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Cost and Value of
Weed Control
JAMES McWHORTER
HIGHLANDS LIVESTOCK AGENT
OFFICE: (863) 402-7148
EMAIL: [email protected]
Introduction
• Cost associated with treating weeds
• Returns of treating smutgrass and dogfennel
• How a producer can evaluate if treating
weeds was beneficial
Cost of Weed Control
Chemical
Grazon Next HL
2,4-D
Milestone
Banvel
Outrider
Pastora
PastureGard HL
Remedy Ultra
RoundUp
Velpar
WeedMaster
Telar
Metsulfuron (MSM)
Imazapyr
App Rate by Ounce
32
48
5
24
1
1
24
32
9
48
32
0.5
0.6
24
Cost Per Acre Chemical Only
14.08
$
7.92
$
7.80
$
16.80
$
18.45
$
4.25
$
24.24
$
20.00
$
1.58
$
42.00
$
12.00
$
11.25
$
6.00
$
112.56
$
Costs are calculated by using recommended application rates
Cost of Weed Control
Chemical
Grazon Next HL
2,4-D
Milestone
Banvel
Outrider
Pastora
PastureGard HL
Remedy Ultra
RoundUp
Velpar
WeedMaster
Telar
Metsulfuron (MSM)
Imazapyr
Cost/Ac 75 HP+ 25ft BL Sprayer
$17.63
$11.47
$11.35
$20.35
$22.00
$7.80
$27.79
$23.55
$5.13
$45.55
$15.55
$14.80
$9.55
$116.11
Cost/Ac 75 HP+40ft BL Sprayer
$17.40
$11.24
$11.12
$20.12
$21.77
$7.57
$27.56
$23.32
$4.90
$45.32
$15.32
$14.57
$9.32
$115.88
Cost of 75HP Tractor and 25ft Boom-less Sprayer : $3.55 / Acre
Cost of 75HP Tractor and 40ft Boom-less Sprayer : $3.32 / Acre
Returns from Treating
Smutgrass
• Competition of Giant Smutgrass in a Bahia Pasture (2006)
• Jason Ferrell, Joan Dusky, and Fritz Roka
• Used stocking rate to determine the benefits of treating
smutgrass
• Decreased smutgrass density leads to higher bahia
production and increased stocking rate.
• Valued bahia production on the pounds of calf produced
per acre.
• Classified smutgrass infestation by low (20% or less),
medium (33% to 21%), and high ( 40% or higher).
Returns from Treating
Smutgrass
• The study assumes:
•
•
•
•
•
•
100% efficacy of Velpar
3 acres per animal unit
Cattle would not graze smutgrass
70% wean percentage
550lb weaning weight
Calf prices and cost of Velpar treatment were updated to current
prices
Returns from Treating
Smutgrass
Smutgrass Density
None
Low
Medium
High
Calf Value
$ 332.50
$ 266.00
$ 222.43
$ 194.91
Cost of Smutgrass
$
$
66.50
$
110.07
$
137.59
Cost of Control
$
45.32
$
45.32
$
45.32
$
45.32
Net Return
$ (45.32)
$
21.18
$
64.75
$
92.27
• Calf Value: The value per acre of the calf production based on
stocking rate. Lower density smutgrass means more forage, so
higher stocking rate and more calves produced.
• Cost of Smutgrass: The difference between the calf value with
the different levels of smutgrass and the calf value without
smutgrass.
Returns from Treating
Smutgrass
• Findings:
Smutgrass Density
None
Low
Medium
High
Calf Value
$ 332.50
$ 266.00
$ 222.43
$ 194.91
Cost of Smutgrass
$
$
66.50
$
110.07
$
137.59
Cost of Control
$
45.32
$
45.32
$
45.32
$
45.32
Net Return
$ (45.32)
$
21.18
$
64.75
$
92.27
• According to this, treating smutgrass at all densities will provide a positive
return.
• However, the study does not account for the effectiveness of the herbicide
treatment.
Return from Treating
Smutgrass
• If the treatment is not 100% effective and only reduces the
presence of smutgrass, the returns are not as favorable.
Smutgrass Density
Medium to Low
High to Medium
High to Low
Calf Value
$ 266.00
$ 222.43
$ 266.00
Cost of Smutgrass Cost of Control
$
43.57
45.32
$
27.52
45.32
$
71.09
45.32
• Medium to Low : 33% infestation to less than 20%
• High to Medium: 40% to 33%
• High to Low: 40% to less than 20%
Net Return
$
(1.75)
$ (17.80)
$
25.77
Return from Treating
Smutgrass
• To see positive returns, the area with smutgrass should be at
least 40% infested, and the treatment should eliminate half of
the smutgrass in the area.
• However, this does not take into account preventing
smutgrass to spread.
