I have always been good at keeping my plans in my head, but over time have learned that sometimes I forget little details and they end up hurting my overall performance.
I have found it is better to write things out and then check the plan from time to time to keep on track.
One of the main things in your plan should be your goals.
Set goals and work towards them. It takes a lot of little steps to cover a mile, so write down the smaller goals first.
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One goal might be to do an equipment check before the season starts.
My goal is to have everything ready to go by April 20th.
Weather permitting, some years Musk thistle rosettes are really showing up good by then. Grass cover being shorter they are easier to spot also.
When you have a lot of acres to get over you have to plan how to cover them all in one season. Starting early on one species can help you do that. I start with Musk and Leafy Spurge or Absinth Wormwood.
Then Mullien, Canadian Thistle and Bull Thistle.
One fall working on 2800 acres I tried to get all the low spots, so if there is a wet spring the following year, I have them covered. Concentrating on Canadian thistles in fall, I will have patches of Musk Thistle/Absinth Wormwood I can start on early this spring. and follow up on the Canadian thistle at a later date.
By planning in the fall I can start earlier and get over more acres.
This is where it comes into play knowing the characteristics of your individual plant species.
I have seen far too many people wait until the Canadians are ready to spray and by the time they get over half their ground the Musk thistles have bolted.
Leafy Spurge, Absinth Worwood and Mullien have gone to seed.
Timing is a factor in a good management program.
Another advantage of spraying Musk thistle earlier is the the shortness of the grass. It makes them easier to see and more chemical gets to the ground . I like using grazon in the spring so I get a little residual for those later in the season plants.
There is now a new chemical registered in South Dakota that I need to learn more about. It's called Milestone.
These little management goals can have a great bearing on how soon you meet the overall large goal of eradicating your noxious weeds.
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Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.
Vincent Van Gogh
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Kenny Konechne
Besides having a high interest in helping other people in their battle against noxious weeds,
I also enjoy writing short stories in rhyme.
If you could use a little humor in your life please check out one of my other web sites.
www.sdcowboy.com
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