Herbicide causing "contaminated" manure?

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martharolfe

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Dear all,

I've been trying to garden a bit this summer so joined a discussion
group on the subject. I learned many things, and one of the very
important things I learned was that allotment owners are being encouraged NOT to use horse manure because of contamination by a particular chemical in some herbicides.

I understand it is a relatively new herbicide on the market called Aminopyralid. From what I've read, it contaminates the manure of the horses so that the manure damages crops grown on it. Worms in the manure die, crops fail, the ground is contaminated, etc.

It is water soluble so gets into the ground water. I mean, I am a complete amateur and know very little about this sort of thing but I don't want my horses eating any hay, or
standing on bedding that has been treated with this stuff!
I don't know if it will hurt the horse, but I am not taking chances. I also do not know what I am going to do with my manure if it becomes "contaminated".

Some of the feedback I am reading says that the ground and manure may stay contaminated for many years. That means that if you sprayed your field with Banish in order to control buttercups the field, itself, is
now laden with the chemical even years later!

This chemical is made by Dow and I heard that it is found in the following herbicides:

Banish
Forefront
Halcyon
Pharaoh
Pro-Banish
Runway

A very detailed discussion on its effects can be read here:
http://www.allotment.org.uk/garden-diary/257/aminopyralid-herbicide-r...

I am going to check with my hay supplier and see if he uses any of these sprays. It just occured to me that it also might be in our chaff or hard feeds.

Any information by people on this forum greatly appreciated as I am just learning about this!
 
Goodness, I started reading this and thought, I do not use herbicide on my horse, but as I read further, I became quite alarmed.

Thank you for bring this to our attention. I hate to think what it could be doing to our horses.

I am a big fan of going organic and this confirms my belief.

Let us know if you find out anything else.

x
 
Try the Dow website;

http://www.dowagro.com/uk/grass_bites/faq/

I have worked in the agchem industry, and fully understand why people are getting worried. The best thing to do, before panicking, is to simply ask the farmer that supplies your hay "what did you spray the grass with". Most will reply something like MCPA or Grazeon-90, these are perfectly safe herbicides, and nothing to be worried about.

As for bedding, shavings you obviously don't have to worry too much about. Hemp and straw, it might be worth asking some questions about, especially straw, as arable crops are sprayed often up to 5 times in the growing season, with various chemicals.

Before you all panic and go "right, we are going to use organic" please DON'T!! Yes, I worked in the chem industry, saw what was going on my food, but then I have also seen what would happen to those crops if the chemicals were not put on!

What a lot of people fail to realise is that grass crops in particular produce their own toxins, which are kept in check by many of the chemicals used by farmers. These toxins are far more dangerous than the chemicals used, and have been known to kill people and animals.

As for hard feed - anyone here use soya?? Something like 98% of soya is GM. Having worked in agriculture, and seen the extensive testing of grain before it goes into a feed mill, I will hand on heart say that you should not be worried about the bags of hard feed you buy from reputable companies. As for hay and straw, ask your farmer exactly what it has been treated with - he will, by law, have to keep extensive records on what he sprayed and when, so don't let him fob you off with "I don't remember". Every farmer must keep a spray log.
 
The human race managed for million of years being organic and I buy as much organic as I can.

The thought of GM foods terrifies me. I am a veggie and only buy non-GM soya, I am also fussy what my horse eats. GM is frankenstein food.
 
For those who like organic feed - read up about mycotoxins;

"Mycotoxins can appear in the food chain as a result of fungal infection of crops. Mycotoxins greatly resist decomposition or being broken down in digestion, so they remain in the food chain. Even temperature treatments, such as cooking and freezing, do not destroy mycotoxins"

In conventional crops, mycotoxins are controlled by fungicides, but in organic, they are not controlled at all. Myctoxins can accumulate in the body, and cause death and serious illness.

Ergot is another thing to look out for - This is a really nasty one, and can cause abortion and/or death. Again, this is controlled with fungicides, but can be present in both grass and cereal grains used in hard feed. Here are a list of symptoms;

"These are caused by effects of ergot alkaloids on the vascular system due to vasoconstriction of blood vessels, sometimes leading to gangrene and loss of limbs due to severely restricted blood circulation. The neurotropic activities of the ergot alkaloids may also cause hallucinations and attendant irrational behaviour, convulsions, and even death.[1][2] Other symptoms include strong uterine contractions, nausea, seizures, and unconsciousness."

There are a lot of other 'nasties' that occur naturally in grass and grain, and which are controlled by farmer spraying the crops. So please, before you think organic is automatically much better for you, make sure you know all the facts!
 
[ QUOTE ]
The human race managed for million of years being organic


[/ QUOTE ]

The human race also managed for millions of years without penicillin, cancer treatment, transplants, television, medicine, cars.... Doesn't mean we were better off.

Life expectancies were much shorter, people ate more healthily. There were fewer viruses, diseases and pathogenic spores. Things change.

As for being organic - there is recorded use of pesticides back hundreds of years, probably thousands; rudimentry spreading of lime, ash and sulphur to act as fungicides. It isn't a new thing.

I will hold my hand up, and say that I grow most of my veg, largely without any chemicals (sometimes the odd herbicide or fungicide) but I certainly would not touch anything with organic rye, wheat, barley or actually any organic cereal in.
 
We bought Grazon 90 this year and the container clearly states that any manure heaps present at spraying, and manure passed from horses grazing on treated land for the next YEAR should NOT be used as fertiliser, as it will kill the plants.
 
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