By Allen Hamrick
If you have been in the town of Clay and lived here most of your natural life, you should have noticed the Kudzu plant. It is the plant that has waged war on the town of Clay for over one hundred years. It was brought in prior to the year 1900 to serve as a forage crop for the livestock of that period. The root system was also great for erosion control as it spreads quickly and roots deeply. Farmers and ranchers stopped using it because it spreads very rapidly and is difficult to control. Kudzu can be seen all through the town of Clay taking over hillsides and homes, and if not stopped, it will most definitely turn the town of Clay into a tomb. The plant is often called the vine that ate the south.
Kudzu was first introduced in the United States in 1876 in Philadelphia. Because the climate is different in America, the warm moist temperatures caused it to flourish and grow nearly a foot a day. It caused widespread panic by taking over everything in its path. The weight of the plant uprooted trees and covered houses, especially abandoned ones. The worst part is if it gets completely out of control, it could upset the ecosystem of the area it encompasses. Kudzu is exceedingly difficult to dispose of and takes years to get rid of completely. However, there are some methods that can be used to help control its growth.
In recent weeks, a collaboration between the WVU-Clay County Extension Office, the Town of Clay, and the Clay County Health Department has started a war of their own against the plant. The walking trail across from the Health Department has been overtaken by the plant so a project using sheep to help control growth has been started. A fenced area using an 8000-volt portable fence from Primer One has been used to keep the sheep in the section until they have exhausted the Kudzu. This trial run is mainly to see if the sheep can safely get the job done in a town environment. Sheep are a flight risk and very skittish when people are around, so if you can’t help yourself and you must watch them, watch them from a distance, and let them get their job done. Also, the fence is electric so do not get too close. The Extension office thanks you ahead of time for treating the sheep kindly, and they encourage you to watch; just approach the sheep with slow movements. The sheep have been on the job for about a week now and have done a great job. They have suffered no casualties or incidents.
In the future, the WVU-Clay Extension Office would like to make this more of an advanced research project. The information gained from these kinds of projects will aid in future projects of like issues. Once the sheep are finished in this area, they will be moved to the riverbank behind the Health Department. When they are finished there, they will once again be moved to a new area to graze. The sheep are a wonderful opportunity to rid Clay of this plant, but it will take time. One grazing will not be enough to get rid of the plant as it will return repeatedly, but using the sheep in a seasonal approach over the years can make the plant weak until it is too weak to return. There are limitations, too. The sheep can only reach so high, so it is possible that equipment will have to be brought in to get the higher plants.
This project is a good example of the dedication of the WVU-Clay Extension Office always considering the best for the county of Clay. This plant is trying to swallow Clay one building at a time, and the WVU-Clay Extension folks have our backs. Thanks to Michael Shamblin, Extension Agent, for the information included in this article and for getting things done.
