Field margins 'help control weed dispersal' (BBC)

By Mark Kinver
Environment reporter, BBC News

Grass strips on field edges do not result in more weeds growing among crops, research has shown.

Previously, it was argued that the "set aside" land could act as a reservoir for weeds that potentially result in the plants being dispersed into fields.

Field margins are one of the key European agri-environmental measures, and are considered to help maintain biodiversity in farm landscapes.

The findings will be published in the journal Weed Research.

"Sown grass strips (SGS) have been widely established on field margins... because of their expected environmental benefits," the team of French researchers said.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15572115
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-3180.2011.00892.x/abstract



No office is complete without a few issues of "Weed Research" lying around.

i swear farmers have forgotten how to farm...

But the prospect of $7/bushel corn distorts their thinking. Put those kinds of dollar signs in front of them, and they lose sight of the long-term viability of their farms and instead start thinking about the gobs of money they could rake in if they put every last acre of land they have into production.

Hence, they plow under grass strips, clearcut their woodlands, and forgo crop rotations that keep the soil healthy all to capitalize on short-term profits.

It kills me every time I go home to visit family, because most of them are doing exactly what I wrote above. My dad just cleared out 20 acres of mature oaks, maples, walnuts and basswood trees to expand his acreage, and filled in 2 ponds that were once teeming with wildlife every year.

that has to be heartbreaking to see :(

I visited once this summer, and it wasn't so bad because the cornfields blocked the view of the woods. I went out again 2 weeks ago, and I almost cried as I drove up the driveway. I spent uncountable hours walking in those woods as a kid; it's where I went to get away from it all when the pain of living in an abusive household became too much. I have an 18-month old daughter now, and I'd always wanted to take her out there when she got older, to catch tadpoles and frogs, chase butterflies, see the wildlife, plant some trees, maybe go hunting in a decade or so.

I won't be going out there again. I'm just thankful there's a 250-acre Wildlife Management Area a few miles down the road from us where I can take my daughter instead.