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Are You Doing Silvopasture?

If you are already experimenting with silvopasture, I would love to see it. Send me a few pictures of your pastures and tell me something you have learned. I will feature some of your setups in future issues of this series.

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Protect your pet

Today we are diving into one of the most important parts of silvopasture. The trees. You cannot build a good silvopasture system without knowing which trees help your land and animals and which ones hold you back.

A big part of silvopasture is not planting new trees. It is managing what you already have. And most wooded areas are a mix of useful trees, junk trees, shade hogs, and a few that are downright dangerous to livestock.

So let’s break it down.

The Best Trees for Silvopasture

These trees provide shade, drop quality forage, build soil, and let sunlight through just enough to grow grass underneath.

1. Oaks

One of the best silvopasture species you can have.
Strong shade, deep roots, and acorns provide seasonal feed for pigs and some cattle.
Just watch out for overconsumption during heavy mast years.

2. Honey Locust (thornless varieties)

Drops high sugar pods animals love.
Lets in good filtered light.
Grows fast and improves soil.
Make sure you use thornless varieties if planting.

3. Pecan and Other Nut Trees

Provide shade, small forage reward, and long-term value.
Great option if you want multipurpose trees.

4. Elm, Hackberry, and Native Softwoods

Not glamorous, but solid worker trees.
They support shade, regrow well, and respond nicely to thinning.

5. Pine (in moderation)

Too many pines block sunlight, but a mixed stand works well.
Animals love bedding under them during heat or rain.

Trees You Should Thin or Remove

These are either nonproductive, too dense, or they choke out everything around them.

1. Sweetgum

Fast growing, crowds everything out, and gives nothing in return.
Animals rarely eat anything it drops.

2. Dense Cedar or Juniper

Great in small numbers, but too many make grass disappear.
Remove strategically to let sunlight reach the ground.

3. Invasive Chinese Tallow

Spreads fast, low value, and terrible for silvopasture.
If you have it, get ahead of it now.

4. Blackjack or Post Oak Thickets

Not bad trees individually, but when packed together, they block all light.
Selective thinning turns them into some of your best shade and silvopasture trees.

Trees That Are Toxic to Livestock

Never graze animals around these unless managed extremely carefully.

Red Maple

Wilted leaves can be deadly for cattle and horses.

Cherry Trees

Wilted leaves produce toxins under stress.

Yew

Highly toxic to almost all livestock.

Oleander

A landscaping plant, not a pasture plant. Very deadly.

If you have any of these in your grazing lanes, remove or fence them off.

How to Thin Your Wooded Areas the Right Way

The biggest mistake people make is clearing too much too fast.

Keep this simple rule in mind.
You want sunlight that moves across the ground, not sunlight that blasts a bare patch all day long.

Aim for:

• open lanes

• small pockets of sunlight

• wide spacing between large trees

• preserved shade in every section

You are designing a forest that breathes. Not a clear-cut.

Fun Fact

Cattle gain weight faster in shaded systems. Research shows shade can increase grazing time by more than two hours a day during summer.

Closing Thoughts

Silvopasture starts with knowing your trees. Before animals ever enter the picture, the land needs to breathe. Good trees give you shade, forage, and long-term value. Junk trees steal sunlight and space. Removing the right ones is the first real step in turning woods into productive pasture.

Bonus: Why I Write This Newsletter

I started Start My Homestead because I wanted to share the real story of homesteading, the wins, the mistakes, and the learning. I am 20 years old and want to inspire more people my age and older to raise animals, build skills, and reconnect with their roots. My goal is to create a community of people who support and encourage each other through every season of homesteading.

– Tim Parker
Start My Homestead