chemical sacriledge!

[cowman]

I revealed that this spring we actually went out and sprayed 80 acres of buck brush(grazeon) on the 320 acres we purchased last year. I was roundly critisized as some sort of chemical junkie and a slave to Dow! To add further...after the spray did its thing we mowed it down with the brush cutter.
Today I was out there and I observed the cows really seem to prefer the sprayed out area to the rest! Now how can that be???
Those darned cows just won't get with the program and become politically correct!
I suspect the roots of the buck brush have begun to break down and provide the minerals/nutrients the cows might actually like? I wanted to whack the whole area with about 100 lbs. of N but my son (who seems to think he is the boss!) vetoed the idea as being extravagant!
I have never shied away from being a "chemical junkie" when it suits my purpose! Actually it is my bread and butter and I can tell you, to a pretty close degree, when you need a "little help"!
So for all you tree huggers and "nature warriors" if you want to get in the real world...just call me. I will tell you how it is! I am expecting to get roasted?

[cswilson]

Not going to indulge you Cowman-your kinda into self abuse anyway lol.

[farmers_son]

I have no problem using chemicals. But to focus on buckbrush, I think it likes to either grow on the best soil or else buckbrush tends to make the soil better. It could be that the grass in among the cleared buckbrush is a little greener and fresher.

[rkaiser]

Okay cowman, we tried to draw grassfarmer back with niceness, now you're getting downright dirty. The poor guy must be reading this and wiggling in his chair.

I liked cswilson's reponse, and will probably leave this one alone as well.

[cattleman2]

I am starting to find that you have to have the pasture/grass mass to be there to start with, before you can make the total switch over to the intensive grazing to control regrowth, weeds, etc.

As long as you change your management style after you apply the chemical to "clean up the problem", so that the problem doesn't return, it usually make dollars and cents to get the quick fix, rather than 2-5 years of below average grazing to clean it up.