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Unfortunately, after 30 years of spraying and praying, it’s my experience that most weed-science-related issues that occur on the farm are self-inflicted.

Eric Prostko

July 5, 2018

10 Slides

As I penned this article June 28, I was sitting in my kitchen watching yet another rain event on my small hobby farm.  Over 2.5 inches fell in the past few days. 

When it is not raining in south Georgia, it’s hotter than Hades, and the gnats are relentless but this is the life I chose and love.  I could never imagine myself stuck in an office or factory.  There is nothing more rewarding than when a county agent or a grower thanks me when I have helped them out in some small way.

As an Extension specialist, I do not often get to see all the good things happening down on the farm.  In most cases, I am trying to solve a problem, talk someone down off a rooftop, put out a fire, or advert a potential disaster. 

Unfortunately, after 30 years of spraying and praying, it’s my experience that most weed-science-related issues that occur on the farm are self-inflicted. 

Of course, Mother Nature causes her fair share of problems but those are beyond anybody’s control.  With that in mind, I have come up with a Top 10 List of things that drive me crazy as an Extension weed specialist.  As I heard it once in a popular country song, “the devil dreams on an idle horse.”

I probably can come up with a few more to add to this list, but my editor is a Word Nazi. 

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The reference to a Word Nazi in previous sentence is an allusion to an episode of a popular ‘90s sitcom in which a certain soup chef uses draconian methods to make and sell his product. In the episode, the chef is called a Soup Nazi.)

Not trying to be over critical or nitpicky.  Farmers and agriculture are irreplaceable.  I am hopeful that this list will make you think more about the tasks at hand and reduce the amount of weed-science-related, self-inflicted pain (yours and mine). 

As always, good weed hunting!

 

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