A UF/IFAS South Florida Beef-Forage ‘Article of the Month’ shared pointers for using herbicides in your pastures.

According to a UF/IFAS South Florida Beef-Forage ‘Article of the Month,’ it is time to think about herbicide applications as part of your weed management strategy. The article maintains that while some use mowing or grazing to control weeds, using herbicides in your pastures “may be necessary to gain back your forage production.” Explore the “important concepts” shared “when using herbicide for weed management, both to save money and have successful weed control.”

Using Herbicides in Your Pastures

These are tips from the article:

  • “Herbicides affect different aspects of plant “life” and disrupts functions in everyday plant activity. The herbicide’s mode of action will determine what plants it will be effective on. This is very important because if you choose the wrong herbicide, you may have zero response in your targeted weed and may even kill your desirable forage.”
  • “Generally, you want a healthy, growing weed that is still relatively young. A drought stressed, mature, or damaged plant will not actively absorb the herbicide and then respond to it. Amount of time after application before a rainfall event can be problematic. Optimal air temperature will be listed. Wind can “drift” your herbicide away (sometimes to the neighbor), so be extra careful. Poor application and calibration of equipment are especially detrimental to successful herbicide use.”
  • “It is estimated that the herbicide label prevents 95% of herbicide failures.” Read the label by going “to the manufacturer’s website and access the herbicide label on your computer. Then, you can make it as large as you like.”

The article ends with “The saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” could never be truer. Herbicide and herbicide application is expensive. Make every attempt to use grazing management and soil fertility to maximize your forage’s competitiveness. Get your soil tested. Not encouraging weeds in the first place is best, but herbicide sometimes must be added to your management plan.”

Griffin Fertilizer is committed to helping both growers and ranchers make sound agronomic and economic decisions in order to maximize the health of their grove and pasture. As a full-service custom dry & liquid fertilizer blender and crop protection product distributor, we will continue our mission to further advance Florida agriculture. For questions or concerns about your farm or pasture, contact us and one of our team will be in touch.