Ragwort - friend or foe !!

[MartreCycle]

A live and learn moment -

after advice on this forum - did some other checking and found:

http://www.ragwortfacts.com/

Cannot vouch to whether this is a 'good' site - interesting and gets rid of some myths

( its not the law after all - but.... )

Next year - may be, I will leave it for the benefit of some creatures but not others

[tracy]

Thanks for that MartreCycle - helpful!

[Fez]

Having only just joined I've missed the original question about ragwort but my understanding about it is this. Sorry if I'm repeating what has already been said.

The above site seems to be mudying the waters by not telling the complete truth. This info from Cheshire County Council site was updated this April and gives bit more information.

"By virtue of the Weeds Act 1959 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the County Council has a statutory duty to control harmful/noxious weeds on the highway. Hence, the Council will undertake to treat the following harmful weeds: broad leaf dock, creeping thistle, curled dock, spear thistle and ragwort. We also treat the notifiable weeds, giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed. One of the more common harmful weeds is Ragwort, most notable by its distinctive yellow flowers which bloom from July to October. Unfortunately, it can prove fatal to cattle if ingested. It is treated by a combination of targeted applications of weedkiller in the early part of the growing season and removal by hand later in the season".

Contrary to the Ragwortfacts site it does appear that there are notifiable weeds in the UK, its just that Ragwort is not one of them even though local authorities are legally obliged to deal with it on their property. They also say that it doesn't accumulate in the body yet in the next sentence state that the damage IS accumulative. I think thats being a bit picky.

Most livestock only live for a few years at most before becoming part of the food chain so if some ragwort has got into their hay its not likely to do them much damage over such a short time. Nothing will eat it whilst growing but once dried it becomes palitable. Like many poisons, its damage is accumulative so you need to have eaten or been in contact with it over a long period.

The bit on that site about horses being poisoned even when it is not in the field is also misleading. They may be correct about the damage not being done by spores or seeds etc. but they don't mention what would happen if the horse was being fed hay cut from a field in which ragwort was growing. It would take many years and lot of hay with ragwort in it but it can happen.

Hope I haven't muddied the water any more.

[Henrietta]

Ragwort is a native wild flower that is of benefit to insects. Animals do not it eat it when it is growing There is a risk when cut with the hay and eaten dried. Ragwort is such a tall and gaudy plant that surely it could be removed from hay fields before cutting. You would have to be nearly blind not to see it. This is yet another example of lack of common sense and over reaction.

[Exeldama]

Ragwort is a weed to some a cracking plant to others. It does as said provide necessary nutrition to some species, i think im right in saying we have one native moth which is soley dependent on it and endangered.

Horses definitley suffer from it. It is cumilative, particularily in the liver and one of the symptoms is hypersensitivity to sunburn.They are most at risk when its been cut and left so the only sensible solution is pulling and removal. it takes along time to get some areas under control. there is also a legal duty on private owners to control it when it pertains to and associated with agriculture such as grazing land.

I have know horses ingest it rarely when the grazing is zero but if your starving i guess anything is ok to eat even if it tastes yuck.