Bermuda vs bluestem

[Cross-7]

Midland vs b.dahl
One concern with the Bermuda I have is fertilizer requirements vs b.dahl
One concern for b.dahl is the thinning after a long dry spell like in 2011
I have heard that a lot in the area thinned and native grass has came in its place
The Bermuda thinned but filled back in choking out the native grass and some went in and lightly disced the Bermuda scattering it and filling in the bare spots

I'm not familiar with either and advice would be appreciated

 

[fenceman]

I've got some Dahl and its great. I put it in when I had very few cows and was able to leave it be for about a year to get established.
Don't know about Midland

We take back a little land from the cedar and mesquite every year, I got a pretty good little chunk ready to do something with this spring. I'd like to add giant Bermuda and Klein to the discussion( with 7s ok).

Maybe vette will show up, I think he's got em.all

 

[1982vett]

LOL...I read the post this morning. I'm kind of on the fence on this on today. I think both would be a good choice and picking one of the two... I'm about 50/50 right now. I've got roughly 15 acres I've put off seeding for a long time since I can't count on decent weather to get anything established and right now I wouldn't be able to make a choice either. I'd say you may need to figure out what "space" you want your choice to fill. Hay, summer grazing, or fall grazing.

I'd say a plus on the B-Dahl is "stock piling" for late fall grazing. I do this with some native pasture I have. If your bermuda gets the moisture and ya hit it with fertilizer and lime, bermuda is going to shine for grazing or hay. NovaTech would probably pick B-Dhal.

Fenceman, I'd pick Klein over Giant Bermuda. Giant appears to grow more upright and doesn't seem to spread well. It does seem to hang on pretty well in a drought, but it's reseeding and spreading ability seems to be lacking. My attempt in 2011 for both Klein and Cheyenne was a total failure. The 2012 Klein came through with a decent stand. Common bermuda has taken back the weak spots.

 

[Cross-7]

I think I'm good with native pasture and winter grasses
I think I'm lacking summer grass and possibly grass to bale
Thanks for info

 

[Texas PaPaw]

Possibly some of each to utilize the different growth patterns.

 

[Cross-7]

Possibly some of each to utilize the different growth patterns.

That might be an option too
There are two different cultivated fields so that could work

 

[novatech]

Different ground, changing weather patterns, and ability to manage grazing will play in what the best choice would be.
Dahl needs to be managed as to how close you can graze. Cattle will kill it out if grazed to short. It will shine during drought.
Bermuda's can be grazed to the ground and will shine during constant rain.
You might just but in a mix and it will be survival of the fittest. Well that sounds good but I tried it and the cattle preferred the dahl over the rest.
Keep experimenting and you will eventually find what works best for you today, but that may change with the weather change extremes as they have been.
Obviously I've been no help at all. :bang:

 

[1982vett]

Different ground, changing weather patterns, and ability to manage grazing will play in what the best choice would be.
Dahl needs to be managed as to how close you can graze. Cattle will kill it out if grazed to short. It will shine during drought.
Bermuda's can be grazed to the ground and will shine during constant rain.
You might just but in a mix and it will be survival of the fittest. Well that sounds good but I tried it and the cattle preferred the dahl over the rest.
Keep experimenting and you will eventually find what works best for you today, but that may change with the weather change extremes as they have been.
Obviously I've been no help at all. :bang:

:lol: Won't grow without water....doesn't grow all that well with to much either.... :?

Neighbor tells me we have gotten 62 inches of rain this year. I think for 2012 - 2014 we made our average 36-38 inches. Remember 2011 when we barely got 19 inches? Well add 2011's rainfall to 2015 and you get an average of 40.5 inches...........so what is all the grumbling about not enough rain for the past 5 years. :lol:

 

[Cross-7]

In west Texas 19" is a good year
2011 was around 5"

 

[fenceman]

Had a conversation in the cafe yesterday evening. Heard some good things said about a 50/50 of Klein and Wilman lovegrass. ??

 

[Cross-7]

Had a conversation in the cafe yesterday evening. Heard some good things said about a 50/50 of Klein and Wilman lovegrass. ??

It's not apples to apples but the kleingrass I had in west Texas got stemmy as it matured
The leaf to stem ratio was poor IMO
It put on a seed head early and matured early but that is in an dry area, maybe in a wetter area it would continue to grow ?
I also had a place with morpa love grass and the only way they'd eat it was if it was young and tender or with urea tubs
But maybe wilman is better

 

[lavacarancher]

Please forgive my ignorance on this subject but if you're talking about Bluestem I have a 12 acre plot of Gordo Bluestem and I love it. Cut it this fall and produced 99 and a half bales off that small field and the cows love it. Maybe I should get it analyzed to see the protein content. I tried to establish a field in NK37 (giant bermuda) and was totally disappointed. It came up great and I kept the cattle off for about a year and it looked really good. I let the girls in and they seemed to like it just fine. Next growing season there was nothing left, no reseeding.

 

[JH_cattle_co]

I seeded 100 acres of b. dahl in early spring 2011, obviously it was a total failure, think I wound up with about 30 plants. Reseeded in 2013 with a mix of b. dahl (50%), klein (30%), and wilman (20%). I had little success with the b. dahl again, but the klein did good, and the wilman did excellent. Both times the seed was planted in a firm, well prepped seed bed, and grazing was deferred a full growing season. The b. dahl has started coming on a little better this year, still far from what I would consider a success, but the cows love it. I also seeded about 250 acres of rangeland after mesquite grubbing with a mixture of native species and wilman. I just broadcast the seed after raking the brush, again the wilman was the big winner and it was only about 10% of the mixture. In short, I have become a big fan of wilman, easy establishment and the cows love it. I also like b. dahl, but don't know if I'm willing to give it another shot after the trouble I have had getting it established.

 

[bird dog]

I planted a 13 acre test pasture two years ago with about a 50 50 mix of Klein and Wilman Lovegrass. The soil was plowed three passes with a cheap disc. I don't have a small seed drill so I planted it with and 70's model JD model B drill. I mixed the seed with fertilizer. I have been very pleased with the results but I think I like the Klein best. The Wilman seems to leave a thatch buildup. I shut the pasture off in mid September before it started raining and opened it up this week. The herd of 45 cows and 24 or so calves left the hay rings and stayed in the pasture for four days. The baby calves love it. They bury down in it and look like fire ant mounds.
I am going to shred it later this winter if it dries up enough to bust of some of the thatch build up. I believe it is a great mixture that establishes fairly easily, not overly expensive and does well in a rotation basis.