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Get Some Flexibility In your Weed Control

CattleNetwork.com Staff
03/09/2010 15:51PM

So much of success in agriculture is related to timing. The right thing needs to be done at the right time, and you need the flexibility to do that.

Some technologies make that easier than others. You can put ForeFront® R&P herbicide in the “easier” category. It also tops the “superior pasture weed control” category. It’s even better than the longtime market standard, Grazon® P+D herbicide, and it gives you some flexibility you didn’t have before.

More effective
ForeFront R&P is more effective on most broadleaf weeds, particularly tough perennials such as horsenettle, nightshades and spiny amaranth. Safe to desirable grasses, ForeFront R&P provides soil residual activity to control weeds that germinate for weeks after spraying.

While grass yields usually are favored by early spraying, ForeFront R&P at the recommended, labeled rate of 2 pints per acre is effective on many weeds even as they mature. So, if you’re a little late in spraying, you can still get good control. You can control early maturing thistles and later-germinating perennials at the same time.

Right thing, right time
Compared with older pasture herbicides, ForeFront R&P won’t slow your operation with waiting periods to graze or hay. Look at the table on this page. ForeFront® R&P herbicide has no grazing or haying restrictions for any class of livestock, including lactating dairy cows, horses (including lactating mares) and meat animals prior to slaughter. However, label precautions do apply to forage treated with ForeFront R&P and to manure from animals that have consumed treated forage within the last three days. Consult the label for full details.
Get Some Flexibility In your Weed Control
You can spray ForeFront R&P with lactating dairy cattle in the pasture — something you can’t do with the traditional herbicides. ForeFront R&P also has zero days withdrawal before slaughter. There are no issues of residue in the animal. Cull cows may go to slaughter from treated pasture.

ForeFront R&P has a shorter restriction on haying after spraying — just seven days. That means you can spray for weeds between cuttings and still stay on a 28-day cutting schedule.

“But we recommend that, with broadleaf weeds, you wait at least two weeks to mow after spraying,” says Pat Burch, a Dow AgroSciences field scientist in Virginia. “Give the herbicide time to do its job.”

To get the best control of woody plants — like blackberry briars — you should delay mowing at least three months after spraying, Burch says. Earlier mowing of woody plants will decrease control.

No license, no problem
ForeFront® R&P herbicide is not a federally Restricted Use Pesticide, so, in most states, no license is required to buy or apply ForeFront R&P.1 However, it is subject to state restrictions on 2,4-D. In cases where you may want an alternative to products containing 2,4-D, you still have other options for excellent weed control.

Ranchers can get many of the advantages of ForeFront R&P with even fewer restrictions by using Milestone® herbicide. ForeFront R&P and Milestone both contain the active ingredient aminopyralid. But Milestone does not contain 2,4-D. ForeFront R&P does. Milestone is not a federally Restricted Use Pesticide. No license is required to buy or apply Milestone.¹

If your pasture is infested with many woody species as well as broadleaf weeds, consider Surmount® herbicide. It’s active on more woody species than either Milestone® herbicide or ForeFront® R&P herbicide. Surmount, however, is a federally Restricted Use Pesticide requiring a license.

Observe precautions
With all three herbicides, grasses in sprayed pastures may contain the herbicide’s active ingredient for a time. Consult the herbicide labels for information about transferring livestock from treated areas onto broadleaf crop areas. Also, don’t use grass or hay from treated areas or manure from animals that have grazed on treated forage for composting or mulch. See the label for more details.

¹Some states require an individual be licensed if involved in the recommendation, handling or application of any pesticide. Consult your local Extension office for information regarding licensing requirements.