[Tattymacintosh]

 So popped up to see the house again just to have a look about, take photos and decide on our first jobs as soon as we move in. The place is now very overgrown but nothing hard work won't cure. Checked out the stables and all looks fine. Then I looked at the fields ....  I was thinking I'd get a lovely crop of hay from them to store until we got the horses on them but to my horror there is tonnes of ragwort!!! I could have cried!! So hay is out of the question and no horses in there for a while until I can get it shifted. Ive read sheep will eventually kill ragwort but would they graze a very grown field? I'm at my wits end with this and very disappointed. Any suggestions very very welcome

[Jullienne]

I would cut the lot anyway to get rid of the over grown grass and rag and remove the ragwort and burn. Then come spring put the sheep on the fields and they will get rid of when it is at its leafy stage, they worked wonders with our slopes and no rag this year.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

if burning remember to make sure it is fully dried out and always wear a mask snd goggles and protective clothes as the smoke is poisonous. All the best and I am sorry this has happened. Every year put sheep on it at leafy stage and it dhould all come good within a few years, plus they will help fertilize the ground. All the best and do let us know how you get on

[Roxy]

I have ragwort in one field,  and every year I dig each one byvtbe roots,  and its gine. worse.   I would mow the grass,  then digvuo any remaining ragwort.

It will return next year.   Butcat But atleast you can spray it,  and try to cintrol it.   My horses arevinvthe field but do  not eat. the ragwort.   My sheep ignore it too,  but it dies do the liver of any animal...... an old farmer told me its justvthat most sheep are eaten befire they damage their liver.

[Tattymacintosh]

How do I get rid of essentially 4 acres of useless grass? Will someone take it away? Will I have to burn the lot? I'm having a ragwort breakdown lol.

On a lighter note anyone want free grazing for sheep in Cupar next year?

[harmony]

Cutting wont get rid of your ragwort. Needs to come up by the roots. Could you split your field into paddocks and then pull a section. Sheep don't like long grass that much but if you pulled the ragwort cows would then sort your grass out then you could top. You might find a local farmer who has cows would top for you after he moved the cows off.

[Tattymacintosh]

Thanks Harmony, yes I will pull it but I'm assuming it still won't be safe for cattle because it's bound to spread so I had in my head to pull the rag, cut field then graze sheep as they will get the new plants as they start to grow again?

Or have I got this all wrong? Failing that can I pull it then spray next year?

[Buttermilk]

Getting it topped before it spreads any more seed is a start.  You will have a few years of pulling but it should reduce in time.  Start by making a small paddock and pull that then as the animals, horses, sheep, cattle or whatever, are eating that bit pull the ragwort in the next small piece so that is free for when they move in.  We had to do this with 23 acres for the RDA ponies but by the time we left that farm there was barely a plant dare show its head.

[Penninehillbilly]

I believe animals won't eat it while it's growing? Unless nothing else to eat. We see fields with lots of ragwort and cattle grazing. Would it be possible to put something in for a few weeks, when the grass is down a bit then deal with the ragwort?

[devonlady]

Do you have family and friends? If so have a ragging party with barbeque and beer at the end. Have one putting a fork under the root and the other (with gloves on) pulling. You can only spray at the rosette stage, when a plant spray containing a suitable weed killer can be kept tucked into a belt and used just on the ragwort.

[SallyintNorth]

I worked on a farm where they let the cattle graze the long grass in which the ragwort plants had grown.  They told me that the cattle wouldn't touch the full size ragwort plants, and that once the cattle had shortened the grass, so that the ragwort plants stood proud, it was safe to let the sheep in, as they would then just eat the short grass and leave the ragwort plants alone. 

I've read about people letting sheep graze the infested pastures over winter / spring, so that they clear that year's growth - or at least a good proportion of it - while the plants are at the rosette stage.  However, I think I probably agree with Roxy's farmer, and think this must surely poison the sheep over time.

I also read that the plant is at its most toxic when the flowers are growing, and that horses are particularly susceptible to the effects of the poisoning, so perhaps wintering some hoggs on the ground, who will be away in the fat the following spring / early summer, makes sense.

However, I also read that the toxin has been found in meat, and even in milk...

[pharnorth]

My friend has a similar problem with the field she is about to buy. It is probably very common since fields are often neglected for a year or two before changing hands and ragwort is biannual so the problem is obvious in the second year if it wasn't before.
On taking advice she has opted to pull the ragwort now and burn it.  Then the field will be topped and sprayed in the autumn.  We will probably put sheep on it after Christmas then horses end of March.

The topped grass/weeds will essentially ragwort free so can be left to rot which will put nutrients back in the ground or piled up for compost/ removal by the muck man. If you just leave the ragwort and cut it you won't want it rotting on your field and nor would anyone else. The spraying in the autumn should kill off the roots and give a clean field for next year. If you don't like the idea of spraying look forward to lots of hand digging ragwort next year!

Ragwort is poisonous and you should wear gloves when handling as it can leach through the skin,  I don't necessarily bother for the odd plant put certainly if spending an hour or so pulling. It is a cumulative poison which may be as big a factor as species, I.e. Horses tend to be around a couple of decades unlike sheep. Contrary to other comments I doubt very much that the smoke is poisonous any more than smoke in general as organics become CO2 and O2 when burned, and burning it is the best way of reducing the chance of it causing problems after all wild life can eat it as well as livestock if it is left lying about.

[SallyintNorth]

I've been told that burning it will not destroy any seeds, and will send them into the air to spread far and wide.

And I've also been told that plants pulled at the flowering stage will progress to seeding, even after they've been pulled - and have seen this happen.

So I guess the best thing is pull in bud or in flower, but before seeding, and incinerate immediately?

The pull and burn - top - spray - sheep sequence makes perfect sense to me.  I think I wouldn't follow the sheep with horses the first year, though; I'd wait to see what came up.  Apparently it's very palatable at the rosette stage, when you can't see it very easily and so won't know that your ponies are eating it.  And the seeds are very persistent, so perhaps it would be best to let the field grow after the sheep each year, then repeate the pull & burn - top - spray - sheep until it's been clear, or very nearly, for two consecutive years.

If you'd done pull & burn - top - spray - sheep, the grass which then grows, after pulling any ragwort that does come up again, would be safe enough for hay for sheep, would you think?  So you wouldn't be wasting the crop completely while you eradicate the ragwort.

[pharnorth]

Yes I've seen them progress to seeding if just left to wilt which is why we burn them. You may be right about the burning not destroying the seeds Sally,  I put mine in an old feed sack first and put an old pallet or something else heavy on top which I think (hope) keeps them contained long enough to get hot rather than taken up in the flume.

Your approach on waiting a couple of years must be best our big issue is neighbouring 'wild life meadows' mean total rag wort free is hard to accomplish so we hand dig any rosettes during the summer months. I'm not sure about the palatable at the rosette stage I haven't seen much evidence of the horses beating me to it?

[SallyintNorth]

I'm not sure about the palatable at the rosette stage I haven't seen much evidence of the horses beating me to it?

Well, that's good to hear.  Must be primarily in hay that it's a problem, then?  And if there's little else available, I suppose.