Weedkillers (Forefront)

[Bert&Maud]

Have any of you used Forefront or any other weedkiller containing Aminopyralid on your paddocks this year? My aunt has had serious problems with her garden, all of her veg crop died, and so she had the soil analysed and eventually found that the reason was because she had used stable manure produced from horses which had grazed on land treated with Aminopyralid. The whole garden including a deep layer of soil has had to be removed. My paddocks were treated with this earlier in the year (for buttercup and plantain) and since my aunt told me about this I have done some research and am worried about getting rid of manure now because nobody is going to want to take it. It appears that it doesn't harm animals or humans, but does damage crops. We keep some of the manure for ourselves and people from the village, and the remainder is taken away by a local farmer for spreading on his land. They think it may remain a problem for several years after treatment. Any other experiences?

 

[wonkey_donkey]

Hi, Forefront has been recently withdrawn from sale for exactly the reasons you have listed. There was a big article about it in H&H too.
Suggest you burn any muck to prevent it being spread on any crops or growing food.

 

[Donkeymad]

The bottles clearly state that manure produced by animals who graze the land over the next twelve months should be disposed off carefully and not used where plants are to be grown, for this very reason. The person who supplied the manure should have taken notice of this.

 

[Bosworth]

spread it back on your land - it means that for years to come you will not have a problem with buttercups.plantain etc

 

[steve49a]

I can understand your frustration about the supplying of manure to gardeners or allotment holders treated with aminopyralid products. But it is clearly stated on the label, "Do not use animal waste (e.g. manure, slurry) from animals fed on grass treated with Forefront .... on susceptible crops e.g. peas, beans,and other legumes,sugar beet,carrots,and umbelliferae, potatoes, and tomatoes, lettuce and other compositae or land intended for growing such crops.

"If grass hay, silage manure or slurry is exported off your farm, it is your responsibility to inform the recipient of this information"

Like all pesticides and veterinarian medicines it is important to read the label before use.

However, as long as you can be sure that any hay/haylage fed to horses came from pasture that was not treated with Forefront, Pharoah or Banish, there should be no problem. Check with your supplier

But if there is any doubt, it is best to return manure to grassland or land intended for cereals this year, where it will breakdown very quickly once degraded by soil microbes.

The website set up by Dow, www.manurematters.co.uk provides more details