Milestone™ Herbicide Now Registered in California

Milestone™ herbicide brings better weed control to California

   
   

California cattlemen, farmers and land managers have an effective new tool for the control of noxious and invasive weeds - including yellow starthistle - on rangeland, pastures, Conservation Reserve Program acres, wildlife habitats and openings, and other noncropland areas.

Milestone™ herbicide brings a new molecule - aminopyralid - to invasive weed management and offers a better option for increasing forage production on grazing lands and restoring native plant communities and habitat areas. Milestone is now labeled for sale and use in California and is available through traditional agricultural chemical dealers and applicators.

"Aminopyralid is a revolutionary molecule that brings several advances to noxious and invasive weed control," says Bob Gordon, Dow AgroSciences senior marketing specialist. "It provides unparalleled results on some of the toughest-to-manage broadleaf weed species threatening rangeland, pasture and wilderness areas today."

Low use rates
Milestone is a non-2,4-D formulation that was the first rangeland and pasture herbicide reviewed and accepted for registration under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Reduced Risk Pesticide Initiative. Field trials have shown that Milestone offers excellent control at low use rates, so it not only benefits the environment by reducing the threat of invasive weed species, but it does so with fewer pounds of active ingredient compared with current standards. And even at the low labeled use rate of 3 to 7 ounces per acre, Milestone provides excellent postemergence control and lasting residual activity on many important invasives, which is critical to preventing re-establishment and secondary weed species. Consider yellow starthistle and fiddleneck.

"Current control options against yellow starthistle lack the residual control needed to stop fiddleneck, which is toxic to livestock and often thrives as soon as competition from yellow starthistle is removed," says Vanelle Carrithers, Dow AgroSciences product technology specialist. "Milestone provides the lasting control needed to stop the double threat of starthistle and fiddleneck so desirable plants can re establish." To control both species, treatments must be made during early winter.

Field trials have shown that in addition to yellow starthistle and fiddleneck, Milestone™ herbicide controls many of the most troublesome broadleaf weeds in California: Russian knapweed, henbit, all types of thistles (including distaff, Italian and artichoke), horseweed (marestail) and many others. Milestone translocates quickly throughout the entire plant and deep into the roots for faster, more complete control.

Milestone is not a federally Restricted Use Pesticide. It features a nonvolatile formulation, reducing risk to trees and other nontarget plants; and very low toxicity to wildlife; and it can be applied up to the water's edge, such as along creeks and streams and around stock ponds.

No grazing restrictions
While Milestone herbicide is tough on all types of aggressive weeds, it's safe to desirable grasses so you can release forage production and improve pasture utilization. There are no grazing restrictions for any class of livestock, including lactating dairy animals, beef cattle, horses, sheep and goats1. Milestone can be applied by ground or by air. And it's an easy formulation to use, as it mixes well with other herbicides and stays in solution.

"Milestone is truly a foundation product. It can be tank-mixed with Remedy® herbicide for one-pass brush and broadleaf weed control. We're also evaluating Milestone in other formulations to meet the broad control needs of livestock producers and land managers," Gordon says. "We anticipate users will build their land management programs on this molecule."