Ragwort is not only a danger to livestock on pasture. When dried in hay or silage, the toxins of the plant remain and endanger the health of the animals.
Ragwort must never be fed with the hay
Ragwort on the rise
Unfortunately, the herb spreads very strongly on the naturally cultivated areas. Late hay harvests cause the flowers of the ragwort to mature and form up to 150,000 seeds per plant. Dried in the hay, animals are no longer able to recognize the poisonous herb and unsuspectingly eat it with them. If ragweed-spiked hay is regularly fed, it accumulates in the liver and cumulatively poisons the organ.
The groundsel in the hay
The dried ragwort changes the color of the stem and leaves, making it almost impossible to define. Sometimes the stalks retain their purple tint, but often the dried stalk is pale green or brownish. Because ragwort leaves resemble dandelion leaves in their dried form, identification is extremely difficult. In addition, the fine leaves crumble in the hay and can no longer be identified.
Combat Ragwort
If the grazing areas are only weakly interspersed, you should dig up and dispose of the entire root of the plants before mowing the meadow. It is important to carry out this measure before flowering so that the plant cannot seed further. The resulting gaps must be resown to prevent ragwort from settling again.
tips
Since horses are particularly sensitive to the toxic substances in ragweed, you should definitely pay attention to the quality of the hay. There are now hay suppliers who consistently control their areas and can therefore guarantee a very high forage quality.