Forage Feed Grazing Restrictions

Replant Options Rotation Restrictions-long

Grateful for a nice week for harvesting and for the good yields being reported!  It’s also good to see cattle being turned into cornstalks.  A reminder to read herbicide labels to understand if there’s any grazing restrictions from corn and soybean herbicides applied in-season.

It’s also important to look for any grazing restrictions on fall-applied herbicides to control marestail and other germinating weeds.  These restrictions can also be found in the Forage Feed Grazing Restrictions in the UNL Guide for Weed Management.  The forage, feed, and grazing restriction only applies to the crop for which the herbicide was applied.  When it comes to grazing cover crops planted into these residues, one must use the replant/rotation restriction guidelines found on the herbicide label and in the UNL Weed Guide: Replant Options Rotation Restrictions-long.  I apologize as these scanned blurry; hopefully you can zoom in ok to read what you need.

If the label doesn’t specify any restrictions, then it should be ok. If you want to be on the safe side, a rule of thumb is to use the pre-harvest interval for the amount of time to wait before grazing stalks.  Some labels will say that residue should not be grazed or baled and fed to livestock.  Sometimes studies were actually conducted to know there is a safety concern.  In other cases, the chemical company may not choose to conduct all the studies the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) required for labeling due to high costs.  If that’s the case, the EPA requires the strongest restrictive language be placed on the label. Regardless, if it says there’s a grazing restriction on the label, the label needs to be followed as it is a legal document and the law.

As you plan for next year’s herbicide program, if you’re thinking about fall cover crops, the following NebGuide may be of benefit to you as it goes through the grazing restrictions of various herbicides.