Ragwort 2020

Field east

What’s the story about ragwort and it’s existance. Have recently travelled all over the country and the country is full of it. Looking at some fields - through the eyes of a foreign tourist for the first time - one would scare that we grow it as a crop. It is a notifiable plant and land owners can be fined if not controlling it but what is the case with find stands of the plant on publically owned land - especially Co Co owned land. And is it the Co Co the local authority that is the local authority that is the regularity body to oversee the control of theplant

Nekarsulm

Field east wrote: »

What’s the story about ragwort and it’s existance. Have recently travelled all over the country and the country is full of it. Looking at some fields - through the eyes of a foreign tourist for the first time - one would scare that we grow it as a crop. It is a notifiable plant and land owners can be fined if not controlling it but what is the case with find stands of the plant on publically owned land - especially Co Co owned land. And is it the Co Co the local authority that is the local authority that is the regularity body to oversee the control of theplant

You have answered your own question there...
It was a notifiable crop when the local Guard went around on a high nellie, much harder to see from a Hyundai while you juggle your phone and a walkie-talkie..
Hard for them to bother when the local authority don't care..

_Brian

Field east wrote: »

What’s the story about ragwort and it’s existance. Have recently travelled all over the country and the country is full of it. Looking at some fields - through the eyes of a foreign tourist for the first time - one would scare that we grow it as a crop. It is a notifiable plant and land owners can be fined if not controlling it but what is the case with find stands of the plant on publically owned land - especially Co Co owned land. And is it the Co Co the local authority that is the local authority that is the regularity body to oversee the control of theplant

Very noticeable pattern in these parts.
As bachelor farmers get older the ragwort population explodes. Next door is a sea of yellow. We do control work each year but because of spreading seed it’s never eliminated.

There’s definitely growing number of online accounts on social media pushing it’s virtues and saying it’s been incorrectly vilified. I don’t know, for me in spent too many years listening to previous generations giving out about it and how dangerous it is. Ant it’s interesting how that passes on through generations, as we drive the roads my 12yo daughter is giving out yards abkut the fields of ragwort not being tended to and the council letting it grow roadside.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Field east wrote: »

What’s the story about ragwort and it’s existance. Have recently travelled all over the country and the country is full of it. Looking at some fields - through the eyes of a foreign tourist for the first time - one would scare that we grow it as a crop. It is a notifiable plant and land owners can be fined if not controlling it but what is the case with find stands of the plant on publically owned land - especially Co Co owned land. And is it the Co Co the local authority that is the local authority that is the regularity body to oversee the control of theplant

There hasn't been a prosecution for noxious weeds since the 1980s.

No enforcement, no control.

whelan2

It's also difficult to spray them at the right time. We sprayed 2 fields this year. Those fields are not able to be used until the plant dies, up to 3 weeks, if there's frost they won't die right and you'll have to repeat the spray

Siamsa Sessions

The Journal had a story recently on Dept issuing penalties to farmers for the presence of ragwort: https://www.farmersjournal.ie/eight-farmers-penalised-for-presence-of-ragwort-in-2019-556802#

The story is behind their paywall, but some quotes below:

"Eight farmers were penalised for having ragwort on their farms in 2019, figures from the Department of Agriculture show.
In total, 31 “notices to destroy” were issued by the Department of Agriculture last year for the presence of ragwort.
Farmers are obliged to keep their lands free from noxious weeds under cross-compliance measures and can see a cut to their payment for not complying."

and

"In 2019, there were a total of 17 penalties issued to farmers in respect of noxious weeds – 12 of which were 1% penalties, three were 3% penalties and two were at a level of a 5% penalty.

It is clear that the responsibility for controlling ragwort in fields lies with the landowner or the manager of the lands in which the plant is present. Farmers have regularly voiced their frustration at ragwort appearing on roadsides, or in public areas and left uncontrolled."

Say my name

It was the Covid lockdown with no council workers active and now you have these keyboard warriors taking and posting pictures of councils cutting verges and councils reacting in kind to show their virtue.

Now maybe that's all bo11ix as private contractors were out during the height of the national lockdown spraying gorse bushes on the sides of the motorways.

blue5000

Pulled (pun intended:D) the ragwort posts from chit chat as with Ireland's first ecovillage beside me it's a pet hate of mine. Feel free to add pictures folks.

