Converting Ag to Habitat

[meyerske]

I have a few acres of field that are currently being farmed in beans. I'd like to take this field out of production and allow it to become deer habitat. My issue is that this field has always had a marestail (aka horse weed) problem. So if I just let it go, it will be taken over by mares tail, at least initially. I guess it will eventually turn into woody cover. My question is should I attempt to remove the marestail during this conversion, or just let nature take its course? I plan on treating invasive species as the field matures. Thoughts?

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[FarmerDan]

Just my opinion...mare's tail is a problem of cultivated ag fields. Since you are transitioning to another type of land cover / land use it won't be a competitive problem. But, I don't know your plans for the transition. Mother Nature just takes over? If so, in the time from where you are to where you want to be you'll probably see a frightening amount of horseweed seed production. Does it matter? Probably not. Seed doesn't persist in the soil forever and if the conditions aren't right it won't germinate. Eventually, native plants take over and the resulting competition suppresses everything you might find in an ag production field. In a couple years those undesirable (horseweed) seeds rot, are eaten or fall to a depth deep enough so they will never germinate. Put that transitioned field back into ag production and all bets ae off, although this rotation is enough to probably eliminate or severely limit horseweed. I read that mare's tail seed deeper than a quarter inch deep in the soil won't germinate.

Just let it go...

 

[buckdeer1]

How is your farm laid out now,sometimes this is a great idea if short on cover, but not so great if short on food.Marestail is a pain and will be an issue if you don't spray anything or plant anything.Are you wanting mid height cover or planning on trees taking over?You could work it lightly to stimulate growth or burn and then use a chemical wand after the marestail got high enough before it seeds and use a herbicide. However I have seen marestail only turn brown on one side and eventually come back doing that

 

[bwoods11]

Can you plant a lot of trees, and then mow between the rows??

 

[meyerske]

I appreciate the opinions. My farm is rich in food. It lacks some cover. I can't burn, so NWSG are probably out of the question. I considered planting spruce in this field, but I've planted a couple of hundred at other spots on the property and I've not had great success.

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[bwoods11]

What state ? How about cedar?

 

[meyerske]

What state ? How about cedar?

Ohio. I did look into cedar plugs. I was just concerned that they'd be overrun with the marestail. And I don't want to create acreage with even more maintenance than what I'm currently dealing with.

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[Tree Spud]

I agree with planting and caging trees. Then mow before seed heads form to minimize weeds.

You could also consider planting switch grass, great cover and will choke out many weeds.

 

[Tree Spud]

Ohio. I did look into cedar plugs. I was just concerned that they'd be overrun with the marestail. And I don't want to create acreage with even more maintenance than what I'm currently dealing with.

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Red cedar does very well for me in weedy areas. It even thrives in my switch grass and does not get shaded out.

 

[meyerske]

Red cedar does very well for me in weedy areas. It even thrives in my switch grass and does not get shaded out.

Hmm. Interesting!

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[Tree Spud]

Hmm. Interesting!

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Remember that SG is a clump grass that does not spread rhizomes or massive root systems out. Because of the spacing between the clumps, great habitat for new born turkey, duck, etc. chicks. They feed on the insects and have cover from overhead predators.

 

[J B]

We’ve fought marestail here for a few years. Round up does not work on it. Enlist soybeans have been very good! It’s a winter annual weed, so a lot of farmers will spray 24-d on it in the fall after harvest. That seems to help a lot. I wouldn’t rule out native grasses. That will be by far your fastest way to add cover. We have a small property and and a lot of grass and we manage with mowing and spraying. Is it as good as fire? No, but it works for me and I love the extra cover! Do you have a larger tractor and mower that you could mow parts of it each year without it being a fire hazard?

 

[buckdeer1]

I have areas that are made up of shrub plots,transplanted cedars, a few oaks and NWSG.I burn all the rest of my NWSG but don't burn this 10 acres.Yes it would be better to burn but with the trees and shrubs you can't. I plant sandhill plum and fragrant sumac shrubs

 

[yoderjac]

I have a few acres of field that are currently being farmed in beans. I'd like to take this field out of production and allow it to become deer habitat. My issue is that this field has always had a marestail (aka horse weed) problem. So if I just let it go, it will be taken over by mares tail, at least initially. I guess it will eventually turn into woody cover. My question is should I attempt to remove the marestail during this conversion, or just let nature take its course? I plan on treating invasive species as the field matures. Thoughts?

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Here is my suggestion. First get the marestail under control. The method that works well for me when we had an infestation started with timely mowing in late summer/early fall. You want the marestail to get as large as possible and flower, and then mow it before it goes to seed. If you mow too early, it will regrow, and flower below mower height. If you catch it just before it goes to seed, there is not enough time for it to go back to seed. Unfortunately, it can also regrow from the root system next year. My next step is to use Interline (liberty link herbicide) for burn down in the spring. Do not use gly, it makes the problem worse. Then I planted a smother crops of buckwheat and sunn hemp. The Interline will smoke most of the marestail, but it won't get 100% if it is a bad infestation. The following fall, I will use interline again for burn down and T&M WR/PTT/CC. Theses will take off early next spring and help control the marestail.

