Help- blackberry vines taking over field

[Talithahorse]

I agree on the forage and pasture section. I have always heard that good cattle farmers are good grass growers first. As a hobby farmer the care and maintenance of my pastures has been the hardest learning curve for me. I am fortunate to have 24 acres so there is leeway for the learning curve as I am in no way over stocking my land. I know that I have good grass out there in the big field. The horse pasture I am not sure about as I have had horses on it of years but am not sure the best way to take care of it without it growing overly lush for my three fat, "easy Keeper" horses. Questions such as how often should we bush hog? When is the best time to bush hog? (I keep telling my DH it is before the weeds go to seed, not after) etc. What differences do you make on your pastures based on the livestock you plan on stocking? etc. All these are questions I have pondered and then to go out there and see it taken over by briars just makes me sad that I have not been a good stewart to this beautiful piece of land that I have had the pleasure of working/ owning. (Of course I think it is more the land works me than me working the land).

 

[Baymule]

@greybeard I could've pressed the like button on your post about a hundred times.

 

[Bossroo]

Here's what I was getting at. To manage invasive or undesirable plant species, we have to think about what is happening with those plants, their seasonal life cycles, how they grow and reproduce if we are going to (control or eradicate them) *--and it doesn't matter whether you use livestock to do the management or chemicals. They both do the same thing and they both work for the same reason, and it's not specifically because the plants have had their foliage removed.
Imo, mowing is counterproductive if not done right and done at the right time of year, reason being, you are also cutting down valuable forage your animals need. In many cases, mowing doesn't stop growth of invasives--it encourages growth--and reproduction, unless you use good sound management practices based on what that invasive is doing, and what makes it so stubborn.
* control or eradicate There IS a difference, and even the most successful herbicide and/or organic recommendation resources recognizes this. In many--if not most cases, people who think they have eradicated a perennial invasive (or in the case of blackberry--a biennial) simply have it under control. It's still there, with it's root system stored full of starches, waiting to come back, and they can do it for years and years, playing the waiting game. Depriving that root system of it's starches, whether with chemical application or intensive grazing is imperative in KILLING it. Otherwise, it's simply being controlled. Starch storage enables the plant (even trees) to be able to kickstart growth in the spring or early summer--the plant converts the starch to sugars--energy. Nothing in the plant world grows without energy. Starch storage begins near the end of the foliage and fruits/seed bearing season. With trees and woody brush (including blackberry) it happens in the few weeks right before the leaves begin changing colors, and by the time the leaves have dropped, the root system is filled with starch (in blackberry, starch is mostly stored in the root crown and just below the crown) . The exception of course, is evergreen, but even they store starches in winter--they stay green, photosynthesis continues, but at a reduced rate.
This website desperately needs a forage and pasture section, one in which all methods of growth and management can be openly discussed without the risk of getting a nastygram from moderators or admin. Regardless of what forage eating species we raise, we are are grass farmers first, and livestock producers second. If we can't or don't raise grass, we can't raise forage eating, milk producing animals

I heartily agree with greybeard .....