spraying pasture

[dfarms11]

When is the best time to spray my pasture? Before or after I hay it? After I hay it I can also turn the cows there. What should I do?

[grassfarmer]

Depends why you want to spray your pasture.

[dfarms11]

Sorry, I am spraying Roundup. It is a very old pasture which is full of quack grass and gophers. Time to seed it to grain.

[grassfarmer]

I would leave as is. Quack grass is a great plant to have in a pasture whereas it is a problem to a grain crop. Spraying won't help the gopher situation either. If your pasture has a lot of quack it must be better than many of the severely overgrazed ones you say where only the bluegrass and red fescue can survive. I don't see how moving to a mechanical / agrochemical solution will remedy your problems.

[jensend]

sprinkle some alfalfa or other legume seed into it and let the cows walk it in. quackgrass is good grazing and if you get the legume working you'll be amazed at the production.

[DiamondSCattleCo]

Unless he happens to be in an area like mine, and quackgrass is a horrible grass to have in a pasture. It'll cut your productivity in half over a tame grass like Meadow Brome.

I've found that the best way to turn over a quackgrass pasture is to graze the hell out of it all summer, and then in early fall, Roundup at 2 litres. Leave it over fall, then spring burn at 1 litre. Don't bother working it, just direct seed it.

Theres been alot of success with RoundUp 242 as well. Little cheaper, and you can cut your application rate in half.

Rod

[dfarms11]

my thing is I dont really need it for pasture anymore, I would rather crop it now for a few years. And I dont want to hay it because it is so rough from the gophers! I will do it this year but thats it! Guess I've been spoiled by some newly seeded grass! I would way rather break this up and reseed on another field where it would be smoooooth!

[kato]

We had 20 acres of old pasture that needed rejuvinating. June grass had moved in, as well as fifteen million gophers. LOL

We let the cows graze it, but kept them out of that paddock later in the season to let it get a bit of growth. Then we sprayed it with roundup and broke it up after it had died. We were able to grow greenfeed oats on it the next spring.

It's back in alfalfa/brome now.