I'm a beginner...

[HDRider]

I assume the title should be big winner.

 

[AllForage]

You are not the only one who has the neighbors gossiping

 

[fenceman]

I guess your neighbor was mad about the Crabgrass. I received similar response on planting Crabgrass. I wish you luck with it. My Crabgrass is up, but honestly it's looking kinda pitiful.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

When we started, everyone talked about us "Californians" who will quickly fail and leave the land. I had so many people try to tell us we were doing it wrong, and we should just run stockers on our land instead of breeding cows. That was in 2007.
Today, we are pushing over 40 head of cattle on 45 acres, of which about 38 of it is grazed. People stopped talking about us, and now come to see what I am doing so they can learn. I had the extension specialist out here a few weeks ago, and he saw our land when we moved out here and had not visited my pastures since, and he was even impressed.
Give yourself time to prove you know what you are doing. The evidence will show itself, and those who want to learn will start coming to you to see what you can help them with to improve their land.

 

[wacocowboy]

I was planting hay one day and a guy told me I was wasting my time and money. I got the last laugh he had to drive by my hay field every day to get to his cows and my hay sure did shoot up nice and tall.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I raise grass to feed a bovine the only it gets cut is to make a bale of hay.
Every time you crank a tractor it robs profits. I have a Rhino and a Sidewinder neither
has been on a tractor since I quit maintaining the deer lease years ago.
If I want a pasture cut I do it with a cow.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I raise grass to feed a bovine the only it gets cut is to make a bale of hay.
Every time you crank a tractor it robs profits. I have a Rhino and a Sidewinder neither
has been on a tractor since I quit maintaining the deer lease years ago.
If I want a pasture cut I do it with a cow.

yep...don't disagree with you...and generally I don't cut pastures either...but I spread dairy manure (yes from my neighbor) and 90% of what I had growing in this pasture was 2 foot tall buttercups...which cattle don't eat. So actually I was not cutting anything of value. When I get this pasture in shape...I won't cut it either.

You haven't accomplished anything by cutting they will be back except burning diesel.
Spray with 2-4-D or Remedy problem solved.
What I can't wrap my head around is why you fight yourself.
You get junk fertilizer then spend hours fighting weeds buying chemicals and more diesel
and you will do the same thing next year.
Instead of putting down a good commercial fertilize and rid your weeds with a herbicide that is legume friendly. In a few years instead of fighting weeds and butt time on a tractor you are growing forage for a bovine
as your grass stand is so thick the weeds are choked out. The few that do come up are easily handled by spot
spraying.

 

[Caustic Burno]

You can pick one of these pretty cheap
http://www.cropcareequipment.com/lawn_s ... rayers.php

Versus spending thousands on the 3pt sprayer that goes on the tractor.


I use the ATV sprayer almost exclusive now, just too easy to whip in and spot spray
a area.

 

[Lazy M]

I raise grass to feed a bovine the only it gets cut is to make a bale of hay.
Every time you crank a tractor it robs profits. I have a Rhino and a Sidewinder neither
has been on a tractor since I quit maintaining the deer lease years ago.
If I want a pasture cut I do it with a cow.

Maybe it's just where I live but the problem is whenever the cattle graze the grass and skip the weeds the weeds take over. I address this by bushhogging a couple times/summer. I guess you could spray every year but I don't think that that would be cost or time effective as compared to bushogging.

 

[skyhightree1]

I raise grass to feed a bovine the only it gets cut is to make a bale of hay.
Every time you crank a tractor it robs profits. I have a Rhino and a Sidewinder neither
has been on a tractor since I quit maintaining the deer lease years ago.
If I want a pasture cut I do it with a cow.

Maybe it's just where I live but the problem is whenever the cattle graze the grass and skip the weeds the weeds take over. I address this by bushhogging a couple times/summer. I guess you could spray every year but I don't think that that would be cost or time effective as compared to bushogging.

