# How do you keep your fence rows clean?



## eam77

This is kind of a follow up to the electric fencing thread that I just posted on. But, the question here is not primarialy about electric fences.

For regular fences--- and for me that would mostly be 5 wire barb wire, with driven steel T-posts, with concreted-in pipe posts where more strength is needed -----how do you keep them from growing up. I know that as we go further north, the problem is not so bad, but here in SouthWest Arkansas, it's a real problem.

I do see some people having success in my area with spraying. But what success I see is very small scale with hand or backpack sprayers.

Questions. If you spray, what methods, equipment, and chemical do you use?

How effective do you rate your spraying?

Has your spraying damaged your fence in any way (corrosion, wire or posts?, other)?

Any problems with other landowners when you spray a property line fence?

What about a currently grown-up fence--say 5 to 10 feet tall- would you hand clean, and then try to spray to suppress regrowth, or foliige spray to try to kill all in place?

Finally, anybody got fencerow experience with Remedy Ultra?


----------



## Tim/South

Some of my fences have grown up in privet hedges. I do not mind them as much because they keep the cows from pushing against them. 

Now and then I cut them back with a brush cutter on a BobCat.

On the fences I keep clean I use some Round Up type spray. It will eat the galvanize off wire and make T posts rust. I add a little diesel to protect the wire. The diesel probably does as much in killing the unwanted as the Round Up does. Not sure the mixture is legal in all areas. I only know it is approved on my place.


----------



## Guest

Backhoe or excavator! It will never grow up again!


----------



## Bonfire

I spray fence rows with my 3 pt sprayer. Leave the booms folded in. On the right end of the center boom I have mounted a single, large brass nozzle. It is fed from the hose supplying the center boom. When I want to use this nozzle, I open the ball valve between the center boom supply hose and the nozzle. I then replace all the center boom nozzles with caps. I can then control the brass nozzle using the center boom electric ball valve via the switch in the cab.

That nozzle sprays down about 45* and up about 20*. Has pretty good coverage.

I'm not interested in killing the grass. I want to control broad leafs and small woody plants. Larger trees are just burned back. I like to use Triclopyr and a surfactant. I haven't noticed any damage to the fence. One of my tank fills will just about get all of my fences.


----------



## slowzuki

Its a real problem here as softwood growth is aggressive. Sheep help as they strip everything woody that they can get their teeth onto. Some of our lines you can bushhog the backside then use a thinning saw under the wire. Rage wire is the worst, can't use the saw, sheep can't eat through it.

Anywhere we don't keep animals now I've pulled the fences out, some of our hay fields were last plowed 20 years ago and the dead furrow now has 10" trees in it. We try to cut all our firewood from the edges to push back.


----------



## urednecku

I pretty much let the cattle keep 'em clean. On the one fence-row next to the public road (hay field) I have let it grow up with vines, briars, or what-ever else wants to grow (as long as it's not too invasive into the field). That helps keep people and their trash out.


----------



## ontario hay man

http://agriculture.newholland.com/us/en/Products/Hay-and-Forage-Equipment/Sicklebar-Mowers/Pages/products_overview.aspx
These work very good. I back up to the posts and cut til I come close to the next post then just touch up aroung posts with weed eater. This is a big problem here. Make sure you dont hit posts or be prepared to wrench lol. You should be able to find a used one very reasonable.


----------



## NDVA HAYMAN

I keep my grass cut back with a Rowse mower. Then I use a 4 wheeler with a 25? gallon tank filled with Brushkiller that I spray under the fence. If you have anything that is fairly big, I cut it with a weedeater with a saw head attachment to get it under control. Then a little diesel fuel on the stumps. Makes for a nice fencerow. Mike


----------



## slowzuki

How fast does brush grow in different areas? Up here if a field is idle 20 years it has poplar trees 8" around in it with smaller fir trees about 10 ft tall blanketing the rest.

There is a road I cut 10 years ago to skid the logs for building my house and you can't tell its there now, there is a 4" elm tree right in the middle.

I've thought about hiring someone with a single grip harvester to clean around all my fields as they could delimb on the spot back into the woods. Could probably get enough truckloads of pulp to pay for it.


----------



## panhandle9400

I use ground kill chemical such as primatol ? or toradon ? unsure of spelling of those 2 . I took a 300 gallon chemical tote and made a skid mounted sprayer .We go around fencelines and around irrigation engines and pivots and do a total ground kill each season if needed, we add dye to chemical so we can see what has been hit before.


----------



## somedevildawg

You probably have to control some of the same type weeds we have problems with....I usually spray 2-4d and I have added some other selectives that I didn't have enuf leftover to do the whole field with, cimirron I thnk I've used before mixed with 24d....if you spray RU you better add DF to it to keep them weeds from coming back, otherwise the gly will kill everything and leave bare ground, we know what happens to that.....more weeds

I prefer 2-4d....kills most weeds but not the Baha'i or Bermuda


----------



## rjmoses

I use my 25 gal Fimco boomless sprayer on the back of the Gator. I turn off the inside nozzle and tip the outside nozzle up at about a 30 degree angle. Then I spray a brush killer, like Gordons, which is usually a mix of 2,4D and triclopyr at a rate of 1.5 qts/20 gallons.

