Ragwort

[Boveyfarmer]

Having just driven the length of the A303 I have to ask if there is an SFI code I am not aware of for the of growing Ragwort.
In the 50yrs I have traveled that road I have never seen so much on farm land

 

[robs1]

Having just driven the length of the A303 I have to ask if there is an SFI code I am not aware of for the of growing Ragwort.
In the 50yrs I have traveled that road I have never seen so much on farm land

It is certainly a very bad year for it, I've pulled a lot on our land and have cut lots of the road verges with the hedge trimmer, every road round here and everywhere I drive is infested with the stuff

 

[organicguy]

Out of control where ever you go. We are fighting a losing battle, blowing over us from every piece of disturb ground, roadsides and worst of all people with livestock who should know better.
Got caught digging some up in neighbours garden this week!

 

[robs1]

Out of control where ever you go. We are fighting a losing battle, blowing over us from every piece of disturb ground, roadsides and worst of all people with livestock who should know better.
Got caught digging some up in neighbours garden this week!

I got told of by the parish warden for cutting some verges, he left the discussion rather better educated than he started it

 

[Derrick Hughes]

It's defo bad

 

[Boysground]

Having just driven the length of the A303 I have to ask if there is an SFI code I am not aware of for the of growing Ragwort.
In the 50yrs I have traveled that road I have never seen so much on farm land

If you were driving slow enough with good eyesight you will have seen some of mine. It’s definitely a bad year for it. Wilts council seem to have their own scheme for its cultivation, there is a roundabout on the A36 which is nothing but the stuff.

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[Derrick Hughes]

There was a field of cattle good way down the m4 , you could just see their backs over a sea if Ragwort , hands up if it's yours

 

[Christopher Renner]

It is certainly a very bad year for it, I've pulled a lot on our land and have cut lots of the road verges with the hedge trimmer, every road round here and everywhere I drive is infested with the stuff

 

[Goweresque]

I think it was last summer that was the bad summer for it, as anything flowering this summer will have germinated last year, ragwort being a biennial plant. Presumably all the rain last summer created great germination conditions, and then all the rosettes sent up seed heads this year. I've got several bits of game cover that have been stuffed with it, I've filled about 3 builders bags so far.

 

[Zippy768]

If you were driving slow enough with good eyesight you will have seen some of mine. It’s definitely a bad year for it. Wilts council seem to have their own scheme for its cultivation, there is a roundabout on the A36 which is nothing but the stuff.

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Warminster roundabout?
Absolutely horrendous on there.

 

[Zippy768]

It is a very bad year for it. More about here than I have ever seen.

We have some ab15 on top of a down. Drove past it yesterday - probably a km away - and it looked worryingly yellow.
Sent dad up there today to double check.

Nice bit of clover along with the ragwort-was hoping to bag it up 1st September

 

[Boysground]

Warminster roundabout?
Absolutely horrendous on there.

That’s the one

 

[Zippy768]

That’s the one

Although not being able to see across it might slow some fuc£ers down

 

[lloyd]

Totally out of control in Herefordshire .
I can drive 30 miles north from here and there is barely
a stretch not growing any.

 

[Montexy]

Having just driven the length of the A303 I have to ask if there is an SFI code I am not aware of for the of growing Ragwort.
In the 50yrs I have traveled that road I have never seen so much on farm land

Did the same journey as you on Monday on the A303, it was a sea of yellow in some places. Glad none of my land backs on to those road verges. Get prisoners out there clearing it and reduce their sentences for doing so, kill two birds with one stone.

 

[Grandad Pig]

Really don’t understand the panic over Ragwort. There are many toxic plants about, why the panic over this one in particular?

Is ragwort poisonous? A ragwort mythbuster | Friends of the Earth

Is ragwort dangerous to animals and people? Should it be removed if you find it? Is it good for bees? Nature campaigner Paul de Zylva digs for facts among the myths.

friendsoftheearth.uk

 

[theboytheboy]

The issue is it's a bloody nightmare making hay if a field is full of ragwort. You can only pull what you can see and so inevitably miss some.

Some fields (if left unchecked) would take so long pulling the ragwort it would be pointless making hay (from a financial point of view.....time is money when your in business)

I have had to spray the whole farm this year to kill off ragwort from seeds blown in from next doors environmental buffers etc

This is the 1st time we have had to spray for nearly 10 years but it's become too much to pull this year.

This has killed nearly all the herbs and wildflowers in my grass fields.....

 

[4R Man]

The issue is it's a bloody nightmare making hay if a field is full of ragwort. You can only pull what you can see and so inevitably miss some.

Some fields (if left unchecked) would take so long pulling the ragwort it would be pointless making hay (from a financial point of view.....time is money when your in business)

I have had to spray the whole farm this year to kill off ragwort from seeds blown in from next doors environmental buffers etc

This is the 1st time we have had to spray for nearly 10 years but it's become too much to pull this year.

This has killed nearly all the herbs and wildflowers in my grass fields.....

This is the problem the environmentalists don't get - controlling the ragwort in grass kills all of the other species we want to encourage....
Is there someone who can explain which insect/ moth needs the Ragwort plant to survive?
My Grandad was actively getting rid of it his entire life, born in early 1900's, and his farm is clear of any because of that.
I have had a calf die as it found a bit of ragwort which had been topped and wilted, which it ate for some reason!!

 

[onesiedale]

these cinbar moths have really gone for it in a patch here. cleared and de-leafed an area of about 30m² which is fenced off for trees.
Was happy to leave it as a trial and also as a habitat for them to thrive in and come back to tackle more on the place

 

[Montexy]

Really don’t understand the panic over Ragwort. There are many toxic plants about, why the panic over this one in particular?

Is ragwort poisonous? A ragwort mythbuster | Friends of the Earth

Is ragwort dangerous to animals and people? Should it be removed if you find it? Is it good for bees? Nature campaigner Paul de Zylva digs for facts among the myths.

friendsoftheearth.uk

Because its invasive and also limits what you can do with the field.