# Milk weed, Poison, and Cattle.



## asparkie (Dec 3, 2011)

So, I have a milk weed problem in a couple acre field. I tryed last year to get rid of it and failed. I just sprayed the whole field with round up and will disk it in a few days. 

I want to eventually make it clean soil and plant oats or another grass for my cattle. I'd like it to grow and allow my cattle to eat on it till its pumkin season when i'll once again prepare the soil for pumkins.

Is this enough time being mid feb. already. I'm in California and the grass didn't even start growing here till a few weeks ago due to lack of rain. Should i try to rid the milk weed more this year and skip running cattle on it this year. Is there a quik growing grass that can grow rapidly in dryer climates for cattle. Any hel[p is appreciated. Thanks.


----------



## rockhound (Sep 25, 2009)

Have you positively identified the "milk weed"? Many plants have the common name milk weed. Some are not poisonous to cattle or to the drinker of the milk.
"Milk-sick plant" is not a milk weed at all.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_sickness


----------



## rockhound (Sep 25, 2009)

White snakeroot is a wild version (with white flowers) of our common bedding plant, Ageratum (usually blue flowers). I agree it should be eradicated from milk cow grazing land or hay-making ground. My point is don't waste time/money killing off the wrong plant.


----------



## asparkie (Dec 3, 2011)

I,ve been told by a few different people that its milk weed. It grows to over 8 feet tall if you let it and has a thick stalk. It is very thorny and blossoms a purple thorny flower. Its ony 6" tall so far this year and a ground clear typr poison seem to kill it. I think Im gonna try to let it finish dying then disk the field and see what grows back and treat witha second round of poison. Probably will take to long to do to grow grass this year.


----------



## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Milkweed is most dangerous when served in silage or baled hay, as livestock can't avoid eating it. In a green pasture situation, they will avoid eating it, since it doesn't taste good.

Getting rid of milkweed in a pasture isn't easy, since you have seeds from previous years, seeds blown in from other fields and roadsides, and root structures that send up new stems. Milkweed is also resistant to many herbicides. Cutting it close to the ground has to be done twice yearly, since new shoots will grow new seed buds closer to the ground.

Actually, fertilizing the grass may help most to crowd out the milkweed. Also not overgrazing it....the livestock will have better choice than to eat the milkweed.

You can do what you want, but in my (old time,now) experience, the cows seemed to get along okay on pasture(permanent) that had common milkweeds in it.... If it were my own two acres, I would go ahead and plant oats--let them graze moderately on it, then do the pumpkin thing. If the milkweed looked too heavy and out of control, I would hand rogue it to keep it from seeding.--two acres wouldn't seem like too much of a problem....But again, your choice.


http://www.vet.purdue.edu/toxic/plant26.htm

geo


----------



## ksfarmer (Apr 28, 2007)

asparkie said:


> I,ve been told by a few different people that its milk weed. It grows to over 8 feet tall if you let it and has a thick stalk. It is very thorny and blossoms a purple thorny flower. Its ony 6" tall so far this year and a ground clear typr poison seem to kill it. I think Im gonna try to let it finish dying then disk the field and see what grows back and treat witha second round of poison. Probably will take to long to do to grow grass this year.


What you describe sure doesn't sound like any milkweed I know of, never seen any with thorns. Sounds more like some kind of musk thisle. Here is a link which shows pics of various milkweed species. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias.
Milkweed can be poisonous to cattle but they will usually not eat the live plant because the sap is caustic. Haying can be a problem, but we never worried about it in the pasture.


----------



## oneokie (Aug 14, 2009)

As ksfarmer said, sounds like a thistle.
Some images and information;
[ame]http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=&q=thistle+plant+pictures&oq=thistle+plant&aq=5v&aqi=g5g-v5&aql=&gs_sm=1&gs_upl=9688l12985l0l18313l13l11l0l0l0l0l828l1640l6-2l2l0[/ame]


----------



## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

asparkie said:


> I,ve been told by a few different people that its milk weed. It grows to over 8 feet tall if you let it and has a thick stalk. It is very thorny and blossoms a purple thorny flower. Its ony 6" tall so far this year and a ground clear typr poison seem to kill it. I think Im gonna try to let it finish dying then disk the field and see what grows back and treat witha second round of poison. Probably will take to long to do to grow grass this year.


Thats not milkweed, thats thistle.

Milkweed has broad, soft leaves , no thorns whatsoever, and has a cluster of purplish flowers that turn into seed pods that are filled with silky strands that the seeds fly away on.

Thistle, good luck, you have to get the WHOLE root out or you will never get rid of it.


----------



## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

Yep, what they said

Thistle











Milkweed


----------

