Recommneded read: from Acres USA Article by Chuck Schembre is a consultant with UnderstandingMay 1, 2025 in Crop protection, May 2025

Follow link to full article on Acres USA
https://members.acresusa.com/whole-systems-orcharding/

Below is small pieice's from article about which hopefully want to read more: 

Livestock Integration — The Disease and Pest Management Squad

One of the most powerful arguments for regenerative agriculture is thus the potential to greatly reduce or eliminate toxic pesticide applications. 

Integrating livestock is one of the soil health principles that scares many orchardists. Alternatively, it’s even an excuse: “I can’t do soil health because I can’t have animals.” But when a farm commits to the integration of animals, a whole other superpower gets unlocked. Livestock are of course a very powerful tool for enhancing nutrient cycling, but I believe their greatest impact in orchards is in reducing diseases and pests. 

How does this work? First, when managed regeneratively, in particular with adaptive grazing principles, the plant diversity on the land increases. This promotes greater diversity of beneficial insects and birds — i.e., more good insects and less pest pressure. 

The manure, urine and biology from the saliva of animals enhances decomposition in the field. The organisms in their feces and fluids also play a role in enhancing the overall biology, increasing pathogen regulation. Sheep, for example, will increase the decomposition of leaf mulch and reduce the potential of high inoculant loading. They will also eat fallen nuts or fruit, including those that contain overwintering larvae such as coddling moth or naval orange worm. 

Chickens, especially layers, are masters at finding larvae in the soil and from fallen fruit or “mummy” nuts. Chickens are a very powerful tool for controlling moth species, or any insect that lays their eggs and larvae in the soil and leaf litter. They also provide a great source of nutrients from their manure. If you have lots of leaf litter around the tree, the chickens will spend more time around the tree, scratching and scavenging for insects and worms. I have experienced a huge reduction of coddling moth in apples with the introduction of chickens. 

Plant diversity brings in more beneficial insects, helping control pests.
Source: FiBL 2018

 But a whole-systems approach truly is required to achieve regenerative disease and pest control. 

Regenerative orcharding requires more thinking and observation. Over the years, though, more time should open up in your day, and farm economics should improve. It’s just a smarter way to farm. 

Chuck Schembre is a consultant with Understanding Ag.