January 22, 2025

NovaGraz controls pasture weeds and preserves valuable white clover

New herbicide from Corteva Agriscience meets long-standing need for producers

White clover improves both grazing quality and quantity and enhances soil fertility through nitrogen fixation.

INDIANAPOLIS — Corteva Agriscience announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has registered NovaGraz herbicide.

As the only pasture herbicide to give cattle producers broad-spectrum weed control while still preserving white clover and annual lespedeza, NovaGraz meets a long-standing need.

“Many producers rely on white clover and annual lespedeza in their pastures to improve forage quality for grazing and haying and for the legumes’ nitrogen-fixing capability to enhance soil fertility and health,” said Morgan Bohlander, U.S. range and pasture portfolio marketing lead at Corteva Agriscience.

“Without effective broadleaf weed control, the harm that weeds cause to forage production and quality can outweigh the benefits of these legumes.”

Eliminating weeds in white clover pastures can increase the amount of forage produced and improves utilization.

In research trials where NovaGraz herbicide controlled broadleaf weeds and preserved white clover, pastures produced 21% more total forage, compared with untreated sites.

“NovaGraz herbicide allows producers to eliminate undesirable, low-value weeds without also removing white clover,” said Sam Ingram, Corteva Agriscience field scientist.

Extensive research shows that by preserving white clover and annual lespedeza in tall fescue pastures, producers can mitigate fescue toxicosis, which can increase stocker cattle average gains by up to 50%.

“Anytime those gains come from grazed forages, it benefits the livestock producer’s bottom line,” Ingram said.

Multiple years of testing show NovaGraz herbicide, powered by Rinskor active, provides broad-spectrum control of important broadleaf species, including ironweed, cocklebur, wild carrot, buttercup, biennial thistles, ragweeds, plantain, woolly croton, poison hemlock and many others.

In addition, NovaGraz herbicide:

• Controls a broad spectrum of weeds in pastures, rangeland, hayfields and Conservation Reserve Program acres.

• Carries no grazing restrictions for beef cattle and only minimal haying and manure restrictions after application.

• Provides effective, broad-spectrum weed control where a non-residual option is desired for maximum flexibility in hay marketing and crop rotation.

• Provides high-quality, diverse grazing, which can increase per-acre beef production.

NovaGraz herbicide will be available for the 2025 application season, pending state registrations.

NovaGraz herbicide complements the industry’s most complete portfolio of pasture and rangeland management products and services from Corteva Agriscience, including DuraCor herbicide, GrazonPD3 herbicide, Remedy herbicides and UltiGraz Pasture Weed & Feed.

AgriNews Staff

AgriNews Staff

The Illinois AgriNews and Indiana AgriNews staff is in the field each week, covering topics that affect local farm families and their businesses. We give readers information they can’t get elsewhere to help them make better farming decisions.