and dairy sciences professor and head.

For more on the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, visit www.mafes.msstate.edu. For more on the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, visit www.ads.msstate.edu. 

Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.