Siamsa Sessions

No question around here anyway that most of the ragwort is on the side of the public road. Very little in any fields.

Nekarsulm

The sheep population in Ireland has halved in the last 20 years, 3.7 million today compared with 7.5 million in the year 2000.

This in itself will allow ragworth re-establish in areas where sheep had it almost eradicated.

emaherx

The dreaded plant seems to have done particularly well this year, fields I thought I had under control are covered again. I'm still pulling some but it's starting to go to seed now.

I'm not a fan of chemicals but I think I will need to spray some fields to get back under control.

We need a machine that can pull and collect these plants. Maybe a project for the guntering thread

Nekarsulm

emaherx wrote: »

We need a machine that can pull and collect these plants. Maybe a project for the guntering thread

Something like the stripper-header that was supposed to revolutionise combining back in the late1980's?

tanko

emaherx wrote: »

The dreaded plant seems to have done particularly well this year, fields I thought I had under control are covered again. I'm still pulling some but it's starting to go to seed now.

I'm not a fan of chemicals but I think I will need to spray some fields to get back under control.

We need a machine that can pull and collect these plants. Maybe a project for the guntering thread

I saw a man harvesting a field of Ragwort yesterday with a small zero grazer.
I thought it did a good job.

emaherx

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Something like the stripper-header that was supposed to revolutionise combining back in the late1980's?

And just collect the heads?

emaherx

tanko wrote: »

I saw a man harvesting a field of Ragwort yesterday with a small zero grazer.
I thought it did a good job.

I thought of similar. It dosen't deal with the problem in the long term and you'd end up collecting a lot more grasses and weeds that would also require disposing of.

https://www.fwi.co.uk/arable/crop-management/weed-management/mechanical-weeders-what-are-the-options

The combcut modified with a collector would reduce the amount of grass collected though.

Say my name

Do fields that get good applications of slurry grow ragworth?

It seems to me to prefer the ditches and boundaries in where slurry is spread?

emaherx

Say my name wrote: »

Do fields that get good applications of slurry grow ragworth?

It seems to me to prefer the ditches and boundaries in where slurry is spread?

My worst effected fields, get plenty of slurry. I think ditches and boundaries get a bad doing in most places due to seed landing in the shelter from the wind.

Biscuitus

What we are seeing now is the result of the drought and wet year that followed. Ragweed was able to take root and flourish with those conditions

I was almost clear of ragweed. Farm was looking pristine for two years straight but this year its absolutely covered so I can say it 100% didn't come from my own lands. It all blew in and exploded across my fields.

Tea drinker

one of my abiding memories as a kid was of myself, brother and father clearing 20 acres of ragweed and thistle investation. Pulling ragweed and stobbling the thistles with a shovel leaving a clean field behind, some sense of accomplishment. Field stayed clean after, it never came back.
Maybe not very practical but where there's a will...

patsy_mccabe

I convinced a young relative of mine to pull all his ragwort. i told him, he'd only have a 10th of it next year. I better be right, as he has the place cleared. It worked for me anyway.

gozunda

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

I convinced a young relative of mine to pull all his ragwort. i told him, he'd only have a 10th of it next year. I better be right, as he has the place cleared. It worked for me anyway.

Had all fields clear of it last year. Ragworth rosettes back with a vengeance this year. The mild winter and wet conditions allowed any seed to quickly establish. Hate the stuff beyond reason!

RobinBanks

I have an electric fence running up through the middle of an open field. Under the wire does be infested with Ragwort so this year, in may i sprayed them with Grazon Pro at rosette stage. was delighted with results, completely wiped them out......or so i thought. Was up checking fence yesterday to see where it was earthing and couldn't believe it. Under the fence is nearly as bad as ever again. I was so annoyed i went straight home for the knap sack!!

Mooooo

RobinBanks wrote: »

I have an electric fence running up through the middle of an open field. Under the wire does be infested with Ragwort so this year, in may i sprayed them with Grazon Pro at rosette stage. was delighted with results, completely wiped them out......or so i thought. Was up checking fence yesterday to see where it was earthing and couldn't believe it. Under the fence is nearly as bad as ever again. I was so annoyed i went straight home for the knap sack!!

