Ragwort vs mouldy s feed as source of stock losses

[Bury the Trash]

Its utter rubbish. The toxins in ragwort are flushed out in the urine, its the process of removing them from the body that damages the liver. There is no 'build up of toxins' in the liver of an animal thats eaten ragwort, just a cumulative deterioration of the liver until it reaches a point when it doesn't function any more. Rather like liver disease in alcoholics - they don't have a 'build up of alcohol' in their livers, they just have damage caused by years of their liver having to process lots of alcohol.

That being said I could well imagine that a ragwort damaged liver wouldn't be good to eat, but that wouldn't be because it was full of 'toxins'.

Liver Damage can be there also from Fasciolosis and even bad Acidosis all can add to cumulative effects.

 

[ollie989898]

I get one heifer every other year get photosensitivity and we have no ragwort at all it’s either lords and ladies which we do get the odd one up hedge bottoms or St. John’s wort which we have the odd bit

St Johns wort is pretty poisonous to stock IIRC.

 

[ollie989898]

I know a bag of dead ragwort after being pulled left in a sack by accident just outside a field boundary killed two calf's stone dead that evening.

I was told it is far more palatable to stock after it has been cut or picked- as the tissue dies off, wilts or dries it must smell a bit nicer? Of course cattle of all ages are often very curious and will eat near anything.

 

[Bury the Trash]

I was on some disused land playing about in a boat last night around 40 acre no idea who owns it used to be a skip yard was hundreds off them around all on these plants not sure what they are not seen them before but the bugs seems to like them View attachment 976994View attachment 976994

Youve gone and started a trend @Cowmansam

 

[delilah]

There is a 500 acre block of hls grass that someone making into hay around here , it’s full of the stuff and the send the lot to wales for feed.

That's the thing with all of these payments to take good land out of production; they produce no 'public good' whatsoever. Soon as someone realizes that its role in life is to be cropped it has to be pulverized to death and most likely given a good dose of chemicals to get it back in good order.
Thank goodness the NFU are explaining all of this to Defra before the SFI gets beyond the pilot stage.

 

[Goweresque]

Liver Damage can be there also from Fasciolosis and even bad Acidosis all can add to cumulative effects.

Exactly, and thats why I wonder if ragwort can be the straw that broke the camel's back, rather than the real cause of death. If stock have undiagnosed liver damage and then they eat some ragwort it could push them into liver failure and death. A PM would show massive liver damage 'Oh they died from ragwort poisoning!' But in reality the vast majority of the damage was already there from other causes which no-one ever knew about. Hence why I wonder if ragwort is actually as toxic as is made out.

 

[glasshouse]

There’s a traveller who keeps 3 Shetland’s in about 3 acres off ragwort near my dads things been in the ten years never looked bad at all can’t weigh it up cos I’ve seen them eating it there’s not a scrap else for them

They are scottish ponies, can live off nothing

 

[glasshouse]

I was ticked off for roguing marsh ragwort barehanded. I know it isn't as poisonous as the great, tall ragwort, but here was a glut of it in those little fields, so had to be tackled before cutting for hay.

I know a man who got very ill after pulling ragwort barehanded
Took years to find out the cause

 

[crofteress]

I pulled ragwort for 25 years, then my wee pals appeared a few years ago, just a few to start with, so every time I found a bit of ragwort covered in them I left it to them for their dinner. Now I have every plant that appears eaten before it flowers. Cinnibar caterpillars. Ive 7 fields of about 5 acres each all spread out and they eat them all and now have spread to my neighbours ground. They devour it right to the ground

 

[Cowmansam]

They are scottish ponies, can live off nothing

Aye they certainly do

 

[glasshouse]

I pulled ragwort for 25 years, then my wee pals appeared a few years ago, just a few to start with, so every time I found a bit of ragwort covered in them I left it to them for their dinner. Now I have every plant that appears eaten before it flowers. Cinnibar caterpillars. Ive 7 fields of about 5 acres each all spread out and they eat them all and now have spread to my neighbours ground. They devour it right to the ground

Pics?

