Thomas Strubberg’s go-to option for better cattle and hay production saves time and cuts costs by combining dry fertilizer and weed control applications.
Having grown up on a farm, Thomas Strubberg knew early in life he enjoyed farming. Flash forward to today, the New Haven, Missouri, cow-calf producer’s operation makes up 2,000 acres of pastures, hayfields and cropland, some of which he leases out.
Passed down through his family, Stubberg takes great pride in keeping his land pristine. And when weeds stand in the way of that, he turns to pasture management products from Corteva Agriscience.
“I really try to control the noxious weeds - I’ve been fighting those my whole life,” he says. He used to rely on mechanical methods.
But, Stubberg says whenever he bush hogged his pastures, he realized he was just spreading the weed seed. That’s just one of the reasons he puts his trust in DuraCor® and GrazonNext® HL herbicide to do the trick when he sees weeds begin to creep back into his pastures.
“When GrazonNext first came out, my custom applicator at KV-Seed sprayed our hayfields and whatever pastures he could cover with his equipment,” he says. “I made fertilizer applications earlier in the season, and I always thought to myself, if they could just combine the two, that’d be great. Then a few years later they did just that.”
So, Strubberg jumped at the opportunity to combine weed control and fertility into a single application. He worked with nearby New Haven Farm & Feed to impregnate dry fertilizer with herbicide.
“Last year was the first year I exclusively went with herbicide-impregnated dry fertilizer. I did no spraying at all and probably won’t anymore,” he says.
For Strubberg, weed control combined with dry fertilizer provides all the benefits of a traditional broadcast application. And more.
“You can control weeds in areas you couldn’t reach before because of boom-sprayer limitations,” says Strubberg. “You can apply it at the edges of your fields and right along fence lines and it’ll control weeds in spots that are usually missed.”
Having relied on GrazonNext HL for years, when DuraCor came out Strubberg had to try it.
“Our retailer said DuraCor controls more weeds and using 16 ounces per acre instead of 32 appealed to me,” he says. “That makes it drier when its mixed with fertilizer so it flows better through equipment.”
Good grass leads to better cattle, something Strubberg sees firsthand on his commercial cow herd.
“I have a good, healthy herd. I see very few health issues with our calves or cows,” he says. “And good calves will always sell themselves.”
Beyond a solid reputation at the local sale barn, Strubberg says removing weeds plays a big role in the productivity of his operation and his overall goal: produce beef.
“Cattle have more grass available for grazing when you control weeds, and that makes a difference,” says Strubberg. “They’re never short of good grass, and that’s what I’m doing. I’m turning grass into beef.”
Removing troublesome noxious weeds, he says, opens up more grazing space and helps him utilize his pastures more completely and more uniformly.
“I had some problem areas with noxious weeds, and you can see where they’re gone now,” he says. “In pastures that had noxious species, you could see the cattle wouldn’t graze up to some of them. That’s no longer an issue.”
As with his cattle, Strubberg’s grass focus has earned him a strong reputation in Missouri for high-quality hay production. Effective weed control helps boost productivity in his hayfields, too. Aside from exceptionally dry or cold years, summer grazing and stockpiled pastures for the winter grazing carry his herd year-round. Because he doesn’t feed much hay himself, he always has plenty on hand to support his commercial hay operation.
“I also sell several hundred round bales hay a year and I market it as fertilized and weed-free,” says Strubberg. “I take great strides to put up good, dry hay. It’s rewarding when I cut hay to go out there and see no weeds in my field.”
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™ ® Trademarks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. Under normal field conditions, DuraCor® is nonvolatile. DuraCor and GrazonNext® HL have no grazing or haying restrictions for any class of livestock, including lactating dairy cows, horses (including lactating mares) and meat animals prior to slaughter. Label precautions apply to forage treated with DuraCor or GrazonNext HL and to manure and urine from animals that have consumed treated forage. DuraCor and GrazonNext HL are not registered for sale or use in all states. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. DuraCor and GrazonNext HL are labeled for impregnation of dry fertilizer in the states of AL, AR, FL, GA, IA, KS, KY, LA, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, OK, OR, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA and WV. Consult the label before purchase or use for full details. Always read and follow label directions. © 2021 Corteva.
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