Cache ranchers combine to fight weeds

Ranchers in Cache County are combining forces to fight an invasive weed. Medusahead Rye has infested an estimated 6,000 acres in Cache Valley. The weed has spread across thousands of acres in Cache and Box Elder Counties over the past 15 years and cuts the use of rangeland by approximately 80 percent. The Standard Examiner reports that about 30 ranchers have come together to form a weed prevention program, the first of its kind in the state. The project also has the help of about 10 other different government organizations and experts in range health. The group is not only concerned with the weed’s threat to rangeland, but also its threat to a diverse ecosystem and wildfire danger. Agriculture Research Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Utah Association of Conservation District, Extension, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, The Grazing Improvement Program, Cache County, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and Blacksmith Fork Conservation District are all involved in the project.

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