Which County Grows the Best Ragwort?

[Montexy]

With the council's giving up on ragwort control and the occasional lazy landowner just not bothering, what will the countryside look like in five years?

 

[Skintagain]

Went through Derbyshire other day and was astonished. Not much around us this time

 

[Y Fan Wen]

Because grazing with sheep in Spring gets rid of it as they eat the rosettes.
However although it is suggested that it does sheep little of no harm I would be careful about letting them graze areas where there is now mostly Ragwort as the poison is cumulative and will I believe lead to long term organ damage. It would be useful to see research into this.

Thing is, if you graze every year the sheep are only taking growing points of seedlings. There is never a chance for rosettes to develop. So there is never the amount of ragwort to affect health. It is obvious that they selectively graze the growing points as I know that a dozen yearlings on 30 acres kept it totally free. The previous year that 30 acres produced 50 small bales of ragwort.

 

[theboytheboy]

Never really a problem on our place untill we sold land and the buyers put some of it into environmental schemes.

My old man spent several days pulling it this year. Mostly from boundaries and the stewardship plots. At least the land manager of the stewardship areas was greatfull

 

[Cowmansam]

Never really a problem on our place untill we sold land and the buyers put some of it into environmental schemes.

My old man spent several days pulling it this year. Mostly from boundaries and the stewardship plots. At least the land manager of the stewardship areas was greatfull

Makes you wonder what management he’s been doing

 

[steveR]

Makes you wonder what management he’s been doing

 

[Anymulewilldo]

If I was given enough convicts, with enough gloves and enough bags, I could clear the UK of ragwort in two successive seasons.

But the convicts together with Cwis Packham would need to be chained in pairs to minimize escapees.

I wouldn’t give them gloves… got too think of the economic implications here…

 

[hoggs]

A34 Newbury to Winchester is the most I have ever seen

Hides some of the litter I suppose