My neighbor raised soybeans for years. Then he decided to let grass grow for hay. He got manure to spread on his fields, now those fields are covered with millions of wild onions, which he never had in the past.””
I have had horses for over 26 years.
I have lived rural since 1993 & have had my horses on my own property & not in a boarded situation.
I did not have to pick up any manure in either of the 2 locations I have lived in since 1993. It was left to fertilize the pastures, etc.
I have NEVER seen wild onions on any of my pastures & I have NEVER heard any neighbor had such a problem, either.
I wonder—— what animal provided the manure this person used which had WILD ONIONS within it??????
With a farm background, I don’t know any animal which is fed wild onion as part of their diet.
You do realize, that the horse eating, and then pooping, in the same location is not where invasives come from, right?
Your earlier example to me of hay trucked in to Texas from Florida or elsewhere... that's where spread of exotic weeds comes from. That's actually the point. Bringing in seeds from other places that wouldn't be there otherwise.
I wonder—— what animal provided the manure this person used which had WILD ONIONS within it??????
***With a farm background, I don’t know any animal which is fed wild onion as part of their diet.****
That’s what I wonder. His field is just above mine. In the past years he has planted alfalfa, soy beans, green beans, more green beans, and has had weed sprayers to keep his weeds down, so I know wild onions never had a chance to grow on his place. It is not fenced so he does not run livestock on it.
Last year he cut grass for hay, same this year, before and after the drought. Now his fields are yellow with dormant grass and millions of green wild onions. Where did they come from?
“With a farm background, I don’t know any animal which is fed wild onion as part of their diet.”
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Grazing animals will pick up wild onions along with the grass if there are wild onions in the pasture. We used to have to throw out milk from our cow sometimes when she had eaten wild onions or a yellow blooming weed that we called bitterweed. Either one would make the milk have an awful, disgusting taste. If manure from animals that have grazed in an area where there is a problem with wild onions is transported to another area it could carry the wild onion seed.