Ragwort

[Wee Willy]

Topped a newly rented field today with the disc mower. There was the odd ragwort through it. If I put 18 month beef cattle in it for the next two days will it do them any harm? Surely the ragwort will still taste crappy so they'll eat the mown grass? If they're going at two years old does it matter if they have damaged livers? Probably stupid questions but I've never dealt with ragwort before.

 

[Kidds]

Too late now but you should have grazed it first,

 

[David1968]

How many is 'odd'?

I don't think I'd risk it. The point about ragwort is, it becomes palatable after it's cut. And you know what cattle are like. How many times have you seen them with a mouthful of freshly cut thistles...

 

[Wee Willy]

Too late now but you should have grazed it first,

I did graze it. I was just topping it but as you can imagine with neglected old pasture there's quite a few clumps of old grass. Thought the cattle if closed on it would eat the mowed grass.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Dry Ragwort is deadly

 

[JSmith]

I did graze it. I was just topping it but as you can imagine with neglected old pasture there's quite a few clumps of old grass. Thought the cattle if closed on it would eat the mowed grass.

I’ve never seen anything bigger than a sheep eat ragwort, they love it when it’s green and do a good job of clearing it! I mow some grass that gets the odd bit of ragwort in it and when fed out in the winter they always leave it behind in the rack or when rolled out, stock aren’t stupid!! My experience only of course for what that’s worth

 

[egbert]

I’ve never seen anything bigger than a sheep eat ragwort, they love it when it’s green and do a good job of clearing it! I mow some grass that gets the odd bit of ragwort in it and when fed out in the winter they always leave it behind in the rack or when rolled out, stock aren’t stupid!! My experience only of course for what that’s worth

Cattle will very readily eat growing ragwort.. IME to the extent that they'll largely prevent a moderate infestation from seeding.
(Cattle including replacement heifers who survive for 10 years thereafter....)
The OP question is another matter though. If they didn't have it eaten back, and it's topped, there'll presumably be a period of some days where it's wilted but edible. and peeeps are forever saying how deadly it is then.
I try to ensure plants I've pulled are placed out of reach, but know folk who mow it with forage and carry on regardless.

(waiting for an answer, and wisdom, from Scotland, where I see masses of ragwort, with livestock all over it)

 

[David1968]

Cattle will very readily eat growing ragwort.. IME to the extent that they'll largely prevent a moderate infestation from seeding.

Never in my life have I seen cattle eat growing ragwort.

 

[Limcrazy]

The odd one mowed and eaten won't do them any harm.

 

[Optimus]

Cattle will very readily eat growing ragwort.. IME to the extent that they'll largely prevent a moderate infestation from seeding.
(Cattle including replacement heifers who survive for 10 years thereafter....)
The OP question is another matter though. If they didn't have it eaten back, and it's topped, there'll presumably be a period of some days where it's wilted but edible. and peeeps are forever saying how deadly it is then.
I try to ensure plants I've pulled are placed out of reach, but know folk who mow it with forage and carry on regardless.

(waiting for an answer, and wisdom, from Scotland, where I see masses of ragwort, with livestock all over it)

Funny you say that because it's seem to exploding around us at the moment.places I've never seen it are infested an folk don't seem to do much about it.

I cut a field at the weekend that had some in it.never had it in before must of pulled about 30 plants.

 

[yoki]

Ragwort is suppressed by nitrogen.

I'm guessing as more people cut back on artificial nitrogen there's going to be an upsurgence in the appearance of ragwort.

And then if people follow the "expert" advice on pulling it, there'll be even more!

 

[belac]

Funny you say that because it's seem to exploding around us at the moment.places I've never seen it are infested an folk don't seem to do much about it.

I cut a field at the weekend that had some in it.never had it in before must of pulled about 30 plants.

Its a bad year for ragwort, its growing where i`ve never seen it before.

 

[BAF]

And the hippies are leaving it to grow to feed cinnabar moths.

 

[belac]

They must be the cinnabar caterpillars I`ve noticed when pulling it!!.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Ragwort damages the liver over time, a small amount small damage , another small amount it goes on , 4 cattle died near here a few years back from eating ragwort in hay , they most likely eaten it before
It's up to a farmer what he feeds but personally I would not be wanting my stock exposed to any form of liver damage

 

[egbert]

Never in my life have I seen cattle eat growing ragwort.

deffo.
South Devon yearlings in amongst trees away from home eating it readily. Hasn't seemed to hurt them year on year
(to be clear, we pull it as we find it...but often they've found it first)

South Devon cows seldom allow it to seed in amongst large range of rough valley they graze here....I seek em out to pull when I find em, but odd ones survive cos they never get the big yellow flag waving for me to spot- coos eat it first. Been the same as long as I've been grazing those cows in that valley (and I'm 60), cows stay til they're roughly 10 year old.

Neither group are flush with grass in a conventional sense, but both have ample other things they could eat, but are very happy to chew the stems off.

 

[egbert]

Ragwort damages the liver over time, a small amount small damage , another small amount it goes on , 4 cattle died near here a few years back from eating ragwort in hay , they most likely eaten it before
It's up to a farmer what he feeds but personally I would not be wanting my stock exposed to any form of liver damage

We get occasional photo=sensitivity problems in Belts and Riggits (almost always an incomplete belt, on the bit of white)
It's worse after a run of wet years when fluke is an issue, and we suspect between bracken and ragwort creeping into baled crops, this combines.
It's not worth chasing , and we think it's likely a side effect from residual liver damage....but that's a guess.

It is a growing problem, which gets worse as mowers get bigger!

 

[Montexy]

I always have a empty feed bag to put them in the cab and stop & pull them, it's a pain in the backside but not worth risking leaving it. Cutting it dosent get rid of it, and at this time of year its in flower so all your doing cutting it is making it worse for next year.

 

[devonbeef]

Ragwort is suppressed by nitrogen.

I'm guessing as more people cut back on artificial nitrogen there's going to be an upsurgence in the appearance of ragwort.

And then if people follow the "expert" advice on pulling it, there'll be even more!

why would pulling it at roots make it grow more?

 

[devonbeef]

damn horse paddocks beside some of our fields, don,t seem to care , stuff will be on ours next year, countryside going to pot, fewer and fewer understand and care