I sprayed twice a year for a couple years like clock work till my grass got thick enough to choke out unwanted things at the cost of killing my clovers I plant each year. This is my 2nd year I have not coverage sprayed my pastures. My cattle eat weeds but what they do not eat its really easy for me to take the sprayer on the 4 wheeler and ride around and spot spray so that I do not kill all my clover. Most of the time all they haven't eaten is mares tail and thistles

 

[Caustic Burno]

I raise grass to feed a bovine the only it gets cut is to make a bale of hay.
Every time you crank a tractor it robs profits. I have a Rhino and a Sidewinder neither
has been on a tractor since I quit maintaining the deer lease years ago.
If I want a pasture cut I do it with a cow.

Maybe it's just where I live but the problem is whenever the cattle graze the grass and skip the weeds the weeds take over. I address this by bushhogging a couple times/summer. I guess you could spray every year but I don't think that that would be cost or time effective as compared to bushogging.

How can covering 40 foot a pass not be more efficient than bush hogging
Per Overton TAMU forage center for every pound of weeds growing is displacing five pounds
of grass.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Sky if you spray with 2-4-D after your clover has gone to seed it wont hurt you.
Stay away from Grazon as it doesn't know a good seed from a bad seed.
You have to remember DOW is not in the weed killing business they are in
selling herbicide and seed business.
I quit using grazon years ago in my pastures clover and rye grass come back every year.
Grazon is a great product for fence rows IMO.

 

[gus2121]

CB, would the 2-4 D kill horse nettle? That is only reason I have been using grazon and have just about got them gone.

 

[skyhightree1]

Sky if you spray with 2-4-D after your clover has gone to seed it wont hurt you.
Stay away from Grazon as it doesn't know a good seed from a bad seed.
You have to remember DOW is not in the weed killing business they are in
selling herbicide and seed business.
I quit using grazon years ago in my pastures clover and rye grass come back every year.
Grazon is a great product for fence rows IMO.

I was using forefront r&p then switched to 24-d but I am pretty happy with spot spraying now seems weeds are under control. Thanks for the tip of when to spray 2-4-d forefront r&p and grazon are alike

 

[Caustic Burno]

CB, would the 2-4 D kill horse nettle? That is only reason I have been using grazon and have just about got them gone.

Yes

 

[skyhightree1]

CB, would the 2-4 D kill horse nettle? That is only reason I have been using grazon and have just about got them gone.

It doesn't kill mine which is why I used the forefront - Grazon will kill it and 24d and dicambia should

 

[Caustic Burno]

CB, would the 2-4 D kill horse nettle? That is only reason I have been using grazon and have just about got them gone.

It doesn't kill mine which is why I used the forefront - Grazon will kill it and 24d and dicambia should

All grazon is is 2-4-D with dicambia and picloram
The P&D are your clover enemy if 2-4-D doesn't work then I go to a blend
of Remedy and 2-4-D and nothing here survives that and it doesn't kill the seed bank.
Dicamba is for clover control as well as other broad leafs.

 

[bball]

You can pick one of these pretty cheap
http://www.cropcareequipment.com/lawn_s ... rayers.php

Versus spending thousands on the 3pt sprayer that goes on the tractor.


I use the ATV sprayer almost exclusive now, just too easy to whip in and spot spray
a area.

Thanks for the great link :tiphat:

 

[gus2121]

CB, would the 2-4 D kill horse nettle? That is only reason I have been using grazon and have just about got them gone.

It doesn't kill mine which is why I used the forefront - Grazon will kill it and 24d and dicambia should

All grazon is is 2-4-D with dicambia and picloram
The P&D are your clover enemy if 2-4-D doesn't work then I go to a blend
of Remedy and 2-4-D and nothing here survives that and it doesn't kill the seed bank.
Dicamba is for clover control as well as other broad leafs.

How much 2-4d and remedy do you mix? I have clover coming back in the areas I missed spraying with grazon last year. I bought hay last year with a lot of clover and rye grass in it. I unrolled every roll of hay this winter and can see the clover coming up in spots. But I can also see the goat weed (wooly croton) and horse nettle coming up. I am wanting to plant a lot of clover this fall when I plant wheat and not kill of my seed bank.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Per 100 gals 1 quart 2-4-D 1 quart Remedy and 1 quart ag surfactant.
A really good soap is as important as the chemical.