Ag Insights January 2025

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Sandbur Control

Josh Bushong, Area Extension Agronomist

Sandburs are a common weed issue found in pastures, forage crops, and lawns. As the name implies, sandburs are typically more of an issue in sandy soils. Sandburs are an annual warm season grass, but with a mild winter can behave as a short-lived perennial. Seeds can germinate all summer, but most will germinate in May and June. Bright green sandbur in a field.

Sandburs can obviously be an issue with livestock in pastures and hay production but can also reduce forage quality and quantity. Since sandbur seeds can stay viable in the soil for 5 to 8 years, the main objective for suppression would be reducing seed development. Control will take several years of intensive management utilizing both cultural practices and herbicides.

Proper weed management starts with taking care of the soil, which starts with taking a soil sample. To give the desired crops a competitive edge, soil pH and nutrient deficiencies will need to be corrected and maintained. Sandburs are more tolerant to acidic (low pH) soils than many warm season forages. Applying adequate nitrogen will be the most beneficial to improve the stand of the desired forage. Correcting phosphorus and potassium will also help improve root development and plant regrowth.

In addition to soil fertilization, other cultural suppression practices include managing stocking rate and prescribed burning. Proper stocking rates should be managed to retain adequate biomass for the crop to regrow at a faster pace and stay competit*+ive with sandburs. For Bermudagrass, leaving 2 to 3 inches is essential for good regrowth for both haying and grazing.

Prescribed burning can reduce sandbur seed production if executed at the right time and with high intensity. Fall burns will likely be better, unless there is sufficient fuel (old growth) for a hot spring burn. If the fire from the burn is not hot enough, it may actually stimulate germination. At first one would think that would be a bad thing. After the light burn a higher percentage will emerge the first year, which an herbicide would effectively control a larger percentage of the sandbur population in one application.

There are a few herbicides that can be used to assist in sandbur control. Unfortunately, most are only labeled in bermudagrass. There are no herbicides labeled for sandbur control in Old World Bluestem, crabgrass, and some native grasses. In most native grass pastures, herbicides with the active ingredient imazepic (Plateau, Panoramic, or Impose) will provide some control but will also cause some crop injury to the native grasses. This injury is often temporary and lessened if good growing conditions follow herbicide application.

For bermudagrass, the use of a preemergence (applied before sandburs germinate) herbicide like pendimethalin (Prowl H2O) will help reduce half to two-thirds of the largest and earliest flush of sandburs.

A newer product now available, called Rezilon, gives farmers another preemergent herbicide option. It is recommended to be applied well before sandbur germination. If sandburs are already emerged this product will not provide any control. Ideally it should be applied late-winter, but can also be applied mid-season generally after the first cutting to prevent late-season sandbur emergence.

The first application of Rezilon needs to be applied by late February. It can control and suppress weeds for up to 4 months, so depending on when the first application was made a second application might be needed in June or July. A rainfall event or irrigation of at least a half of an inch is needed to move the product from the soil surface to the sandbur seeds in the soil. For most effective control, a water incorporation needs to occur within three weeks.

If applying Rezilon after sandbur emergence or if there are perennial sandbur plants found, tank-mixing a postemergence product like glyphosate might be needed. Add Rezilon to the sprayer prior to adding the glyphosate to prevent tank-mix issues or reduced weed control. Rezilon is a suspension concentrate product that needs constant agitation in the sprayer to keep it in solution.

Rezilon doesn’t have any grazing restrictions, but grazing after an application and prior to an incorporating rain can reduce weed control. There is not a haying restriction when applied at 3 ounces per acre. There is a 40-day haying restriction if more than 3 ounces are applied.

Postemergence (applied after bermudagrass and sandburs are actively growing) herbicide options include glyphosate (Roundup Weathermax), imazepic (Plateau), or nicosulfuron with metsulfuron (Pastura). Read and follow label directions for rates, application timings, and surfactants to limit crop injury and to achieve satisfactory sandbur control.

Lack of control is usually due to herbicide application timing. Sandbur growth stage is critical for some products. For instance, after sandburs reach 1.5 inches tall the expected control will be reduced with products like Pastora. If applied correctly, over 90 percent of the sandburs can be controlled with the postemergence herbicides. Keep in mind, sandburs will continue to emerge as the season progresses which may make it appear like the early herbicide application failed.

Herbicide products like MSMA are good options for golf courses, sod farms, and highway right-of-ways, but cannot be applied to pastures or hay ground. This is mostly due to the risk of poisoning livestock from being an arsenic-based herbicide.

A multi-year strategy of combining cultural suppression practices and herbicides is necessary. For more information refer to OSU factsheet PSS-2596 Sandbur Control in Bermudagrass Pastures or visit your local OSU Extension office.

