Sunn Hemp

[Little Joe]

Anyone have any experience with Sunn Hemp? I thought about trying it on an acre to see if I liked it. Says it will build organic matter and leave 100 lbs N per acre.

 

[Ebenezer]

Be sure that it is inoculated or else buy the cowpea inoculant. It does great. But you have to manage the grazing to allow repeated rotations.

 

[Lbass]

Seemed to me it was reasonably priced for the roll it plays. I'm mixing it with Pearl Millet, sunflower, cow pea, sudangrass, Forage sorghum, Laredo Soybeans, Feed Corn, 30 acres of that and 2 test plots about 5 acres. One has 5 species, the other 16... Going in around the first of June. If I remember I can report back...

Cant hurt to try it though.

 

[Little Joe]

Lbass keep me updated, I like trying something different to see how it works out. I think I'm gonna try a little sunn hemp this year.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

I just became aware of sunn hemp and I see there has been some posting on it in the past year or so.
Wondering what the response is for anyone planting it for inputting nitrogen, grazing , baling or ensileage?
Hands on experience preferred please. Thank you.

 

[Atimm693]

We planted it mixed with Sudan a couple years ago. The sudan did well but the sunn hemp never really amounted to anything. This was in our hayfields for baleage.

 

[bigbluegrass]

I mixed Sunn Hemp, pearl millet and SudanX on a few acres that was recently cleared (was partly wooded) in 2018 or so. I did not do soil tests, so I have no idea if N increased. Sunn Hemp provided the least cattle feed by far of the three. I only grazed it, so I can't comment on baling or ensileage. I did not drill it, but broadcast. The area is now planted to perennial grass. I probably wouldn't use it again.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

We planted it mixed with Sudan a couple years ago. The sudan did well but the sunn hemp never really amounted to anything. This was in our hayfields for baleage.

Thank you , I appreciate the heads up. LVR

 

[Lee VanRoss]

I mixed Sunn Hemp, pearl millet and SudanX on a few acres that was recently cleared (was partly wooded) in 2018 or so. I did not do soil tests, so I have no idea if N increased. Sunn Hemp provided the least cattle feed by far of the three. I only grazed it, so I can't comment on baling or ensileage. I did not drill it, but broadcast. The area is now planted to perennial grass. I probably wouldn't use it again.

Thank you for your response which more or less confirmed the opinion I was forming. It may have its place but was looking like it could
become labor and machine prohibitive to harvest and control if not harvested within a very limited timeline. Thank you for your time, LVR

 

[Ebenezer]

Thank you for your response which more or less confirmed the opinion I was forming. It may have its place but was looking like it could
become labor and machine prohibitive to harvest and control if not harvested within a very limited timeline. Thank you for your time, LVR

If seeds are not inoculated it will be wimpy. Inoculate the seeds and it will grow 7' tall.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

If seeds are not inoculated it will be wimpy. Inoculate the seeds and it will grow 7' tall.

This being said, do you have any hands on, experience with the plant and if so were or are you satisfied with the results?

 

[Ebenezer]

This being said, do you have any hands on, experience with the plant and if so were or are you satisfied with the results?

I've planted it 3 or 4 times. Some was a wildlife blend to use as a nurse crop. The cows enjoyed it. The first time was a blend I did on the farm for a cover crop. I got the seed that were generic and no-name from India and they did not have inoculant. They were about 6" high max and looked terrible. Thank goodness I used other stuff in the mix. The second time I did the same no-name I added inoculant and they grew like gang busters and really impressed me and the cattle.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

I've planted it 3 or 4 times. Some was a wildlife blend to use as a nurse crop. The cows enjoyed it. The first time was a blend I did on the farm for a cover crop. I got the seed that were generic and no-name from India and they did not have inoculant. They were about 6" high max and looked terrible. Thank goodness I used other stuff in the mix. The second time I did the same no-name I added inoculant and they grew like gang busters and really impressed me and the cattle.

