Program certifies weed-free hay

As Flathead County Extension Agent Pat McGlynn combed through Ken Smith’s hayfield last week, she was on the lookout for the usual suspects — ox-eye daisies, hound’s tongue, knapweed and other noxious weeds.

“If I see an anomaly, something different,” that’s where to look for weeds, she said, her eyes focused on the remnants of an old slough in Smith’s field. “If there’s a bench or a low spot, that’s where weeds can grow.”

After a thorough inspection, McGlynn made her declaration: “This is a perfect field,” and completed the paperwork needed to certify the hay field as weed-free.

McGlynn has been spending a lot of time in Flathead hayfields over the past couple of weeks as the Flathead County inspector for the state’s Noxious Weed Seed Free Forage program administered by the state of Montana through the Montana State University Extension Service.

Last year she certified 1,345 acres of hay in Flathead County.

“You never know from year to year” how much hay there will be to inspect, she said. Sometimes farmers want only a percentage of their hay crop certified; sometimes they want it all inspected.

Weed-seed-free forage is required when horses or pack animals are used on public lands in Montana because noxious weeds have a destructive impact on the landscape, displacing native plant species, McGlynn said.

Weed infiltration can increase soil erosion, decrease wildlife habitat and even affect recreational backcountry use.

In addition to using certified hay for horses going into popular recreational spots such as the Bob Marshall Wilderness, many rodeos also now require weed-free hay, she said.

Some noxious weeds typically are found at the trailheads because it takes 24 hours for horses or other pack animals to rid uncertified hay from their digestive systems.

Government agencies and public utilities also are required to use weed-free mulches, bedding materials and erosion control barriers in their work.

Weed-free straw is now required for reclamation sites in the Bakken oil fields around Williston, N.D., McGlynn added.

She has 41 farmers in the weed-free program this year. When hay harvest is ready to begin, there sometimes aren’t enough hours in the day to inspect all the fields. The hay must be standing and cut within seven days of inspection.

“The sun has to be out so the flowers open,” she explained. “I need to be able to see them.”

With a stretch of hot, dry weather in the forecast, the crunch is on. “Everyone will want to cut by the Fourth of July weekend,” she said.

Smith, who serves on the state advisory board for the Noxious Weed Seed Free Forage program, said he hopes a fee increase this year from $2.50 to $4.50 per acre for inspection won’t decrease participation in the program.

“If you look at it from a per-ton basis, it hasn’t increased a lot,” Smith said. “I hope the benefits outweigh” the higher inspection prices.

Smith is certifying 50 acres of his hay crop this year and sells most of it to outfitters in the South Fork. He doesn’t charge more for certified hay, but it’s not uncommon for farmers to get about $10 more per ton for certified hay.

Because weeds can get into a hayfield along roadsides, the outermost swath of hay isn’t included in the inspection.

“Rarely do I find a field that doesn’t have weeds on the perimeter,” McGlynn said.

Those outer rows generally are round-baled and fed to cattle.

The certification program is conducted on the honor system. If McGlynn finds a patch of ox-eye daisies in a field, for example, it’s taped off and documented.

If that patch of daisies is later discovered in the hay, the farmer is removed from the certification program, she said.

Documentation is an important element of the program, “so if someone opens a bale and it has weeds in it, they can say who inspected it,” McGlynn said.

She must inspect hayfields in the program prior to each cutting. Sometimes a field can pass a second cutting, but not the first.

“Ninety-nine percent of my hay growers don’t have problems because they’re growing for the program,” McGlynn said.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.