Roundup is hazardous to your helath

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oldandnew

Active member
For all you chemical cowboys out there. Might want to read the finally made public research into the real "costs" of Roundup. Of course the Europeans have known this for years,since 2002, and it's even banned by our neighbors to the North,in several provinces. But here we conceal credible research, delay safety reviews, and generally stick our head in the sand, supported by Monsanto's lobbying efforts. After all it's about 80% of their business. Now go ahead and tell me how wonderful it is and how it reduces passes over the field, and reduces the use of other more dangerous chemicals, and lest I forget how much easier it is for the producer. Well I don't support those chemicals either, I vote for weedy field, reduced yields, higher food costs, all the doom and gloom you can muster. Looks like a bright future compared to two headed frogs and human birth defects. I don't care if we feed the world. Like all justifications into infinity, it's mostly scare tactics to defend the status quo. Just like the Financial Bailout, Auto Company Bailout, The Medicare Scare, I doubt much would change price wise, a few more folks might be inspired to grow a garden, and take responsibility for their own food safety. If I read one more post about multiple applications of chemical "burning" down the weeds, for a wildlife food plot, I think I'll scream. It's for wildlife boys!!! They actually like weeds!!! Spot spray if you must, disc and burn with fire, hire kids to cut tree sprouts, dig weeds. The earth and the birds will Thankyou. Eventually you'll thank yourself and wonder why we ever did it any other way. This is my rant of the month, now it's out of my system.
 
I agree with you oldandnew. Around where I live Ihave not seen pheasantor quail that are truly wild in about 35 yrs. The ones I see are the ones released by a neighbor, and they don't last long because of the coyotes. The chemicals that are used affect the egg shells on how thick they are. If any of you raise chickens or lived around them as a kid, just remeber the eggs that really soft shells that is what I found with pheasant and quail eggs of the ones that were released. They were like that or so hard you had problems cracking them open. In France they burn off the fields every year after the crops are off, they have done for centuries. Iknow this because my mom is from France and she is in her 80's. Her dad was a veterinarian for the French army and was asked to do studies for them to benefit animals. I VERY rarely use chemicals to kill weeds myself. I usually have a lot of chickens and keep things down on weeds for me. I'm like oldandnew just had to vent about chemicals.
 
Not Weed Free

So what you are saying is just plant food plots over last years. What about doing new ground that has established Brome on it. I get tired of both the cost and effort of the routine of spray and plant, I have nothing that I harvest the crop on, that is done of the main fields by my renter. I do have a bad problem with thistle just like everyone in my area.

Its been so wet that I going to just no till drill into last years food plots and see what happens maybe spot spray the thistle ( a major undertaking) and let the weeds do their thing.:D

Comments please--all advice welcome :)
 
I have a thistle and a curly dock problem. I drank the Kool-aid spent big bucks on spray and effort. Thistles are tough, dock is worse. only solution I found was to turn hogs out in the dock, they root it out and eat it. Thistle I have the kids dig,bag the heads and burn. Either way it is tough. As far as cool season grass, if you mow and burn at the right times, you can reduce it to a minimum, discing helps early on. No matter what you do, because the neighbors have brome and fescue, it will pioneer in and it takes annual effort to control,or in 3 or 4 years you will have it solid again! Not what you want to hear, and I don't enjoy telling you, but down here it's the way it is. I think fescue actually likes the challenge.
 
Here in my neck of the woods farmers are just starting there first pass of RU on the fields. I love the smell of RU in the morning.
 
oldandnew said:
If I read one more post about multiple applications of chemical "burning" down the weeds, for a wildlife food plot, I think I'll scream. It's for wildlife boys!!! They actually like weeds!!!
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That drives me crazy too.

I haven't seen it as prevalent in the upland world, but the deer hunting world goes off the deep end trying to produce plots that are 100% this or that, only the things they've planted and everything else must die (typically by chemicals). People fail to realize just how diverse wildlife diets are and that they'll enjoy eating a variety of weeds given the chance.
 
