Scania143h
Member
We've leased land this year for one cut off silage to feed to dairy cows. There is a fair amount off ragwort appearing in it. Does ragwort cut at this stage of growth affect dairy cows?
Help....Ragwort in silage ground
- Thread starter Scania143h
- Start date
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
I think the poison is in the leaves so obivously there's less of it than on a mature plant but I'd assume if there's enough of it then your going to get trouble...
davidroberts30
Member
- Location
- pembrokeshire
forager??
if so will be chopped and mixed up quite a bit
pull what you see now and dont worry about the rest
im assuming that you talking like 1 plant every 30 square meters not 1 plant every square meter!!
if so will be chopped and mixed up quite a bit
pull what you see now and dont worry about the rest
im assuming that you talking like 1 plant every 30 square meters not 1 plant every square meter!!
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
1 in 30 still seems high 1 in 100 would be more than enough for me like...
- Location
- East Sussex
How much land? I’d be getting a gang together for a bit of walking. Or spray and wait a while.
Scania143h
Member
There's 40 acres. Yes I'd say it's more like 1 plant in 30 square meters. Will probably be cutting in 3 to 5 weeks roughly. How long would it need to die away to not be harmful?
davidroberts30
Member
- Location
- pembrokeshire
Spray asap and you be ok for 3 weeks cutting
suffolksmallholder
Member
- Location
- Suffolk
As we do, walk around & pull it up......
SS
SS
davidroberts30
Member
- Location
- pembrokeshire
when i started for a contractor years back i went into a field to cut for silage littered with the fecking stuff
disheartened i started cutting and stopping every now and then pulling it
guy turned up about 40 mins later "what are you doing?" said crack on don't worry about it
that was for milkers, never had any issues after
Yeah, it's not a one hit kill like Forefront, but I don't remember the exact recommended regime for full control.
It will however kill all top growth in the spring with no restriction on cutting that year.
Which sounds like what the OP needs.
I reckon as soft and leafy as that, if it's hit now it'll be well away certainly by the longer end of your time scale.
Need to get it done though!
Scania143h
Member
Thanks for the replies. How does depitox compare price wise to forefront? Think forefront is around £23 per acre. Does depitox need mixing with agritox to kill Ragwort?
Cuckoo's nest
Member
A contractor told me a cow needs to eat about 5 kg before its going to kill her, its worse in Hay when it has flowered that is when its poison.
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
I've also heard in grazing situations they stupidly get a taste for it so if there's 5kgs to eat they'll eat it
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Horn&corn
Member
Talk to your vet asap. Depends if it’s the only silage you’re making or 10% of the total. Our vet (not contractor or forum member) said a cow can consume a lot before it’s an issue.
We had some bad land rented and fed it to finishing cattle as they’d be dead before it would have an affect on them
We had some bad land rented and fed it to finishing cattle as they’d be dead before it would have an affect on them
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
You cant use forefront on silage
- Location
- East Sussex
Be careful because in my experience of spraying late docks with mcpa to prevent them going to seed the grass got hit real bad. It was still there but much thinner crop when we cut it.