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Noxious Weed Free Hay & Products



Usually I stay out of these discussions until I can stand the
misinformation and inaccuracies no longer. So the time has come.

First a bit of history!!! The legislative controls are not, initially, on
hay. They are on the transportation of NOXIOUS WEED SEEDS! The laws
concerning this were instituted by the grain growers through out the
central and western states to prevent the spread of crop damaging weeds
like bindweed, thistles of all varieties, skeleton weed Russian Thistle
(TUMBLE WEED) and so on. 

The USFS picked up on this and used the laws as existing, for the
transportation of the seeds, and included the hay as a carrier of weeds.
What most people do not consider is the other ramifications of the existing
laws. The main transportation vector, as agreed by USFS field personnel, is
mechanical. The soles of shoes, vehicular tires, etc. Therefore there is a
beginning trend that road construction and maintenance equipment used on
USFS lands ( and BLM and State lands also) must be cleaned and inspected
prior to use. This could be (and has been at Yellowstone Park) carry over
to your horse trailer.

Now some on this forum have discounted the effort of weed eradication.
Picture a ride that goes along a very nice trail for a few years then that
same ride route becomes infested with Bull Thistles!! The ride is no longer
a viable entity as the thistles have rendered the trail unusable!!! It has
happened in our area!!! Cleaning the vehicles that used this trail could
have prevented the problem.  Early attention to the problem with a bit of
control could have saved this trail. 

Consider your own pasture, it may be very good now but an invasion of Hoary
Cress (white top) or Tansy Ragwort can render it completely unusable in a
few seasons. Can you afford this?? 

NOXIOUS WEEDS ARE A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM!!!  It is not just the hay
transportation factor, it is also the hay purchase cost factor and very
importantly the hay quality factor. 

Your County Agent or the State Department of Agriculture can and will refer
you to producers of quality noxious weed free hay and hay products. Most
western counties have weed commissions that also are knowledgeable of
producers of such hay. 

When you ignore or flaunt the regulations, you are not only contributing to
and worsening the problem, you are also setting your self up for increased
restrictions and costs in the future. 

Remember, every pound of weed in the hay field is a pound of feed denied
your horse and an increase in the cost of the hay he does get.

Bob Morris
Morris Endurance Enterprises
Boise, ID



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