 

[steveR]

I know a man who got very ill after pulling ragwort barehanded
Took years to find out the cause

Mate cannot go near the stuff, comes out in a rash, and as for pulling it and getting any on his skin... bad news.

 

[steveR]

I pulled ragwort for 25 years, then my wee pals appeared a few years ago, just a few to start with, so every time I found a bit of ragwort covered in them I left it to them for their dinner. Now I have every plant that appears eaten before it flowers. Cinnibar caterpillars. Ive 7 fields of about 5 acres each all spread out and they eat them all and now have spread to my neighbours ground. They devour it right to the ground

Must be hungry buggers up there...

 

[michael N123]

Over stock your farms with sheep problem solved no ragwort here

 

[Dry Rot]

I read somewhere that ragwort is habit forming if eaten, so a drug (oxalates?)..

Only obliged to control it under SFP/BPS or by law if neighbouring horse owners complain as far as I am aware. So when DEFRA stated that I had ragwort (maybe a dozen plants) when point scoring over ditch cleaning, I was able to tell her majesty where to go as I can legally grow it as a crop is I so wish (which I don't!). Hardly any here now, after 38 years of control, but it is bloody difficult to get rid of.

 

[PuG]

I was told it is far more palatable to stock after it has been cut or picked- as the tissue dies off, wilts or dries it must smell a bit nicer? Of course cattle of all ages are often very curious and will eat near anything.

Yes, I think when its been pulled or cut and wilted that's when they can't tell its poisonous and presumably the toxins have been distilled down, if it dies naturally in the field standing it never seemed to be a problem for the cows - and we even use to have cows grazing the flowers of happily but never touch the stork. Admittedly its a luxury coming to this part of France as it's not a problem! the amount of hours spent out of the cab pulling...

 

[glasshouse]

Yes, I think when its been pulled or cut and wilted that's when they can't tell its poisonous and presumably the toxins have been distilled down, if it dies naturally in the field standing it never seemed to be a problem for the cows - and we even use to have cows grazing the flowers of happily but never touch the stork. Admittedly its a luxury coming to this part of France as it's not a problem! the amount of hours spent out of the cab pulling...

I found a ragwort stalk in the horses haynet in the morning.
She had carefulyeaten all the hay and left it alone

 

[Buggerallbandwidth]

Zero tolerance on ragwort here, but I do now wonder after seeing my neighbour (a recent arrival and a "new" farmer) top all his pastures where there was a good amount of flowering ragwort. Left all the bullocks in there. They are still alive and kicking a month later . At least he had the courtesy to top them which stopped them seeding into our fields.
I have also noticed if I miss a few and the flowers emerge they are often nibbled off. I thought that might be deer ? They are immune to yew and acorns.

 

[Montexy]

I have a scrappy bit of ground next door to me - and they must have 500 plants to the acre on about five acres, if the previous owners had listened to me years ago when I pointed out the problem they could have spent not even a couple of hours on it each month in June, and July and had a clear bit of ground. Thankfully it now has new owners who have started pulling it but not enough and I fear - too late to do much good. The PIA this year is that its really started spreading through the hedge into one of my fields - knocked it back with roundup but it will mean more time on it next year with the seed burden increasing this.

 

[steveR]

I have a scrappy bit of ground next door to me - and they must have 500 plants to the acre on about five acres, if the previous owners had listened to me years ago when I pointed out the problem they could have spent not even a couple of hours on it each month in June, and July and had a clear bit of ground. Thankfully it now has new owners who have started pulling it but not enough and I fear - too late to do much good. The PIA this year is that its really started spreading through the hedge into one of my fields - knocked it back with roundup but it will mean more time on it next year with the seed burden increasing this.

You need to persuade your neighbour to spray, twice. Once next Spring, then again in the Autumn when the rosettes are visible...

After a Summer of pulling, they may well find this appealing.

2,4D is the usual go to herbicide but there are other options.