Return from Treating
Smutgrass
2 Year Treatment
Smutgrass Density
Medium to Low
High to Medium
High to Low
Calf Value
$ 472.97
$ 404.41
$ 250.53
Cost of Smutgrass
$
84.60
$
53.43
$
138.04
Cost of Control
$
92.00
$
92.00
$
92.00
Net Return
$
(7.39)
$
(38.56)
$
46.04
3 Year Treatment
Smutgrass Density Calf Value Cost of Smutgrass Cost of Control
Medium to Low
$709.07
$123.28
$140.08
High to Medium
$601.84
$77.86
$140.08
High to Low
$486.64
$201.14
$140.08
Net Return
$
(16.80)
$
(62.22)
$
61.06
4 Year Treatment
Smutgrass Density Calf Value Cost of Smutgrass Cost of Control
Medium to Low
$902.07
$161.61
$189.60
High to Medium
$771.63
$102.07
$189.60
High to Low
$848.64
$263.68
$140.08
Net Return
$
(27.99)
$
(87.53)
$
123.60
Returns from Dogfennel
• Using the same method with dogfennel
• April
Dogfennel Density
Medium to Low
High to Medium
High to Low
Calf Value
$ 245.10
$ 175.44
$ 245.10
Cost of Dogfennel
$
69.66
$
36.12
$
105.78
Cost of Control
$
11.24
$
11.24
$
11.24
Net Return
$
58.42
$
24.88
$
94.54
• April treatment was calculated using 2,4-D as the herbicide since
dogfennel is assumed to be less than 36 inches tall.
• May
Dogfennel Density
Medium to Low
High to Medium
High to Low
Calf Value
$ 245.10
$ 203.82
$ 245.10
Cost of Dogfennel
$
41.28
$
116.10
$
157.38
Cost of Control
$
23.57
$
23.57
$
23.57
• Weedmaster (2,4-D + Dicamba) as the herbicide
Net Return
$
17.71
$
92.53
$ 133.81
Returns from Dogfennel
• June
Dogfennel Density
Medium to Low
High to Medium
High to Low
Calf Value
$ 255.42
$ 178.02
$ 255.42
Cost of Dogfennel
$
77.40
$
51.60
$
129.00
Cost of Control
$
25.48
$
25.48
$
25.48
Net Return
$
51.92
$
26.12
$
103.52
• Herbicide used GrazonNext HL + PastureGard HL
• July
Dogfennel Density
Medium to Low
High to Medium
High to Low
Calf Value
$ 263.16
$ 131.58
$ 263.16
Cost of Dogfennel
$
131.58
$
43.86
$
175.44
Cost of Control
$
25.48
$
25.48
$
25.48
Net Return
$
106.10
$
18.38
$
149.96
Returns from Dogfennel
• August
Dogfennel Density
Medium to Low
High to Medium
High to Low
Calf Value
$ 250.26
$ 198.66
$ 250.26
Cost of Dogfennel
$
51.60
$
79.98
$
131.58
Cost of Control
$
25.48
$
25.48
$
25.48
Net Return
$
26.12
$
54.50
$
106.10
Calf Value
$ 337.98
$ 206.40
$ 337.98
Cost of Dogfennel
$
131.58
$
82.56
$
214.14
Cost of Control
$
25.48
$
25.48
$
25.48
Net Return
$
106.10
$
57.08
$
188.66
• September
Dogfennel Density
Medium to Low
High to Medium
High to Low
Valuing your herbicide
treatment
• How to start
• Need to know how much it is costing you to spray
• Using your own prices or the estimated prices
• How to measure the amount of forage in a pasture
• Using a grazing stick and calculating how many pounds of dry matter
in the pasture
• How to price the increased forage
• Using hay prices to determine the price per pound of dry matter
Measuring Forage
• Measure the forage 3 inches from the ground to the average
height of the leaves
• Not the seedheads
• Also visually determine the density
Measuring Forage
• Every species of forage produces different amounts of DM per
acre inch, so we will use bahia as an example.
• Bahia, on average, produces 285 lbs of DM per acre inch. So a 10
acre pasture with 5 inches of grazable bahia contains:
• 285𝑙𝑏𝑠 × 5 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 = 1425𝑙𝑏𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐷𝑀
• 1425𝑙𝑏𝑠 × 10 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑠 = 14,250𝑙𝑏𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐷𝑀
• If the density is less than 100%
• 80% density:
• 14,250𝑙𝑏𝑠 × 0.8 = 11,400𝑙𝑏𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐷𝑀
Pricing Forage
• A simple way to price forage is to use hay prices
• Bahia hay usually contains about 90% DM
• So a 1000lb round bale would have about 900lbs of DM
• For example, lets say a 1000 round bale of bahia cost $40
• $40 ÷ 900𝑙𝑏𝑠 = $0.045 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓𝐷𝑀
Valuing your herbicide
treatment
• Once you know how much DM you have and how much DM is
per pound, you can start to evaluate your weed control
program.
• If we go back to the 10 acre pasture:
•
•
•
•
Dogfennel
20% of pasture is dogfennel
We treat early with 2,4-D
100% effective
Valuing your herbicide
treatment
• Before the treatment we had 11,400lbs of DM in the pasture
• After, we had 14,250lbs. So we increased our forage
production by 2,850lbs.
• Using our price per DM, we estimate that increase is worth
$128.25, and our spraying cost were $112.40.
• So the 2,4-D paid for itself, and we came out ahead $15.85
Questions