Bracken for bedding

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
It would be wise to remember that the spores are airborne at certain times of the year. Probably also when dried, baled and spread out for [poor quality] bedding of animals.
Best thing ever for bracken and the hills and the health and welfare of every living breathing thing anywhere near it, was blanket chemical control, by aeroplane or helicopter where it was too dangerous for wheeled vehicular access.
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
It's common land. We don't own it so we cannot cultivate or improve it.
If you were to cut it earlier for a few years, and kill it off, are there others who would immediately step in to utilise the improved grass yield?
That's typically the quandary on the commons here, leading to little being done.

Gorse control is a major issue, and some gov agreements include a payment for commoners to work on the gorse.
Thinking about it, there's one common nearby where the agreement pays them to crush it-bracken- with a cage roller thing. nice quiet job for some of the oldboys.
But I note they don't like to get on it too early in case they deplete the golden egg laying goose.
 
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wr.

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Breconshire
:ROFLMAO:
That’s because it’s basically a Badly managed silage field

most people have bracken on bits of land you struggle to get a quad and weed wiper to travel on....
It's common land. We only have the rights to graze the grass and cut the bracken. It's also on the site of an Iron Age Camp which of course is protected from any cultivation.
Definitely not a badly managed silage field :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 

wr.

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Breconshire
It would be wise to remember that the spores are airborne at certain times of the year. Probably also when dried, baled and spread out for [poor quality] bedding of animals.
Best thing ever for bracken and the hills and the health and welfare of every living breathing thing anywhere near it, was blanket chemical control, by aeroplane or helicopter where it was too dangerous for wheeled vehicular access.
It's one of the best beddings you can lay your hands on. Very absorbent, high in potash and spreadable straight from the shed in the spring. Beds keep drier for longer than when using straw.
As you correctly state, "spores are airbourne at certain times of the year" but we are told that the spores have long gone by the time we cut and bale the bracken.
 

nt farm

Member
There seems to be a difference of opinion about its usefulness against its cancerous spores.

I assume that common land is owned by the crown and the commoners have the right to graze it with a set number of LU each. What is the environmental benefit to the crown/the public for the "fern" that they would not want it controlled/removed? Is it a good habitat for other species other than ticks that they want to promote. If the land was improved those with rights would be happy to increase stock levels would they not?

Where we are staying they have just dipped all the sheep for ticks, I assume that this is because of the fern. Only ask as we have not dipped our in the lowland of wilts since we have had them.
 

Y Fan Wen

Member
Location
N W Snowdonia
If you cut it when it's really green, it will weaken the plant and eventually it might only grow a few inches tall. Cut it when it's going brown and it'll keep growing.
Quite a small window for cutting bracken for control (not bedding), about a fortnight in mid July. Then again when it's about a foot tall.
 

Y Fan Wen

Member
Location
N W Snowdonia
Haha! Apart from cleaning up the matt of bracken litter and knocking back the layer of brambles that is often at the base of a bracken strand, burning doesn't doing anything for control of bracken.

Fun though 👌
If you have sprayed last year and are tempted to burn the trash the following spring, be aware that you will kill and sterilise any grass fronds and seeds that are trying to germinate underneath. You will set back greening for a couple of years. Reseeding is a no no if you are in an enviro scheme, natural regrowth only.
 
There seems to be a difference of opinion about its usefulness against its cancerous spores.

I assume that common land is owned by the crown and the commoners have the right to graze it with a set number of LU each. What is the environmental benefit to the crown/the public for the "fern" that they would not want it controlled/removed? Is it a good habitat for other species other than ticks that they want to promote. If the land was improved those with rights would be happy to increase stock levels would they not?

Where we are staying they have just dipped all the sheep for ticks, I assume that this is because of the fern. Only ask as we have not dipped our in the lowland of wilts since we have had them.
Our common has been made an SSSI and stocking rates or grazing rights reduced all on the recommendations of environmental bodies( rspb etc ). By choice I would gladly kill off all the bracken but it's a helicopter and asulox job which is very expensive and a bit hit and miss for success. Patches sprayed have sometimes stayed clear for ten years,sometimes only two. Without follow up work it can be an expensive waste of time because you can't get machinery onto the areas treated. The easier bits to get on,the graziers want left for free bedding and it gets pretty tribal! Some would rather let you have your way with their missus than give up part of their "patch". Never had a problem with ticks until four years ago and now a big problem so we dose with crovect when the sheep go out
 

wr.

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Breconshire
There seems to be a difference of opinion about its usefulness against its cancerous spores.

I assume that common land is owned by the crown and the commoners have the right to graze it with a set number of LU each. What is the environmental benefit to the crown/the public for the "fern" that they would not want it controlled/removed? Is it a good habitat for other species other than ticks that they want to promote. If the land was improved those with rights would be happy to increase stock levels would they not?

