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Great information on footing choices around your barn.
slide show Archives - King Conservation District
Slideshow: Footing Choices for Horse Properties by King Conservation District Staff | September 23, 2019 | Education, Guest Blog Use of a footing product in confinement areas and high traffic areas will help create a horse-healthy, mud and dust-free … ContinuedCover Cropping Cleveland
Dr. Ben Tracy and PhD student, Shayan Ghajar will host a Native Grass Field Day on Wednesday, September 4, 1:30pm at Middleburg Agricultural Research and Extension Center to discuss establishing and managing native grasses for forage and wildlife benefits, demonstrate how to calibrate a seed drill for native grasses and give a tour of their current research. @vtcals #forages #plantscience #hokies #agronomy #environment
From our friends at Blue Ridge PRISM: If you have Japanese Stilt Grass on your farm or in your yard (most do!) NOW is the time act!
This plant is an annual, so in order for it to proliferate it needs to set seed. Now is the ideal time to mow or cut it TO THE GROUND before it starts to flower and set seed. You can eliminate this years’ seed production by simply mowing it down. The root system of this plant is very fine and slender (and easily pulled out) and when the plant is cut at the right time the limited food reserves in the roots will not allow the plant to grow back, flower and set seed before it dies.
Mowing is best done just before flowering in August and September and need be done only once if you wait until then. Cut stiltgrass as low as possible, scalping the ground, to remove all flowers (which are hard to see) and leaves - there should not be anything green left on the plant. To effectively use a string-trimmer to control stiltgrass, hold the trimmer at a slight downward angle so the string digs about a quarter-inch into the ground to sever roots from stems. Leave clippings from mowed or cut stiltgrass in place to die if seeds haven’t formed.
Be aware that although you’ve eliminated this year’s seed production there is still seed in the soil that can germinate next year and for years after. Controlling Japanese stiltgrass is a multi-year effort, but well worth it.