All Current Publications
Document Type
Guide/Manual
Publisher
Utah State University Extension
Publication Date
1-1-2015
Abstract
The traditional approach to weed management on most farms or ranches is similar to a person running on a treadmill. A treadmill allows a person to run or walk while staying in one place. As the exercise deck cycles around and around, the user exerts energy to maintain the set pace, but never really goes anywhere.
Agricultural producers spend a great deal of resources (time and money) on what can be thought of as a weed management treadmill. The weed treadmill is always in motion. Treadmill speed is controlled by how well or how poorly the weeds were managed in the past. Regardless of speed, failure to keep pace in the annual battle with weeds immediately impacts profitability. Because of the economic impact, producers, agribusinesses, and scientists have focused primarily on tools related to weed management.
Historically, the emphasis on weed control has largely been effective because individual weed species that infest a given farm or ranch have tended to remain constant. Although some years are more suited to weed growth than others, the overall weed problems are often passed from one generation to another and from one landowner to the next. In the modern day, the weed situation, and consequently the approach needed for weed management, has begun to change.
Recommended Citation
Utah State University, "Fortifying Farms and Ranches Against Weed Invasion" (2015). All Current Publications. Paper 817.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/extension_curall/817