Why British farmers should consider the benefits of late summer weed control

Mr Gibbon says: “We are more likely to get favourable conditions at this time of year. Weeds are usually in a leafy, vegetative state following a summer of cutting and/or grazing.

“Weeds are actively growing in warm, moist soil conditions providing an ideal opportunity for the herbicide to be actively taken up and translocated down to the roots.

“Late summer application means there are fewer worries about cutting interval, and there is usually alternative grazing available at this time.”

Despite this, summer weed control is often not on the list of things to do for most grassland farmers.

Survey

A recent survey of 200 farmers – a mixture of dairy, and beef and sheep producers – conducted by Nufarm showed summer weed control was a consideration for just one-third of respondents.

Lack of awareness to the benefits of later applications was cited by 50 per cent of the respondents, about 27 per cent had not considered the approach and 16 per cent had not budgeted for it.

Independent grassland consultant Dr George Fisher says: “These producers, while already conscious of the fact they can achieve more from their grass, are unaware August and September are the best months for controlling weeds, especially docks in established grassland including silage leys.

"This season in particular has been conducive not only to grass growth, but also to weed growth.

“Every 1 per cent increase in weed ground cover will results in a 1 per cent decrease in grass growth. So controlling common weeds in a grazing sward with a current 20 per cent dock infestation, for example, could result in improving spring yields from seven tonnes of dry matter per hectare to 8.5t DM/ha.”

Dr Fisher suggests the benefit of utilising this extra grass to replace more expensive bought-in feeds, could provide a five-to-one return on investment.