Thank you for your reply. This leads me to ask, What are your thoughts on using sunn hemp in a rotational grazing system?
Wouldn't it take a massive amount of hooves on the ground keep it from growing tall and course?
I did mention sunn hemp at the county office and it may have been above their paygrade as hemp the only word they heard..
All for now Thanks

 

[Nkline]

This is a mix of 7lbs sunn hemp 7lbs teosinte per acre on less than two inches of rain, no till drilled behind oats that were taken as silage. It was inoculated and didn't have nitrogen spread on it. I think the sunn hemp is very worth while (especially in drought conditions), but managing grazing would be hard as they will kill some every time you graze it. Cows will eat the majority of the plant even if it the stems get course. You really want the cows to just strip the leaves off of it so it puts out more leaves, but if the plants get too tall they risk kinking the stem at the ground and killing the plant. Sunn hemp doesn't really like competition from more sunn hemp so I would definitely blend it and keep the seeding rates lower than most recommendations.

 

[Little Joe]

I just became aware of sunn hemp and I see there has been some posting on it in the past year or so.
Wondering what the response is for anyone planting it for inputting nitrogen, grazing , baling or ensileage?
Hands on experience preferred please. Thank you.

I don't have hands on experience but am the one that started this thread a few years ago and brought it up in another thread a few days ago, I do plan to try some this year at a lower rate than recommended no'tilled in other grasses with some sunflowers. I've done a lot of reading on it, as I do with most things before I try it, and from what I've read it is not recommended to be baled, grazed only.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

I don't have hands on experience but am the one that started this thread a few years ago and brought it up in another thread a few days ago, I do plan to try some this year at a lower rate than recommended no'tilled in other grasses with some sunflowers. I've done a lot of reading on it, as I do with most things before I try it, and from what I've read it is not recommended to be baled, grazed only.

Thank you, I appreciate your input. With the price of fertilizer increasing I am thinking it may have its place. I just need to make sure
I use it in the way that is best for my situation which may be graze and replant to Orchard grass and or brome. LVR

 

[Ebenezer]

Thank you for your reply. This leads me to ask, What are your thoughts on using sunn hemp in a rotational grazing system?
Wouldn't it take a massive amount of hooves on the ground keep it from growing tall and course?
I did mention sunn hemp at the county office and it may have been above their paygrade as hemp the only word they heard..
All for now Thanks

There is a guy in GA whom I have visited several times. He is sort of an innovative but quiet leader type. He uses a lot of animal manure. One of his go-to blends to put weight on weaned steers is sunn hemp, cow peas, a sudan hybrid (BMR) and maybe some grazing corn. He does not graze it until it gets tall. He rotates in and out with a high level of emphasis on protecting the forage. The longevity of the higher protein is the cow peas but the sunn hemp and other species "carry" the vines to make it work quite well. The scary part to me was the concentration of nitrates in the forage and he offered the results of his forage tests. But his cattle are apparently adjusted to that via the same spreading amounts on all pastures. Naïve cattle brought in would likely die.

Like some said, graze too soon and there is going to be little chance to extend the grazing rotations. But in a blend you have a lot of better options. I am not a purist dealing with forages. Blends will be there whether you want them or not. Nature abhors a monoculture. Might as well do more to choose the mix.

 

[greybeard]

How far into the fall will it live? (how frost tolerant is it?)

 

[Nkline]

I

How far into the fall will it live? (how frost tolerant is it?)

It's not frost tolerant at all, it freezes and drops its leaves. It does work to no-till drill into mowed off bluegrass sod even on a drought year. The seed placement is a little tricky for a decent stand into sod.

 

[crossbreed]

Looking to revive this thread if there are more folks who have tried this. I'm looking at a blend with sunn hemp, pearl millet and kale for the first try. Does anyone have any experience since the feb 2022 time period that would contribute?