The evaluation of Integrated Weed Management practices to control chicory infestation in the pastures and hay ground of conventional and organic agricultural operations.

Project Overview

FNC19-1187
Project Type: Farmer/Rancher
Funds awarded in 2019: $8,935.00
Projected End Date: 02/28/2021
Grant Recipient: Butte Vista Farm
Region: North Central
State: South Dakota
Project Coordinator:
Doug Pavel
Butte Vista Farm

Commodities

Not commodity specific

Practices

  • Animal Production: animal protection and health, feed/forage, grazing management, grazing - multispecies, grazing - rotational, pasture renovation, range improvement, rangeland/pasture management, stocking rate
  • Crop Production: conservation tillage, cover crops, drought tolerance, no-till, pollinator habitat, pollinator health, terraces, water management
  • Education and Training: demonstration, display, extension, farmer to farmer, focus group, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, technical assistance, workshop
  • Farm Business Management: whole farm planning
  • Natural Resources/Environment: carbon sequestration, drift/runoff buffers, grass waterways, habitat enhancement, riparian buffers, wetlands, wildlife
  • Pest Management: biological control, chemical control, cultural control, field monitoring/scouting, integrated pest management, prevention, weather monitoring, weed ecology
  • Production Systems: dryland farming, integrated crop and livestock systems, organic agriculture
  • Soil Management: composting, earthworms, green manures, organic matter, soil analysis, soil quality/health
  • Sustainable Communities: analysis of personal/family life, quality of life, sustainability measures

    Proposal summary:

    In our semi-arid environment, chicory can quickly spread into adjoining pastures and hay land, choking out desirable plants, creating unhealthy ground cover and plummeting forage and crop production. Livestock generally avoid the maturing plant. Marketing of forage products from an infested field is prohibited.

    Chicory has historically existed where our farms are located, thus creating a vast accumulation of chicory seeds in our soils.  Post-emergence herbicides have been typically ineffective. Failed control methods generally propagate chicory further. Chicory has become prolific in many previously weed-free areas well beyond our farms' location. Consequently, Lawrence County has listed chicory on the county’s noxious weed list for 2019. 

    Our farm's proximity to each other, the conventional practices of Butte Vista Farm and the organic certification of Three Heart Farm creates an opportunity to demonstrate Integrated Weed Management’s effectiveness in controlling chicory in side-by-side operational processes. By blending and incorporating  five strategies (preventive, cultural, mechanical, biological and chemical) into realistically-doable applications, an effective, ecologically-sound, financially-viable solution that is suitable for nearly any agricultural operation can be demonstrated. Long-term operational sustainability through enhanced quality and production of the land, resource stewardship and improved bottom line for the family farm then becomes more plausible.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    1. Apply and evaluate Integrated Weed Management practices to control chicory via methods that are readily-achievable by average producers, both short- and long-term, in accordance with conventional and organic parameters. Specifically:
    a. Butte Vista Farm will test weed control results on intensively-grazed and non-grazed test plots varied rates of pre-emergence herbicides, post-emergence herbicides and no chemical, and
    b. Three Heart Farm will evaluate mowing at different intervals, no-till seedings of grass and clover, and grazing free-range chickens.
    2. Neither farm will market infested hay.
    3. We will share findings through field days, a website, social media, newsletter, activity blog and Agri-tourist guests.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.