Next spring, I would see how much, if any, marestail is left. I would do the T&M Buckwheat/Sunn hemp again for summer using interline as needed. Finally, in the fall of year two, I would replace the CC with a perennial white clover (I like durana in my area). Mow the WR next spring each time it hits a foot or so back to 6" to release the durana.

At this point, I'd stop everything. By now, marestail will just be one more weed as it has not been favored by gly use. The clover will naturally get weedy as time goes on. Eventually woody plants will start growing. If you want to keep it in early succession for food/cover, consider disking the outer perimeter each year as a firebreak and then conduct a growing season controlled burn every 3-4 years.

 

[TreeDaddy]

In Texas,cattle is King

Hence "ag" fields are Bermuda grass( coastal/common) for grazing

Bermuda grass is "of the Devil" in terms of habitat and eradication

Be blessed

bill

 

[willy]

If it was an ag field that has been in commercial production perhaps you can use crp as a tool to get your habitat. Have you looked into crp tree plantings? Perhaps you could enroll that field into a type of crp that is a timber planting. I recently took an ag field out of production and planted hardwoods and shrubs. There is cost share and yearly payment for 15 years. Then, as crp works now, I can re enroll it another 15 years. After that, as crp goes it will no longer be accepted into crp programs.

The field is already deer habitat with all the volunteer velvet leaf, marestail, waterhemp, and sunflowers.

The problem weeds mentioned above were bad in it after planting trees this year, seed is in the soil bank. I mowed it when the seed heads were getting ready to mature. In between the rows is a forb/nwsg mix. I just kept the mower high. I suspect the weed problem will take care of itself in a couple years, once the other plants are firmly established. If the sunflowers and waterhemp stick around I won't be so sad. Deer love it.

 

[Native Hunter]

I like the idea of willy about looking into crp. That way you are sure to get some valuable hardwoods and shrubs rather than whatever nature decides to give you. In my area, fields let go fallow usually end up with a high percentage of trees that you wouldn't want for deer habitat - such as sweetgum, yellow poplar, sycamore, etc....

However, if the decision is made to just let it go back to nature, there is no need in dealing with the marestail. In fact, it will give you some good deer cover while you are waiting on other things to grow. I might also mention that even with undesirable species like I have mentioned above, you will still have good deer cover (and fair browse) for several years until they mature. But then, you are left with a mature forest which provides neither cover nor food, and low (if any) timber value.

You just have to weigh the choices and go from there. Even with a mature forest of poor quality trees, you can still do some hinge cutting and improve the deer habitat. CRP is going to be more labor intensive, but it will result in higher quality habitat in the long run and should provide some future mature timber value.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

We've found here in Pa. that if you want some planted tree or shrub to survive - cages are the way to succeed. I've planted hundreds & hundreds of Norway & white spruce over the last 25 years at camp - most survived - but not without being browsed some or rubbed by bucks. I did NOT cage all of them, but the ones in strategic locations (usually clusters or "walkways" of them) - I caged to 100% success. The ones not caged generally survived - but with some lost to deer damage. Once big enough to be beyond deer destruction, I remove the cages. It doesn't take hundreds of spruce to create good security / bedding cover.

It's the same with other trees and shrubs - aluminum window screen on the trunks (mice) and concrete mesh cages for deer protection.

If you want some brushy habitat for a variety of wildlife - consider Washington hawthorn trees. We have a number of them planted at camp and they're tough as nails. They make great deer bedding cover due to the thorns & "limb-y" dense branching habit. SUPER bird nesting cover - and grouse LOVE the red berries they produce. (so do turkeys). I planted a cluster of them for deer bedding / grouse cover - and that cluster has worked well for both purposes. I caged ours until they got about 7 or 8 ft. tall. Deer will browse the young, tender twigs that have no thorns in them, but will avoid the thorny parts - so they survive. After 23 years, our hawthorns are about 18 ft. tall and well-branched. They'll spawn new, FREE seedlings for you too from the fallen red berries - or bird droppings. Not a timber tree - but a great habitat addition. We love them.

CRP / weedy, goldenrod fields are good ideas as well. You could combine a CRP-type weedy field with some tree plantings of beneficial trees & shrubs to gain great habitat for years to come. Maybe spray & kill the marestail first if you go that route??? (see below) vvvv

Sorry - no help on marestail. We don't have it at camp. Our plagues are "tree-of-heaven", ferns, and barberry.

Good luck on your project!

 

[Teeder]

I second the thought of using this time to plant some beneficial trees!

 

[Bassattackr]

I appreciate the opinions. My farm is rich in food. It lacks some cover. I can't burn, so NWSG are probably out of the question.

Even old fields require management, sometimes burning.. Otherwise it will become a "forest" eventually and you will lose the browse and cover.

Letting a field go, you will still have NWSG in the seedbank crop up. You're ahead of most in the game, since it was Ag previously, there aren't any CSG to eliminate.. maybe on the edges. You might verify this.

CRP seems like a great way to transition over, then once the contract runs out, just let it go. Here is a great read on the topic by the man himself, Dr Craig Harper..

https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/documents/pb1855.pdf

As far as trees go, you can't beat cedars for quick cover. An old overgrown field with scattered cedars is a whitetail haven!