Where we are staying they have just dipped all the sheep for ticks, I assume that this is because of the fern. Only ask as we have not dipped our in the lowland of wilts since we have had them.
In our case, the common is owned by the Brecon Beacons National Park. They bought it from Eagle Star Insurance in the late seventies for the grand sum of 96p/acre. We, the commoners were not given a chance to purchase it. The Nat Park looked into spraying the bracken but decided against that for various reasons. They do cut some of the gorse from time to time though. We've asked them to leave certain patches of gorse for the yellowhammers, of which we have quite a number. The Nat Park are more than happy that we cut and bale the bracken.
Crug.PNG

Although other farms have rights to our common, we have been the only active graziers for over twenty years.
I guess we are very lucky that we've never had a problem with ticks. I know that some commons have a bad problem with them. Some to the extent that commoners cease to use their grazing rights. I know the common you were on, very well but I was not aware that they had a tick problem.
This aerial view of our common shows the iron age remains on the summit.
 

nt farm

Member
The common we walked on had several skylarks, a few swallows and a couple of red kite about but I didn't see any yellowhammer's.

When walking about unlike your common there seemed to be at least 6 mark's on the different ewes. What did surprise us was the Heinz variety of breed from what look like herdwicks to mules. But what was common about them all was the great condition they all seemed to be in. Is that normal or just due to the good flush of grass we have had since mid August.
 

exmoor dave

Member
Location
exmoor, uk
If you have sprayed last year and are tempted to burn the trash the following spring, be aware that you will kill and sterilise any grass fronds and seeds that are trying to germinate underneath. You will set back greening for a couple of years. Reseeding is a no no if you are in an enviro scheme, natural regrowth only.


Since changing to glyphosate and spraying abit earlier, the litter isn't anywhere near as bad, as the bracken is greener when sprayed and dies quite quickly, shrivelling away to nothing really
 

puppet

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
sw scotland
If you keep grazing the same area then your animals are probably immune to tick diseases which is why we have hefted flocks. Introduce some new ones and there may be problems as there was on restocking the hills after F&M
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
There seems to be a difference of opinion about its usefulness against its cancerous spores.

I assume that common land is owned by the crown and the commoners have the right to graze it with a set number of LU each. What is the environmental benefit to the crown/the public for the "fern" that they would not want it controlled/removed? Is it a good habitat for other species other than ticks that they want to promote. If the land was improved those with rights would be happy to increase stock levels would they not?

Where we are staying they have just dipped all the sheep for ticks, I assume that this is because of the fern. Only ask as we have not dipped our in the lowland of wilts since we have had them.

Commons are owned by a wide variety of owners, not usually the Crown.

Often it'd be attached to the parochial manor, with grazing rights upon it registered to adjoining farms - perversely, sometimes the tenants of the 'estate'.
It's had very little sale value traditionally, as the commoners rights are enshrined in law...but
...increasingly, when it changes hands, 'rewilder' interests are trying to buy. BEWARE!

They cannot extinguish rights to graze, but they can be a pain in the erse.



The Natural England boffs (delete and apply local gov agency) don't like wall to wall bracken, as it's near to a monoculture flora wise.
Most are happy to see it knocked back some.

don't think there's a problem with the spores when it's cut late enough for bedding
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
If you keep grazing the same area then your animals are probably immune to tick diseases which is why we have hefted flocks. Introduce some new ones and there may be problems as there was on restocking the hills after F&M
redwater in cattle is a bog problem locally.
If you bring adult cattle onto the hill from afar....look out!
(and it does seem to have a localised element. we've seen it in bought in bulls from just 7-8 miles away!)

currently think we're seeing loupin ill going through the blackies again -7-8 years mebbe after it went through last.
One group lost 80% of the replacement ewe lambs over last winter.
 

puppet

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
sw scotland
redwater in cattle is a bog problem locally.
If you bring adult cattle onto the hill from afar....look out!
(and it does seem to have a localised element. we've seen it in bought in bulls from just 7-8 miles away!)

currently think we're seeing loupin ill going through the blackies again -7-8 years mebbe after it went through last.
One group lost 80% of the replacement ewe lambs over last winter.
:oops: that must sicken you.
 

nt farm

Member
What you suggest is that local stock pick up a level of immunity to red water?

We have a similar problem down on the mendips where Cu is a problem for brought on stock.
 

exmoor dave

Member
Location
exmoor, uk
What you suggest is that local stock pick up a level of immunity to red water?

We have a similar problem down on the mendips where Cu is a problem for brought on stock.


Yes, if cattle are exposed to redwater as youngsters, they usually aquire immunity with out much drama.

But bought in stock, especially pregnant cows, can be a disaster with abortions and deaths
 

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