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Big Al 485 
Bronze Level
Joined: 30 Jan 2011
Location: Ravenna Ohio
Points: 42
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 Topic: Hay weed control
Posted: 31 Mar 2011 at 3:13pm |
Hello all,
I have inherited my mother in laws farm and we are making hay this year. ? Can anyone recomend a weed control / fertilizer spray that would work for hay that has timothy / alfalfa / orchard / and clover mixed ? the fields are pretty good now , but the people up hear are very picky and I want to make the best stuff I can with what is already planted.
Any advice would be appreciated. I am in Northeast Ohio if that matters ( chemical wise )
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HagerAC
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Joined: 14 Sep 2010
Location: SE MN
Points: 1184
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Posted: 31 Mar 2011 at 4:03pm |
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I was just talking to one of my college professors yesterday about the new round-up alfalfa and such, and basically came to the conclusion that it was not the best thing that could have been developed but whatever. He did mention spraying with Raptor which would get rid of mainly grasses like foxtails and other unwanted grasses. He did say it was not harsh on the brome grass or crab grasses though, which is good for people wanting a mixture, not sure if you are wanting pure alfalfa or what. If that is the case you may want to consider reseeding your stand. He said that one shot of raptor in the seeding year is all it really needs to clean up the weeds, and the stand will remain pretty clean for the rest of the stand. Maybe others will have some advice and pipe in too.
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30+ A-Cs ranging from a 1928 20-35, to a 1984 8070FWA, Gleaner R52
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John (C-IL)
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Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: Illinois
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Posted: 31 Mar 2011 at 4:06pm |
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With a grass and alfalfa mix you are pretty much out of luck. Pure grass you can use 2,4D. On pure alfalfa you can use quite a few products based on what your weed problem is. Once the hay has established it's self this spring you can try some Pursuit or Raptor, but you risk damaging the grass.
Edited by John (C-IL) - 31 Mar 2011 at 4:07pm
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RSponenberg
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Joined: 18 Oct 2010
Location: PA
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Posted: 31 Mar 2011 at 5:24pm |
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I raise timothy hay and use 2,4d with estser and it works great.But like John says with your combo your pretty much out of luck.I never user Persuit or Raptor,but it looks like its your only choice...
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Matt (NEIA)
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Joined: 20 Sep 2009
Location: Butler Co. IA
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Posted: 31 Mar 2011 at 5:25pm |
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I'd say with a mixture like that your outa luck if you want to keep it all, i'd plow it, put it to corn (or whatever crops you grow in ohio) and then put it back to alfalfa the next year and then manage it from the start to your local horse haybuyers expectations.
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darrel in ND
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Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Location: Hebron, ND
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Posted: 31 Mar 2011 at 5:34pm |
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I would say to just get in there early and hay it before the weeds get a chance to go to seed, and you should be able to keep the upperhand on em. Don't know of any chemicals that'll work for your situation. Darrel
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michaelwis
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Location: Wi
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Posted: 31 Mar 2011 at 8:41pm |
 Big Al 485 wrote:
Hello all,
I have inherited my mother in laws farm and we are making hay this year. ? Can anyone recomend a weed control / fertilizer spray that would work for hay that has timothy / alfalfa / orchard / and clover mixed ? the fields are pretty good now , but the people up hear are very picky and I want to make the best stuff I can with what is already planted.
Any advice would be appreciated. I am in Northeast Ohio if that matters ( chemical wise ) |
LOTS of variables here .. but if you plan on a beef herd .this is what i,d do . Sew 3 bushels of oats per acre as a nurse crop . to limit weds and prevent erosion.also mix in brome grass . once established it wil last forever..... Put down 15 to 18 lbs per acre of alfalfa . and mix in timothy . What a lot of people forget to mention is the grass .. along with alfalfa wil help drying when baling ..Now .if you are looking for making good dairy hay ..forget what i just said ...
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Russ-neia
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Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: NE Iowa
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Posted: 31 Mar 2011 at 8:55pm |
Can't do much for weed control with a mixed stand like that, other than aggressive (frequent) cutting to keep the thistles and burdock at bay.
We have had good luck seeding alfalfa alone (no cover crop) in the spring and then spraying with Raptor at 2-3 trifoliate leaves. Cleans it up good so the alfalfa can get going. My college professor told us that a vigorous stand of alfalfa was the best weed control available.
I'm with Cody on the roundup ready alfalfa. Maybe it has it's place, but around here it's a solution looking for a problem! If you have weeds in your alfalfa it means the stand is thinning. Killing the weeds will only lessen your tonnage per acre and leave bare areas prone to erosion and/or new weeds. Many weeds are actually pretty good feed if you get them harvested when small and have not gone to seed.
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farmer0_1
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Joined: 06 Dec 2009
Location: cornelius or
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Posted: 31 Mar 2011 at 10:33pm |
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i still have a field of round up ready alfalfa only about 4 acres left but it has been the cleanest field of alfalfa i have ever had on the farm. i spray it once with a quart of roundup when it is about 6 inches tall in the spring . usually thats it. have had it qualify for weed free hay by the state two years ago.
Edited by farmer0_1 - 31 Mar 2011 at 10:34pm
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Big Al 485
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Joined: 30 Jan 2011
Location: Ravenna Ohio
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Posted: 01 Apr 2011 at 7:25am |
Thank you all for your advice, it will be very helpfull as I think that I will roll with what is out there this year and then in the fall I will get it mowed down , and then drill in some more alfalfa / brome grass with a Land Pride over seeder. As I said before, I am probably being too picky as the weeds on our farm seem to be alot less than what everybody else has planted in this area.
Again, thanks for all of your wisdome and experience.
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D17JIM
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Posted: 01 Apr 2011 at 8:32am |
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Keep the hay mowed and baled on time and the competition from the weeds will not be a problem as long as you have a good stand of either grass or alfalfa. Stand is the key. Having sold chemicals for thirty years, the guys are right when you have a combination of grass hay and legumes chemicals are going to hurt one or the other. Good luck and manage the harvest and you should be OK.
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DMiller
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Location: Hermann, Mo
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Posted: 01 Apr 2011 at 8:36am |
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We started with old fields full of weeds at the BIL's place, kept knocking it down by just mowing before the weeds went to seed then light discing and overseeded with the grass mix we wanted, looked like a carpet the fourth year.
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farmer0_1
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Posted: 01 Apr 2011 at 10:11am |
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in my neck of the woods don't try overseeding alfalfa, the alfalfa in the stand you now have puts out some kind of chem. that keeps new alfalfa seed from sprouting. you could put in more grasses.
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Gerald J.
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Hamilton Co, IA
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Posted: 01 Apr 2011 at 10:59am |
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Alfalfa grows rapidly enough that if you harvest it just before it blooms when its quality is greatest (but not quantity), hardly any other thing like seeds and mixed grasses can survive the regular mowing. Climax Timothy is reputed to take the frequent alfalfa mowings. So a mixed grass with alfalfa hay field tends to revert to pure alfalfa.
Gerald J.
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darrel in ND
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Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Location: Hebron, ND
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Posted: 01 Apr 2011 at 11:44am |
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Big Al, Farmer0_1 is correct, you cannot so to speak "thicken" an alfalfa stand by seeding more alfalfa into an old stand.There is a situation called "auto-toxin" where the old stand alfalfa will kill off new alfalfa. The only way to get a new stand of alfalfa is to completely kill off the old stand, perhaps put in a different crop for a year or two, then re-plant alfalfa. Least wise that's how I've been taught. Darrel
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bill2260
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Posted: 01 Apr 2011 at 11:49am |
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Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. Bill
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