Ragwort

Problem is though there wasn't a chance around here to spray last spring so things have deteriorated. Hopefully next spring will be better

Same as that, you just have to keep on top of it all the time. On one piece of land away from the main block I’m joining another farmer on 3 sides and at this time of year his place is a sea of yellow. You can just about see the backs of his 180 dairy cows when they are standing up grazing in it.

I’ve drystock in my land and every day when I’m there herding I’d be looking around and pulling out anything I see. I assume a lot of the seeds would be travelling in the wind at this time of year so it is very annoying to be surrounded by it.

A bit of an amateurs question here but would topping ragwort do more harm than good?

Also the same question for thistles will topping it help?

We pulled a 6 acre field over the last 10 days. It was supposed to be sprayed in the spring. Did half an hour a day. At least you can see some progress for what you're at

Cutting it is dangerous as if not removed it becomes palatable and they will eat it

Thanks on the ragwort advice, what about thistles, for some reason one of the fields this year has become overrun with them?

I will be spraying them in Spring of next year, so any point in topping them now in the backend?

Topping is ok for thistles, infact when the cut thistle wilts the cattle will eat them up.

Topping ragwort is not a great idea. You'd get away with it earlier in the year but when it is at the yellow flower stage its more toxic to cattle (not that they would eat them if there's plenty grass). The main problem with topping ragwort at this time of year and especially in a wet spell is the cuttings will make roots so you end up with 2 plants where there was just one

Ragwort is biennial. It flowers, seeds and dies in the second year. You might not even casually notice it in its first year as it doesn't grow any sort of a tall stem at all. Cutting it can turn it into a short lived perennial. Up to 5 years.

ok to spray it at this time of year?

No. You either spray in spring at the rosette stage or in September/October. No frost to be forecast as it hampers kill. Spring this year didn't lend itself well to spraying

If you leave it alone to flower and seed it will die after the second season. Cutting it interrupts that normal cycle and can cause it to come back again though.

I mean you'll see it in the same spots for years. But that is likely due to other seeds. When it dies after seeding, it creates space to allow it's seeds to grow (the ones that fall close by)

Parents were visiting relatives down the country this last couple of days. My uncle was telling my dad of 2 local farmer brothers who started to feel unwell. Tired and no energy. They went to the doctor. He examined them and then looked at their hands. They were yellow. He asked them had they been pulling ragwort. They said yes the place is full of them. Their hands were all cracks and the poison had affected their livers. He told them they'd be lucky to survive. Wear gloves...

Brilliant job lad

Nice field with the stand of trees. Nice job on the ragwort

Thanks - great shelter whether it's hot sun or wet weather for the animals. Noticed several oak seedlings all over the place this year -

Had ragworth on a piece of land and noticed these black and red butterflies on them, looked them up and they are in fact a moth called Cinnabar that not only lives off rev worth but destroys it, left well alone and the caterpillars ate them right down to the ground, cleared all of them!

Quick google will show you these and the black and yellow caterpillars, I read that they have been introduced to clear ragworth. I’ve two ragworth this year and am leaving them to see if the moths return again.

That’s a pity.

Yeah, that makes sense, must have been a one off when they completely removed mine.

Isn't there millions of ragwort seeds in the ground anyway. And it will always appear if your own fields are overgrazed and the soil is compacted. Regardless of what the ragworth situation is in neighbours fields...?

Don't know about having that kind of outlook...

Similar to ragwort when a thistle goes to seed it produces thousands of seeds - but can you imagine how many millions/billions of thistle seeds would be in an acre of ground already anyway.

Is it a waste of time even considering the effect of neighbouring fields? Like, you would imagine the only way to solve ragwort/thistles is to get your own land management and soil conditions right...

Worst fields I've seen are ones with ponies in them

Ponies are a problem for land really. They eat nothing but grass. And they eat that grass right to the clay weakening the grass and exposing the clay. This allows more weeds up that they won’t eat and it just gets worse and worse.

Add to that the fact that most need to be kept limited on food to avoid weight gain and associated problems so are best kept in limited space.

I’d agree, just the damn ponies take skinning a paddock to a whole ridiculous level.