Forefront T is the best spray as it does a job on everything else as well. Costs a fortune tho. Used D50 in the spring and worked well when sprayed at the right stage just took a long time to kill. Used forefront on some ditches bad with it under the wire and they were dead in days and stronger plants

Buford T. Justice XIX

Buford T. Justice XIX wrote: »

There hasn't been a prosecution for noxious weeds since the 1980s.

No enforcement, no control.

There's a field as you head off the bypass into clash which has horses in it though you can barely see them for the ragwort in it!

_Brian

emaherx wrote: »

The dreaded plant seems to have done particularly well this year, fields I thought I had under control are covered again. I'm still pulling some but it's starting to go to seed now.

I'm not a fan of chemicals but I think I will need to spray some fields to get back under control.

We need a machine that can pull and collect these plants. Maybe a project for the guntering thread

Have definitely seen photos and videos of machines designed to pull them. One I saw seemed to from the 80’s in the U.K.

It had two converging belts that trapped the plant and pulled them up into a hopper. I presume it wasn’t a great thing as it’s not widespread.

emaherx

_Brian wrote: »

Have definitely seen photos and videos of machines designed to pull them. One I saw seemed to from the 80’s in the U.K.

It had two converging belts that trapped the plant and pulled them up into a hopper. I presume it wasn’t a great thing as it’s not widespread.

There are a few old photos about, but no such machine seems to be available now, so either they didn't work well or people couldn't justify the cost.

amacca

Pull them yourself and stay on top of them every year is the best job imo

+ pull them when its not too to dry so you get the root.....have about ten in every ten acres here for the last twenty years after what was initially an infestation of them.,,,,i dont mind too much about anything else except maybe the docks --- im beginning to develop a hatred for them too,

most of the neigbouring lads letting it go wild! have noticed greenways infested with the stuff this year as well

veetwin

There is a fine sized field (10+ acres) of good land currently growing nothing but ragwort at the junction of Malahide Rd and Chapel Road Kinsealy. May be part of CJ's Farm. Is there any actual enforcement of the law on ragwort anymore?

NcdJd

veetwin wrote: »

There is a fine sized field (10+ acres) of good land currently growing but ragwort at the junction of Malahide Rd and Chapel Road Kinsealy. Maybe part of CJ's Farm. Is there any actual enforcement of the law on ragwort anymore?

Absentee land lord has that now. Japanese family who only fly over to the place once or twice a year. Previous Chinese owners sold it on for half the price they paid for it. That field i think your referring to has been sold to developer. 500k an acre i was told it went for.

His lawns are still kept well though..

NcdJd

I've a bit of ragwort but out of respect for my fellow boardies I'll get off me arse and pull it out tomorrow:)

tanko

NcdJd wrote: »

I've a bit of ragwort but out of respect for my fellow boardies I'll get off me arse and pull it out tomorrow:)

That’s a poor effort, you should be embarrassed. Unless they’re at least four foot tall and there’s no grass visible between them you haven’t got a proper crop.

NcdJd

tanko wrote: »

That’s a poor effort, you should be embarrassed. Unless they’re at least four foot tall and there’s no grass visible between them you haven’t got a proper crop.

My mother was a Galway woman and she used to be giving out to me father if she saw any ragwort growing along the banks of the fields. Was funny.

Or bunkyshanks as us uncultured dubs call them ha

Buford T. Justice XIX

SouthWesterly wrote: »

There's a field as you head off the bypass into clash which has horses in it though you can barely see them for the ragwort in it!

I noticed that one alright. There's one not too far from me with horses too and I doubt he can find the horses in there until the ragwort dies back at the end of the year. It's an ocean of yellow flowers and seeds blowing into the neighbours every year, no attempt whatsoever to control them:(

Buford T. Justice XIX

Buford T. Justice XIX wrote: »

I noticed that one alright. There's one not too far from me with horses too and I doubt he can find the horses in there until the ragwort dies back at the end of the year. It's an ocean of yellow flowers and seeds blowing into the neighbours every year, no attempt whatsoever to control them:(

Can they not be reported to the council?