A Recap of 2024

Dana Zook, NW OK Area Livestock Specialist

Happy New Year! It seems that each December I can’t believe we are turning over a new calendar year – each year seems to fly by. It seems cliché, but around this time of year, I personally try to look back on my year and think about the events of the year, things that worked, and the hard things I weathered through. I won’t bother you with my personal lineup of details, but I thought this might be an insightful practice in this article for OSU Extension happenings and ag related events. So without further ado, here are some things of note that occurred in Oklahoma Agriculture in 2024:

Ellis, Beaver, Custer, Roger Mills, Texas, Woods and Harper Counties along with a large part of the Texas Panhandle experienced historic wildfires in late February and early March. Approximately 152,615 acres were burned with estimated total damage of $32.9 million or $215/acre. Source: Wildfire Impact Data.
Throughout 2024, OSU Extension DART (Disaster Assistance Response Team) formally mobilized along with county OSU Extension Educators across the state to more efficiently respond to wildfires, tornados, animal disease outbreaks and floods to assist fellow Oklahomans in time of need.
Avian Influenza continues to be an ongoing animal disease threat nationwide. In July, Oklahoma became the 13th state to detect Avian Influenza in a Dairy Herd. Then in late November and early December, Avian Influenza was detected in 2 commercial flocks and 1 backyard flock in Oklahoma.
In August, the Asian Longhorn Tick was discovered for the first time in Oklahoma.
Moisture was lacking throughout Oklahoma most of the year, but a drought-ending series of October storms blessed much of the state.
This blessing of fall rains gave cattle producers the opportunity to capitalize on wheat pasture, providing an additional feed resource to drought-stricken areas.
The U.S. beef herd is the smallest since the 1950’s but cattle prices remain historically high.
On November 22, 2024, the New World Screw Worm was detected in Southern Mexico resulting in temporary suspension of live cattle imports from Mexico.
In December, OSU concluded a two-year study evaluating the effectiveness of deworming products in cattle herds across the state. Extension educators along with area and state specialists and local OK veterinarians teamed up to sample cattle herds in approximately 14 counties across the state. I can’t wait to share the final details and results of this study in the coming year!
A milestone was reached by OSU Extension’s Cow Calf Corner Newsletter. This publication is a weekly email news source produced by OSU Extension Specialists and Educators. This past year, Cow Calf Corner provided 53 newsletters with 171 individual articles sent to more than 2,530 subscribers each week. This year subscriptions increased by more than 50%! I am proud to be part of this newsletter and if you are interested in subscribing, send an email to paul.beck@okstate.edu with your intent to subscribe.

I hope you enjoyed this roundup of happenings in 2024. Many of these topics above were discussed in the Cow Calf Corner Newsletter or on the OSU Extension Experience Podcast. You can view the podcast episode posts on the Extension Experience Blog or by subscribing on the Apple Podcast and Spotify Apps on your smart phone. Agriculture is a challenging industry to be involved but I personally would say that there is no other industry or state I would rather be. Happy New Year to you all!

Tips for Farm Planning

Alberto Amador, Area Ag Economics Specialist

As the year ends and holiday celebrations draw near, it's a time to enjoy and share invaluable moments with family and friends. Yet, farming and food production never take a break. Farmers must always look ahead, planning their next steps and preparing for the future.

Looking toward 2025, the agricultural sector faces several challenges. Commodity prices remain uncertain, 2024 brought low yields, input costs continue to rise, and geopolitical tensions add further complexity.

For these reasons, this time I want to share important points to consider for the planning farming process.

Price determination is multifactorial, generally the short-term outlook is not optimistic. One of the principal threats impacting demand is weather. Prolonged droughts have severely affected productivity across the world. While a stable market exchange and a more certain geopolitical environment could help improve the situation, it is too early to expect a significant rise in commodity prices. Therefore, having numbers and a budget are crucial steps for farmers. These tools enable them to understand their real costs and calculate break-even points and are key to determining real profitability.

During management and financial calculations, it’s necessary to use real numbers and not cut costs based on yield. According to Aaron Smith (2024), 90% of cash cost is spent in 5 sectors – land, seed, chemical, operating expenses, and fertilizers. Additionally, it’s prudent to avoid basing cost estimates on the highest possible yield. Instead, search professional help to determine yield and price break-even points to make a better decision.

Throughout the planning process, integrating risk management and marketing plans might bring several benefits. Each year presents unique challenges, and the context is constantly dynamic. Analyzing the current situation to determine which tools- such as crop insurances, contracts, futures, among others- fit better to the farmers’ needs. Furthermore, securing access to credit can be highly beneficial. Having cash and inputs available on time helps enhance productivity, prevent disease and pest outbreaks, mitigates yield reductions, and provides financial stability for farmers.

Due to the challenges coming next year, farmers have a strong opportunity to benefit from federal payments. However, modifications or changes to the current plans are possible. For this reason, the best is considering them as a bonus. Farmers must be informed of the situation and possible changes.

Maintaining farm records is an excellent practice that facilitates farm planning. Detailed records result in a more precise budget, provide characteristics and details to analyze inner and external factors and improve decision making, especially when it comes to risk management. Additionally, well maintained farm records increase the likelihood of qualifying for subsidies and federal programs.

These are just a few important tips to consider. Don’t hesitate to reach out to experts, especially the OSU Extension office. We are here to support you and help you maximize the benefits available to you.

Happy Holidays!

Extension Experience – Insights into Oklahoma Agriculture

The Extension Experience podcast is brought to you by Josh Bushong and Dana Zook. Biweekly episodes provide perspectives on Agriculture topics and offer insight from our experience working with OSU Extension Educators and producers across Oklahoma.

The Extension Experience podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcast platforms.

You can also access the episodes on our blog.

You can also find and share our podcast from our Facebook page!

We hope you consider listening to the Extension Experience.