The best pheasant habitat there is, is a corn field yielding about 40 bushel per acre that is infested with foxtails and an assortment of broadleafs.:)
 
RU

wolfcreeknc said:
This thread got me googling and I found this article; pretty spooky!
http://www.savenmseeds.org/index.ph...up-causing-miscarriages&catid=2:save-nm-seeds
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Thats scary.
My food plot stuff is almost dry enough to plant and 5 acres of it will be RU ready corn ( a gift from the GF&P) but it will just be planted and left to its own.

I'm going to stop using RU as of today. If you are intrested in this story go to the link above and make a hard copy as the link is likely to disappear once the manfactures of RU see it, no I don't trust them.:(
 
After years of using it it gets in the soil and will start killing youir trees. I have a farm that I lease out and the trees next to the round up ready corn are dying
 
mnmthunting said:
The best pheasant habitat there is, is a corn field yielding about 40 bushel per acre that is infested with foxtails and an assortment of broadleafs.:)
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I'm not a farmer, but isn't the main problem with weedy corn not only that you'll take a loss with regards to bu/acre, but that the people who'll buy it will pay much less since it needs to be cleaned to separate the corn from the weed seeds?
 
Here's the deal with yield and weed discounts. The yield is more than offset by the fact you use standard varieties of seed, not the super engineered $250 a bag stuff, you can save seed year to year, and avoid buying seed altogether, wider row spacing allows field cultivation to reduce weed competition, but cuts into the plants per acre, if you pick and shell corn, or are willing to set your combine up to cut higher and leave more stalk you minimize the weeds. All these things will cut into your yield. It will also minimize your inputs. As far as selling penalties, we can't sell roundup ready-gene modified crops in Europe as it is. Read the UDSA allowable contamination for insect parts, rat s$#%t, and other goodies, you might never eat a Hostess cupcake again! A few weeds in your corn, which is basically, or at least should be, livestock feed, is no big deal. If your growing specialty corn, it's going to be a different story. What I have described is not going to happen on $3000-$7000 per acre ground, the producer is going to do whatever to increase yields, because he's a Gerbil on a wheel, running ahead of the 1/4 million dollar combine, land debt service, and seed/fertilizer/chemical costs. I do it this way, on a small scale, with 1950 -1970 technology, and 100yr old seed varieties, I get about 75 bu. per acre, dryland, rotate crops to minimize fertilizer requirements and pest concentrations and carryover. But my cost of ground is low, and I don't depend on it for a living. My version is sustaining, the other version I am afraid will collapse ecomomically of it's own weight, much like the reset of the 30's, or in the process endanger us all directly, or indirectly. As I write this, just down the road, a section of what has been a background cattle pasture for the last 30 years, just got the roundup burn for no-till beans, browning as we speak, yield this year through the sod here, might be as high as 15 bushels,if the get the fescue killed,( small silver lining), or as low a 3 bushels depending on rain and sod competition. Fertilizer, seed, passes over the field, harvest, and chemical inputs, at least $300.00, not including rent, and I bet it takes more than one roundup application to have any luck at all. Who's the fool????
 
oldandnew said:
As far as selling penalties, we can't sell roundup ready-gene modified crops in Europe as it is.
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I do not think that is the case anymore, they allow the importation of the crop but not the RR seed for growing.


oldandnew said:
because he's a Gerbil on a wheel.
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Is that why I am so tired every night? I thought it was from carrying around all the bags of money modern ag pratices allow a farmer to make. At least I will be in shape for hunting season.
 
1GB said:
I'm not a farmer, but isn't the main problem with weedy corn not only that you'll take a loss with regards to bu/acre, but that the people who'll buy it will pay much less since it needs to be cleaned to separate the corn from the weed seeds?
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Weed seed can be a problem in small grains. Not really in corn, corn is so much bigger then the weed seed. Screens out.
 
SALLYSUE said:
After years of using it it gets in the soil and will start killing youir trees. I have a farm that I lease out and the trees next to the round up ready corn are dying
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I have seen this around here. I think it's from the drift. They spray a fine mist, you have a breeze, only takes a little.
 
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