A question for the farmers.

[wmetfab]

Perhaps try multiple passes, mower deck raised up high as is reasonable then lower it in the next pass.
Best,

 

[DPittman]

I used it on my farm in the beginning then turned away from it to preserve soil heath. Neat and tidy manicured.. looks good vs. Optimal soil health.
It destroys eveything in the soil horizon. Micorhyzie fungus, bacteria etc promotes transfer of nutrients and minerals to the plant... gp. kills it all.

Without a doubt, glyphosate has been one of the biggest single reasons agricultural soil health has been improved and sustained in modern agriculture production in western Canada (and many parts of the world). There have many, many scientific papers documenting this aspect of glyphosate use. To say that "glyphosate destroys everything in the soil horizon" demonstrates the lack of scientific knowledge regarding the subject and is simply not true.

 

[Upnorth]

I also have issues with a couple of other weeds. One is cow parsnip. I have managed to mostly eliminate that with mowing. It has gone from widespread to just a few around the pond. I'll be removing those with a shovel shortly. Probably my most hated weed is bull thistle. That stuff is nasty. Goes right through my leather gloves. I dig out a few dozen of those every year. I have spines from it in my fingers that I was not able to remove. If you turn over soil anywhere here you get lots of bull thistle. I find it's almost impossible to see then just before it flowers it stands out. I just dig that stuff up.

 

[wmetfab]

When I did the confrences I got to be good friends with a gal who was agricultural loans officer with BMO.
She had some kind of BSC in ag.

She handled the big accounts.
Before that she worked for Syngenta.

She told me "the only ones dirtier than the chemical co's were the banks!"
Those were the exact words came out of her mouth.

I suppose one could scrutinize who paid for the studies.

 

[Susquatch]

I suppose one could scrutinize who paid for the studies.

I pretty much ignore studies done by anyone other than university researchers who are independently funded. As you say, the money trail reveals many sins. It's far too easy to get the answers you want in industry or government research. But not so easy with peer reviewed research that is independently funded.

I never saw a peer reviewed academic research paper funded by NSERC (the primary granting agency for the sciences) that didn't conclude that glyphosate was safe when used properly. That was plenty good enough for me and I put the matter behind me many years ago.

If you like, I could try and find a few papers for you again. It might put your mind at ease a little better.

Alternatively, you could do a simple experiment of your own.

Fill 6 pails with sterilized potting soil. Add an equal number of assorted life forms to the soil (worms, grubs, etc) in each pail. Treat 3 pails with 1L/ac Roundup (0.02ml/ft2) and 15 usgal/ac water (1.25ml/ft2) and the other 3 with just the water.

You can just scale the area by whatever the surface area of your containers is. I've already done that for you by converting per acre to per square foot. You can and should check my math - it was mostly done in my head.

Dig them all up after 1 week and count the number of living and dead worms and other lifeforms in them. You can extend the time if you prefer but then you need to add some plant biomass too.

We can all act as a peer group for you and debate the methodology and results.

Again, it's just a suggested way to validate what others say.

 

[trevj]

There are no blocks on your account.

Your reply attempt actually shows up at post #10 above. You must be having a computer problem. Once in a while reply doesn't work properly for me either.



This is a very good recommendation. My mother used to use a bucket of roundup and a handheld sponge to selectively kill weeds in her flower gardens. Too slow for me as a farmer though. Nonetheless, there are farming applicators that use hanging wipes to selectively kill tall weeds. I've never used one. I have used cardboard or an upside down bottomless bucket as a spray shield.

I have had threats from another Admin, so I wondered...

Am actually pretty happy, that That was NOT what this was about...
Computer glitch stuff is easier to live with! LOL!

Some inaccuracies here that need to be corrected. To say 2,4-D is sold under the trade name Grazon is misleading. Grazon is a combination of two active ingredients, one of which is 2,4-D. 2,4-D is used in combination with many herbicides and can be purchased separately. The long residual control provided by the herbicide Grazon comes from picloram NOT 2,4-D. 2,4-D does NOT have long residual control properties at rates that are usually used.
Lactating dairy animals should not be allowed to feed on fields that have had Grazon applied to them for 7 days after application.

My experiences with 2-4-D is that the manure of the animals that ate the sprayed plants, had a lasting effect to the gardens in which that manure was spread, ie: it killed them off...

I have used both 2-4-D Amine, as well as branded Grazon, mainly as a control mechanism for Burdock, but also for thistles, and this has been my experience.

 

[trevj]

Without a doubt, glyphosate has been one of the biggest single reasons agricultural soil health has been improved and sustained in modern agriculture production in western Canada (and many parts of the world). There have many, many scientific papers documenting this aspect of glyphosate use. To say that "glyphosate destroys everything in the soil horizon" demonstrates the lack of scientific knowledge regarding the subject and is simply not true.

When you really really need to burn it ALL, down to ground level, nothing else will work as well!

It's just another Chemical option. A fella MUST know what the "Risk-Reward Ratio" looks like when you go to put it to work!

 

[Ironman]

I have had threats from another Admin, so I wondered...

Am actually pretty happy, that That was NOT what this was about...
Computer glitch stuff is easier to live with! LOL!

My experiences with 2-4-D is that the manure of the animals that ate the sprayed plants, had a lasting effect to the gardens in which that manure was spread, ie: it killed them off...

I have used both 2-4-D Amine, as well as branded Grazon, mainly as a control mechanism for Burdock, but also for thistles, and this has been my experience.

Yes, and from manure that was piled 40 years ago. I spent 2 years tilling and irrigating to let oxygen and sun break it down, and then tested and planted. A herbicide lab test runs just under $300.
I spot spray thistles with Curtail, to limit the soil contamination of it. wandering a field with a backpack sprayer is lots of work

 

[Susquatch]

wandering a field with a backpack sprayer is lots of work

I almost enjoy it. Picking rocks, not so much........

 

[trevj]

I almost enjoy it. Picking rocks, not so much........

My experience, was, trying to figure out WHY I HAD rocks!

Turned out, that my cousins had loaded the manure spreader, (un-screened)directly from the yard, and that got about five tonnes of rock included in the mix! The Yard, is sittting on mountain scree slope. The Field, is on glacial and river sediment, quite a ways from where rocks should be.

Loads (sarcasm!) of fun mowing the hay, and having 1/2 to pound plus size rocks get flung past your head, by the mower-conditioner!

I now have several piles that serve as markers. As in, "do not bother, beyond here!".