Strategies for controlling docks.

Things are going well. Organic matter levels around the farm are now above 10% and improving due to spreading our composted Seperated dung and good use of our “pokey” dirty water. We have managed to reduce our nitrogen usage too.
however docks under this system are becoming a real problem and only to getting worse as we spread more compost.
would love to hear about people’s successful control programs.
thanks in advance.
 

Farmer Keith

Member
Location
North Cumbria
You’ve got to keep the seeds out of your slurry/muck system which means not harvesting them In the first place, always spray as much as possible at one go, never a fan of doing a percentage of the farm as you just reinfect it the following year.

once they’ve got away it’s a real challenge, I’ve seen me hand rogueing ground left for hay but even 10 acres is a mammoth task…
 

pappuller

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
M6 Hard shoulder
Things are going well. Organic matter levels around the farm are now above 10% and improving due to spreading our composted Seperated dung and good use of our “pokey” dirty water. We have managed to reduce our nitrogen usage too.
however docks under this system are becoming a real problem and only to getting worse as we spread more compost.
would love to hear about people’s successful control programs.
thanks in advance.
unless your prepared to dig them out, either cut/graze 8efore they seed or put a spraying programme in place, we find spraying later in the season is more eneficial, which spray you use is open to de8ate, im more a little and often chap
 

sidjon

Member
Location
EXMOOR
We mostly have dock blindness, will top a paddock after cow's have grazed if bad, but some year's are worst than others, anything that gets too bad is ploughed and reseeded back to grass after a summer crop of Rape. Not use artificial fert on grazing platform since 2006 all dirty water behind cow's
 

mr grumpy

Member
Location
East Devon
A mixed grazing plan, reduced nitrogen, a close sward.

Don't see many docks on a sheep/beef farm but most dairy farms are just pickled in them.

If that don't work just get dock blindness and describe them as a large leafy plant with good fiber levels which is drought tolerant and brings up minerals from deep soil.

It all depends on what level you find acceptable in your ley. Kill a dock and you kill everything else as well but rye grass
Sprayed plenty of times before with mixed results.
 

frederick

Member
Location
south west
We mostly have dock blindness, will top a paddock after cow's have grazed if bad, but some year's are worst than others, anything that gets too bad is ploughed and reseeded back to grass after a summer crop of Rape. Not use artificial fert on grazing platform since 2006 all dirty water behind cow's
What has that done to your p indexes.
 

sidjon

Member
Location
EXMOOR
A mixed grazing plan, reduced nitrogen, a close sward.

Don't see many docks on a sheep/beef farm but most dairy farms are just pickled in them.

would agree with that up to a point, we farm in the middle of beef and sheep country and only one other neighbour would have docks and they have sheep and spread chicken muck, where the rest would be covered in rushs ,ferns and fruze, guess I know which i prefer 😉
 

early riser

Member
Location
Up North
Main reason for increase in docks in recent years is that everyone seems to have dug massive earth bank lagoons…………. the sides of which are growing nothing but docks :rolleyes::X3:

one of the main reasons I opted for a concrete store.

Cleanliness of contractor machines is another area to look at. We used to have virtually zero docks, I’m sure the docks we now have arrived on contractors mower.

Now that we have a few on farm I will hand rogue every field before 2nd/3rd cut to make sure no seeds end up in slurry pit.
 

pappuller

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
M6 Hard shoulder
Spot or field spraying? What about clover ?
What are you using?
Generally field spray, do all field perimeters with quad sprayer in the late spring, we have our own cheap sprayer, used lupo/calgone at full rate on 50 acres of silage ground before a late 2nd cut. Docks 4 weeks growth were perfect.
We don't use clover in our swards.
 

bigw

Member
Location
Scotland
We spray to tidy up fields then scratch clover back in. Ploughing and reseeding usually results in a mass of dochans here, probably need to look more closely at DD for grass in the future.
 

frederick

Member
Location
south west
Not a lot, they have been 3s and some 4 for donkey years as grandparents had outdoor pigs here, keep PH levels up and thick muck gone to other farm on silage ground or on the 30 acre of winter oats and summer crops.
May I suggest that you now get creative with your soul sampling.
The ea current view enforcing farming framework rules for water is that it would now only be acceptable to apply artificial N to your grazing block due to rb209 stating grazing fields 3 or more have no need for p.
I keep mentioning it everywhere because we have to keep challenging eas ridiculous plans.
 

sidjon

Member
Location
EXMOOR
May I suggest that you now get creative with your soul sampling.
The ea current view enforcing farming framework rules for water is that it would now only be acceptable to apply artificial N to your grazing block due to rb209 stating grazing fields 3 or more have no need for p.
I keep mentioning it everywhere because we have to keep challenging eas ridiculous plans.

Will take it from the organic land we purchased, that's all zero for P and K 😬🙈
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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