Roundup Ready alfalfa & sugar beets

[Scott M]

Has anyone tried them on food plots? I see an earlier thread debating the use of these products, I'm hoping for feedback rather than the debate. I've had enough weed pulling and tilling with my plain jane clover and brassicas. 2-3 years in and you could hardly tell it was once a food plot. Spraying with roundup would really help me out, although as Dotch knows, I'm really struggling with bracken ferns. I'm assuming roundup would take those too.

[Jameson]

Considering forum policy is not to encourage illegal activity it is not wise to discuss this here.

[Scott M]

You could throw me/us a bone at least Took me a while to find what you're referencing but after sorting through a couple stories I found it; there is an injunction on sale of the RR sugar beets. Still, the alfalfa's on the market. Considering that 80% of my plots are perennial clover and that's what I'm most interested in, please if you used the alfalfa let me know what you thought. I'm guessing I'll have to check into bigger food plot forums.

[graingrower]

I think you will have to find a farmer willing to sell you a portion of a bag unless your plot is larger than three acres. RR alfalfa seed has a huge tech fee and the varieties on the market are bred for disease resistance and yield rather that winterhardiness. If alfalfa already exists in the plot, don't forget about autotoxicity.

I sowed 2000 lbs last August, this first cutting is now harvested and the yield was modest although the chemistry was very good. In 28 days we will know more if the weather heats up.

I had to chuckle over the RR beet reference; how will RR sweet corn be perceived by consumers next year?

[Dotch]

I would concur on the Round Up Ready alfalfa thus far anyway. We had a customer with ~ 200 acres of some of the first stuff out on the market before the lawsuits, injunctions, etc. It was seeded after wheat in late July and established well. It yielded okay the following year and quality was good. However, thanks in part to some horrible advice from a still wet behind the ears "authority" on alfalfa he took a late cutting. He was then advised it was OK to spread turkey manure on it around freeze-up in November. It iced over shortly after that. One open winter later and by spring the only thing left of the field other than scattered plants was a narrow strip where snow banks had provided cover along the fencelines.

Not sure what the consumers will think about Round Up Ready sweet corn but from rumors of the price of the seed (have heard as high as $400/acre) it will surely get the attention of anyone planting it.

[rustysetter]

check the whitetail institute, they have a treatment you can use on their alfa rack product and their clover

[BLACKJACK]

da chisel, check out the QDMA food plot forums, those guys really know their stuff, what to plant, what to spray on it, etc. If you can't find the answer to your question, ask.

As far as RR sweet corn, I can't wait!!! Would love to put a couple rows into my food plots. Hopefully the cost will go down with continued use.

[InTheNorthwoods]

You could throw me/us a bone at least Took me a while to find what you're referencing but after sorting through a couple stories I found it; there is an injunction on sale of the RR sugar beets. Still, the alfalfa's on the market. Considering that 80% of my plots are perennial clover and that's what I'm most interested in, please if you used the alfalfa let me know what you thought. I'm guessing I'll have to check into bigger food plot forums.

The issue is not an injunction on the sale of either product anymore. The issue is that neither RR Sugarbeets or Alfalfa are allowed to be planted for food plots. The user agreement specifically outlaws use in food plots. It has to do with the life cycle of these two plants and concerns over the improper care in foodplots. Monsanto is not afraid to pick a fight.

With that said, I've been curious about these two products as well. Especially the sugarbeets.

[eyedawg]

Da chisel have u looked at arrow 2 herbicide?

[Scott M]

@eyedawg: What does arrow 2 target?

@Inthenorthwoods: ahh, of course, since everyone should read and sign the Grower Agreement and 24 page Monsanto Technology Use Guide, because if you don't and you open the product, you are agreeing to their terms Monsanto does have a history of litigating the little guys, but I think they'd have a hard time proving you are planting on a food plot. The neighbor by our cabin mows a few fields; I could write up a contract with him that he would cut and bale my alfalfa twice a summer and suddenly it's no longer a food plot...then again, it sure is heck isn't a cheap food plot.

Sounds like too much hassle to me.

[Dotch]

I think eyedog's referring to Arrow 2 EC. It's a generic. The active ingredient is clethodim, the same a.i. in Select. It's strictly a grass killer, best on annual grasses but gives adequate control of several perennial grasses at higher use rates.

No doubt, Monsanto definitely has some of the best lawyers in the business. Just ask any seed company that has dealt with them to incorporate Monsanto patents and processes into their offerings. They've also gone after people for "brown-bagging" Round Up Ready soybeans. People signed the agreement though so they knew the risks going in. Haven't heard of any litigation involving food plots, yet. That may even be a little more trivial than they want to mess with but I'd certainly want to have my i's dotted and t's crossed as da chise points out before taking any chances. If it's legitimately harvested during the summer, there should be no problem.