Buford T. Justice XIX

SouthWesterly wrote: »

Can they not be reported to the council?

It's a bit like reporting a sheep attack to the dog warden. They'll show up in a few months when the plant has died back, I'd say.

HeidiHeidi

Sorry now if this is a silly question.... but I've been thinking about ragwort lately and you lot sound like you know it well!

Along the verges of the road that links the M1 to Ardee there's loads and loads of it. But it's in sections - anywhere there's a section of metal barrier it's solidly feet thick, and where there's no barrier there's almost none, or just the odd clump.

Is this down to them mowing the non-barrier bits? And if so, there surely must be some means of mowing where there's a barrier? (Not entirely sure what purpose the barrier serves in the first place, but that's another day's work. If it hampers mowing the verges to the extent that they're solid buachalán, why is it there?)

It surely must drive conscientious farmers in nearby lands absolutely nuts having it seeding all over the place?

patsy_mccabe

When I was growing up (East Clare), ragwort plants were always called 'buula-háns'. Different from the 'buachalán' pronunciation you'd see on the internet.

Any other old local names for it?

Field east

SouthWesterly wrote: »

Can they not be reported to the council?

In an earlier post it was said that the Dept of Agr sent out notices to farmers re controlling their ragwort. Would that procedure also pertain with regards to ragwort growing on council land .
I think that you cannot get a better activity than pulling ragwort to try and keep safe re the dread Covid virus s - you are out in the open countryside and by yourself ( with a bit of planning). Is that not the best environment to be in rather than stuck in a house/ office and havin close contacts around you

StevenToast

I f*cking hate Ragwort....

Nekarsulm

Field east wrote: »

In an earlier post it was said that the Dept of Agr sent out notices to farmers re controlling their ragwort. Would that procedure also pertain with regards to ragwort growing on council land .
I think that you cannot get a better activity than pulling ragwort to try and keep safe re the dread Covid virus s - you are out in the open countryside and by yourself ( with a bit of planning). Is that not the best environment to be in rather than stuck in a house/ office and havin close contacts around you

It's a bit like the situation with Council sewage treatment plants overflowing....
Reporting it to the people responsible for enforcement you will find them reluctant to prosecute themselves...

Buford T. Justice XIX

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Sorry now if this is a silly question.... but I've been thinking about ragwort lately and you lot sound like you know it well!

Along the verges of the road that links the M1 to Ardee there's loads and loads of it. But it's in sections - anywhere there's a section of metal barrier it's solidly feet thick, and where there's no barrier there's almost none, or just the odd clump.

Is this down to them mowing the non-barrier bits? And if so, there surely must be some means of mowing where there's a barrier? (Not entirely sure what purpose the barrier serves in the first place, but that's another day's work. If it hampers mowing the verges to the extent that they're solid buachalán, why is it there?)

It surely must drive conscientious farmers in nearby lands absolutely nuts having it seeding all over the place?

They would generally mow the sides of the roads with a hedgecutter during the year but it would be too difficult to mow along the barriers with a hedgecutter and it would still leave some behind anyway.

amacca

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

When I was growing up (East Clare), ragwort plants were always called 'buula-háns'. Different from the 'buachalán' pronunciation you'd see on the internet.

Any other old local names for it?

Never herd them called buulahans ...only heard buachalan very recently

My dad used refervto them regularly as

Them yellow bastards

Ir cuntin yellow bastards if there was a lot of them to clear




As an aside the greenway that was prevoiusly polluted with them is no completely clear so the council or someone is cleating them off the greenway

Lime Tree Farm

Ragwort came into their own last Sat, they doubled up as pigtails, while moving cows and calves from rented ground.

ragwort.jpg

ragwort1.jpg

Castlekeeper

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

When I was growing up (East Clare), ragwort plants were always called 'buula-háns'. Different from the 'buachalán' pronunciation you'd see on the internet.

Any other old local names for it?

Búachalláns mainly here but geosacháns as well, which I think might refer more to the marsh ragwort which is prolific here but doesn't seem to cause any ill effects to stock.

Castlekeeper

They're quick to colonise disturbed ground, and seem to thrive where there is set stocking, over grazing, and some poaching.