First time planting hay-grazer

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AZAggie":1lx7u56y said:
28 days in on this. I'm getting just enough rain to keep it going. It was getting dry but it got about an inch and a half of rain Tuesday night.



Sure doesn't look like you planted it very thick. Fenceman said planting 50 lbs to the acre makes the stems and leaf thinner and he's right.
 
True Grit Farms":3bthaw89 said:
AZAggie":3bthaw89 said:
28 days in on this. I'm getting just enough rain to keep it going. It was getting dry but it got about an inch and a half of rain Tuesday night.



Sure doesn't look like you planted it very thick. Fenceman said planting 50 lbs to the acre makes the stems and leaf thinner and he's right.

Seed variety and local conditions play a hand in seed population, based on my research. 50 pounds of variety X may yield the same population as variety Y. I went with an average of my seed salesman's advice, and Fence's advice.
 
I followed what the recommended planting rate said to do which was 30 lbs per acre. I went a little over that actually. Next year I'm going to up that considerably.
 
TEmkwVO.jpg


This sorghum Sudan was broadcast seeded at 60lbs/acre and a cult I packed ran over it May 28.

I put 100lbs/acre 32-0-0 fertilizer on it June 2nd and it received its first good rain a couple days ago.
 
kentuckyguy":psg3whnt said:
TEmkwVO.jpg


This sorghum Sudan was broadcast seeded at 60lbs/acre and a cult I packed ran over it May 28.

I put 100lbs/acre 32-0-0 fertilizer on it June 2nd and it received its first good rain a couple days ago.

Now that's a nice looking field.
 
About four weeks in on this field planted on a surprise rain, didn't have enough moisture to plant any where else. Needs some fertilizer waiting to see what they say about rain the first of the week before I do.

This field has been planted about a week after a good rain had a good shower the other day so the rest should be up soon.
 
I ended up ordering through my local southern states for $65/bag. I found it several places online for under $40/bag but shipping was going to be as much as the seed.
To me the sorghum sudan is till pretty cheap at $50-$60/bag. It grows on our low PH soil which lowers the input cost drastically and if cut properly and a little N thrown on it after each cutting provides excellent yields.

We plan to get 3 cutting off of ours. What amazes me about sorghum sudan is its ability to grow under pretty stressful drought conditions. Once it gets going it doesn't need a lot of rain.
 
kentuckyguy":1y3jua3e said:
TEmkwVO.jpg


This sorghum Sudan was broadcast seeded at 60lbs/acre and a cult I packed ran over it May 28.

I put 100lbs/acre 32-0-0 fertilizer on it June 2nd and it received its first good rain a couple days ago.

That is a nice looking field.
 
I just measured the field today and most of it was 14". We haven't had but an inch of rain since it was sowed.
Due to get some rain here the next few days. I'm hoping it makes 30-40 inches around the next dry spell. If there's one thing I've learned about cutting sudan or millet for hay it's that anytime it's dry and close to 30" cut it.

We have had millet go from 3 to 5ft tall and have stalks bigger than corn when you get a couple weeks of wet weather. Makes baling it a nightmare.
 
kentuckyguy":1yhtcfe9 said:
I just measured the field today and most of it was 14". We haven't had but an inch of rain since it was sowed.
Due to get some rain here the next few days. I'm hoping it makes 30-40 inches around the next dry spell. If there's one thing I've learned about cutting sudan or millet for hay it's that anytime it's dry and close to 30" cut it.

We have had millet go from 3 to 5ft tall and have stalks bigger than corn when you get a couple weeks of wet weather. Makes baling it a nightmare.

That's interesting. The sudan/sorghum hybrid I planted has a web site that says to cut it at about 48"-60" for the first cutting, about 8" off the ground. We'll see how it does after that. The rain normally stops around the end of June here so I may be lucky to get it to grow back out very well. We are supposed to get a little rain here later this week. So far I've been pretty lucky regarding the rain.
 
From the forage analysis I've seen done by universities the protein content really starts dropping after it reaches 42". We do our calving in the fall so I want the protein content to be pretty good. This will allow me not to supplement them as much.

Another big reason is getting it dry. I haven't had much luck getting summer annuals dry enough to bale in our humid weather if you allow them to get real big. I'm hoping the high seeding rate keeps the stocks small on the sorghum sudan.
 
Looking good! Mine finally came on, but it hasn't stopped raining since it started. It needs N, but I can't even walk across it without sinking to the top of my boots. Ended up with a bumper stand of crabgrass to go along with it.




 
cvC5A5H.jpg


Here's a pic of the BMR sorghum sudan this morning. We have had a lot of rain. It's 29" tall right now. I'm hoping to cut it and the end of the week during a 4-5 day dry spell. I'm afraid if I try to let it grow 8-10 more inches I'll get bit by a wet spell and have corn stalks.

With all this rain it's growing almost a foot a week.
 
Farm Fence Solutions":1oiqqz9z said:
Looking good! Mine finally came on, but it hasn't stopped raining since it started. It needs N, but I can't even walk across it without sinking to the top of my boots. Ended up with a bumper stand of crabgrass to go along with it.




Looks good!
 
kentuckyguy":2nmokpa3 said:
cvC5A5H.jpg


Here's a pic of the BMR sorghum sudan this morning. We have had a lot of rain. It's 29" tall right now. I'm hoping to cut it and the end of the week during a 4-5 day dry spell. I'm afraid if I try to let it grow 8-10 more inches I'll get bit by a wet spell and have corn stalks.

With all this rain it's growing almost a foot a week.
That looks really good. Mine still likes a while until it is ready to bale. At least a couple of weeks, which is good because I'm going to be gone all next week and possibly part of the week after. My son is graduating from Combat Medic training in San Antonio next week and we may have to drive him to Kentucky for his next post.
 
PEsC3YV.jpg


Laid it down today. Hopefully we can get some hot dry weather the next 4-5 days.
 

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