If you drive down a road in southwest Missouri during this time of year, you're likely to see tractors in the field pulling a rotary mower, or 'brush hogging' machine. Now is a good time to take care of that brush, weeds and other scrub that's sprung up in your fields this rainy summer. "The primary benefit of brush hogging is to clean up a pasture so it can be better managed. This may be as simple as cutting tall, un-grazed grass or it may mean cutting three-foot tall pigweed or large brush," John Jennings, a University of Arkansas Extension forage specialist, said. Jennings added that the temporary removal of thorny or un-grazeable species allows livestock to have access to underlying forage. Sometimes clipping pastures may reduce eye problems, but a good grazing plan would be more effective to keep the grass under control than brush-hogging alone.
"Brush hogging can reduce shading of forages and competition caused by brush and tall weeds, but it is an after-the-fact treatment. When a pasture needs to be brush hogged the damage from the brush/weeds to pasture yield or quality has already been done. So in effect brush hogging is a rescue treatment to get a pasture back into a manageable condition," Jennings said.
Brush Hogging, One Step in Management
In addition to brush hogging, Jennings recommend producers be proactive in controlling your pastures. These steps can be as simple as dividing the pasture with a single electric wire to improve grazing, applying fertilizer or lime, spraying herbicides or best yet, a good system of all three. Each farm is unique and will require a unique plan for pasture management, added Jennings.
However, Jennings does present an area of caution. Brush hogging is a time-consuming process that requires cost in fuel, and for a lot of producers, brush hogging seems to be a recreational practice. "Pastures get brush hogged in late summer to clean up summer weeds or scattered brush. It looks good and gives a sense of accomplishment because it generally returns an out-of-control situation back to a condition that can be managed. This is only a temporary benefit because the problem will return if other factors or management that allowed the weeds or brush to invade are not changed," Jennings warned.
Pasture Management a Better Alternative
Weeds and brush can usually be controlled much cheaper and more effectively earlier in the season with herbicides and improved grazing management before they become a problem. The key is scouting pastures often to catch the problem when it is controllable.
Jennings concluded, "The best advice about brush hogging is to think of it as only one step of a multi-step plan that may include soil tests, herbicides where necessary, improved grazing, fencing and possibly reseeding. Once you brush hog a field, you have to start putting the other steps in place that are needed for that site to avoid spending a lot of time in the tractor seat every year brush hogging the same fields. I started managing a farm for wildlife that was overgrown with undesirable brush and have improved habitat with a combination of brush hogging and herbicides. The brush hogging gives me access into overgrown areas to spray the brush regrowth. The herbicides eliminate the brush so I can manage the native grasses and other desirable plants – and this type of management can be done by any farmer to improve their own pastures and fields."