This knocks down all the viney, brushy type stuff about 6-8 feet the other side of the fence. The center nozzle gets the stuff inside the fence line.

I will use the spray gun sometimes to knock back overhanging trees and low hanging branches.

I usually spray twice a summer.

I bought a tow-behind Swisher Fence line mower a couple of years ago--they're worthless! I guess they'd work OK on flat ground and if it was mowed every week, but for around pastures fence line--NOPE! They just aren't built very well, nor do they cut very well in heavier grass. I ended up re-engineering the swing mechanism and the cutter.

I see DR now makes a 3 pt model, for $900 but I think it might be more trouble than it's worth.

Ralph


----------



## Bonfire

A Swisher fence line mower? Sounds like you shoulda bought some Swisher Sweets!!! Better spent.


----------



## cornshucker

Use mostly 2-4D sprayed with tank on back of Kawasaki Mule, sometimes will use weedeater if growth becomes too big. Used to use Glysofate but like Dawg said brings too many weeds back. Never had any chickweed until we started using Glys under fence rows and killed everything with Glysofate. Then first thing that comes back is chickweed. We also have a 5 1/2 foot offset hitch rotary cutter that put on a 40 H.P. tractor can get within 2 inches of most of the fences.


----------



## eam77

Update on this subject--. I went last night to a pesticide training school-- this is necessary to get a rewnewal for my "Restricted Private Pesticide Operator license. Looking at their extensive literature--- I now have a plan. The plan is: spray fencerows in the first half of May with tank mix of 0.25% Remedy Ultra + 1.0% Grazon P+D + 0.25% nonionic surfactant. Direct spray to leaf wetting.

I hope to get all the fences that I can drive alongside (easy). I will try to get a mile or two for a first-year test.

I started using Remedy Ultra with diesel fuel this year as a no-sprout back on cut stumps. Best results I've ever had on cut stumps.


----------



## kyfarmboy

Ive got a 25 gallon 4 wheeler mounted sprayer I usually just use round up. If I let it get away from me In Spots ill weedeat it in the bad spots before spraying.


----------



## DSLinc1017

Any fence I have is for sheep, alpacas and horses. Never an issue, as the grass is always greener on the other side.


----------



## Bonfire

eam77 said:


> Update on this subject--. I went last night to a pesticide training school-- this is necessary to get a rewnewal for my "Restricted Private Pesticide Operator license. Looking at their extensive literature--- I now have a plan. The plan is: spray fencerows in the first half of May with tank mix of 0.25% Remedy Ultra + 1.0% Grazon P+D + 0.25% nonionic surfactant. Direct spray to leaf wetting.
> 
> I hope to get all the fences that I can drive alongside (easy). I will try to get a mile or two for a first-year test.
> 
> I started using Remedy Ultra with diesel fuel this year as a no-sprout back on cut stumps. Best results I've ever had on cut stumps.


Have you looked into generics? Would save some money. Look up Triclopyr 4E and Picloram 22K. P 22K won't have the D in it though.


----------



## aawhite

WE gave up on keeping fence rows clean. Used to use tordon for multi-floral rose. We also had a rig that was 3pt. hitch mounted to a tractor, platform has a 100 gal? (not sure size) plastic tank, hydraulic powered pump, and a hose and wand. We would drive the fencerow and spray a mixture of diesel and and a broadleaf herbicide. I was pretty young, then and spent a lot of time handling the wand. We quit that years ago, and quit the tordon in the early 80's, except to spot treat multi-floral rose that creeped out into the pasture.


----------



## eam77

Replying to "Bonfire"-



Bonfire said:


> Have you looked into generics? Would save some money. Look up Triclopyr 4E and Picloram 22K. P 22K won't have the D in it though.


Well I just did look at generics. On the Remedy Ultra, the current best price, internet, delivered, not ship or taxes- is $90/gallon. Generics are about $80/gallon. Meanwhile, I bought Remedy Ultra from my local farm store today for $70/gallon.

On the Grazon P+ D, internet price is $45/gallon. I bought today as above, for $32/gallon.

My guess is that my local farm supply overbought last year, --and has not bought any yet this year, and has held last years prices.

Once in a while you find a bit of a bargain.

Now on generics. I generally will not buy generics---unless-- they are less than two thirds the cost of the name brand. My reasoning is that they are generally produced in China, India, Indonesia,- and I just have lots of insight into the quality practices in these factories. The attitude is often that they will do anything to cut costs, if they think that they will get away with it. So generics--- only if you know something about the source, or the price differential is overwhelming, causing you to rationally take the risk.


----------

