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Add Pounds to Your Calves With a Solid Weed Control Strategy
Savvy cattle producers don’t leave the productivity of their lowest-cost feed source up to chance. They solidify a pasture management strategy and apply proven weed control products.
Late spring is the best time of year to utilize the rise in rainfall and extended growing hours to put extra pounds on growing calves. Savvy cattle producers don’t leave the productivity of their lowest-cost feed source up to chance. They solidify a pasture management strategy and apply proven weed control products.
Andrew McCrea continually adapts the pasture management plan on his family’s stocker cattle operation northeast of St. Joseph, Missouri, to fit production goals and changes in weather. McCrea Family Farms has relied on Range & Pasture products from Corteva Agriscience for more than 30 years and continues to enhance forage production for their cattle.
“We can see the difference in a well-managed pasture and the pounds of beef that we’re growing and grazing off that pasture,” McCrea said.
To get the most out of grazing land, producers should maximize low-cost pounds of gain by reducing weed pressure in their pastures. Cattle producers can secure at least 1 to 1.5 pounds of forage for every pound of weeds they remove. This increases the return on investment from pasture acres by adding nutrition to their calves’ diet and, in turn, more pounds across the scales.
“You go in with a strategy for weed control and to grow the maximum potential forage,” McCrea said. “You need to think about the yield that you’ll have and then how you’ll harvest what you’ve grown.”
NovaGraz™ herbicide is the only weed control solution on the market that preserves white clover and annual lespedeza for a diverse, high-quality forage that improves soil fertility. Producers throughout cattle country are taking advantage of this technology, which Corteva released in 2025, to preserve protein-rich legumes in their pastures.
“We have some pastures where we have a good amount of annual lespedeza, and now we finally have a product that helps promote the growth of that valuable forage,” McCrea says. “We can treat those pastures with NovaGraz and not worry about suppressing annual lespedeza.”
Beyond annual lespedeza, McCrea expands on the ability to integrate more white clover into his pastures.
“Being able to use NovaGraz opens the door to not only being able to graze more annual lespedeza but also interseeding some white clover and doing that in more places too,” McCrea said. “It opens the door to be able to have more beneficial species within a pasture.”
Multiple years of testing show NovaGraz herbicide, powered by Rinskor® active, provides broad-spectrum control of common broadleaf species, including ironweed, cocklebur, wild carrot, buttercup, biennial thistles, ragweeds, plantain, woolly croton, poison hemlock and many others.
“NovaGraz herbicide allows producers to eliminate undesirable, low-value weeds without also removing white clover and annual lespedeza,” said Sam Ingram, Ph.D., field scientist, Corteva Agriscience.
Extensive research shows that by preserving white clover and annual lespedeza in tall fescue pastures, producers can mitigate fescue toxicosis, which can increase stocker cattle average gains by up to 50%.
In addition, NovaGraz herbicide:
- Controls a broad spectrum of weeds in pastures, rangeland, hayfields and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres.
- Carries no grazing restrictions for beef cattle and only minimal haying and manure restrictions after application.
- Provides effective, broad-spectrum weed control where a nonresidual option is desired for maximum flexibility in hay marketing and crop rotation.
- Provides high-quality, diverse grazing, which can increase per-acre beef production.
Considering the cost of maintaining equipment and baling hay, it’s critical to put a weed control plan into action to ensure producers are not wasting time and money baling up weeds that have no nutritional value for cattle.
“Weed control plays a critical role in hay production,” Ingram said. “Weeds impact hay quantity by competing for moisture and nutrients. They can reduce hay quality by slowing drydown. In the bale, weeds reduce feed value, and some, such as poison hemlock, remain poisonous.”
With live cattle prices at record highs, producers can’t afford to not use every available tool to add pounds to their growing calves.
Contact your local Corteva Range & Pasture specialist to learn more about NovaGraz and other leading pasture management solutions.
White clover and annual lespedeza exhibit some initial injury (such as lodging and loss of vigor) with NovaGraz™ but recover. NovaGraz is not registered for sale or use in all states. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. Rinskor® is a registered active ingredient Always read and follow label directions