Where the Green Grass Grows
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Early spring regrowth mixes with stockpiled forage to keep stockers grazing and gaining.
Follow along this season with McCrea Family Farms’ story of pasture management. The McCreas keep ragweed and thistles under control by following a biennial spray program through which most pastures get treated every other year. Taking care to not overstock also helps keep weeds at bay.
Weed control spurs spring growth
Continue Reading ‘Where the Green Grass Grows’ …
Emphasizing pasture management helps the McCreas maintain a schedule that works well for their operation. That schedule includes stockpiling ample winter forage, which they supplement with corn silage, dry distillers grain and other byproducts.
Andrew is an award-winning broadcaster, author and sought-after public speaker with a busy travel and production schedule for Farm Journal’s American Countryside radio program. Andrew, his dad, M.L., and Andrew’s 16-year-old son, Luke, manage 4,500 acres split equally between pasture and row crops, while caring for stocker cattle nearly year-round in Maysville, Missouri.
Broadleaf weeds and woody plants compete mightily with desirable grasses for moisture and nutrients. Research shows every pound of weeds removed grows an additional pound to pound-and-a-half of grass, at least.
The McCreas have relied on Range & Pasture products from Corteva Agriscience and its legacy companies for more than 30 years. Today, they count on DuraCor® herbicide for broadleaf weeds and Remedy® or Remedy® Ultra herbicide when woody plants pop up. Recently, UltiGraz℠ Pasture Weed & Feed has helped them control weeds in areas unreachable with their boom sprayer and apply fertilizer in the same pass.
The McCreas work with their local certified applicator for UltiGraz Pasture Weed & Feed, with applications going out in early April. Since the McCreas do all their own spraying, DuraCor herbicide goes out during May and June, after the crops are in.
Focus on the lowest-cost feed source
For most cattle producers, extra grass means flexibility. And that means different things to different operations. Regardless of how you use it, it’s hard to go wrong growing more grass, whether that goes toward increasing stocking rates, extending the grazing season, feeding less hay or, when needed, rebuilding hay inventories.
Grazing standing forage is the cattle producer’s lowest-cost feed source. Regardless of cattle economics, it always makes sense to focus on managing expenses.
“Without weed control, we wouldn’t have the amount of grass or the quality of grass that we have today,” Andrew says.
Under normal field conditions, DuraCor® is nonvolatile. DuraCor has 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 and to manure and urine from animals that have consumed treated forage. Consult the label for full details. DuraCor is not registered for sale or use in all states. UltiGrazSM with fertilizer is available for use with specific herbicides in the states of AL, AR, CO, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, KS, KY, LA, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NV, OK, OR, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV and WY. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. State restrictions on the sale and use of Remedy® and Remedy® Ultra apply. Consult the label before purchase or use for full details. Always read and follow label directions.