It is time to start thinking ahead about taking advantage of the snow cover coming this winter to help manage fires for controlling red cedars in pastures. The snow cover will provide a good natural fire barrier for the grass and other trees in the pasture. With a good burn it is fairly easy to control the eastern red cedar.
When you start burning I would start with the bigger cedars just in case you do not get all the trees burnt. That way when you go back to burn the pasture later the bigger fire hazards will be gone. A good wind for burning is a 5-10mph constant breeze. When you start to light the cedars always start it on the upwind side and wind carry the fire through the tree.
Some good equipment to use for burning the cedars would be jet torches hooked up to 20lb propane tanks. Using the light propane tanks will help keep you more mobile while moving through more restrictive areas and ATVs with a water container on them would be a good thing to keep close in case something should go wrong. Before you start burning always call dispatch and let them know before hand incase they get calls from people passing by reporting the fire.
K-State Research and Extension, Harvey County
