Is this Johnson grass? Remember I'm learning
- Thread starter tncattle
- Start date
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
Sure looks like Johnson grass to me. However, there are no heads in the pic so I assume it is relatively young growth. Put the cows on it and it'll be gone in no time. If it doesn't head out and seed, it'll be gone. You could bale it and have good feed too.
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
Cows prefer it to sudan or burmuda grasses. They'll graze it out in no time and leave other grasses to reproduce.
ALACOWMAN
Well-known member
cattle will go after that like parrana after a steak . but it can be deadly as a cocked pistol. if drought stressed
Here in West Tennessee, it is such an under-rated food source for cattle. When every other grass is going dormant due to heat and dry conditions, the Johnson Grass grows ten times or more the rate of bermuda grass. In the "Southern Forages" book, it shows the crude protein to be 10-14%, same as bermuda grass.
Bermuda grass is a good hot summertime grass, but when things turn dry, I haven't seen anything out perform Johnson Grass.
Chuckie
Bermuda grass is a good hot summertime grass, but when things turn dry, I haven't seen anything out perform Johnson Grass.
Chuckie
ga. prime
Well-known member
Could be wrong on this end, but it has been my view that Johnson Grass is a perennial and grows from rhyzomes. Cutting it or grazing it to the point of eliminating seeds annually will not rid yourself of it. Right or wrong?
Cowdirt
Well-known member
ga. prime":3lhwhklq said:
Ga.prime, you're correct. I don't like it on rowcrop land but in pasture it's terrific. My cows always graze it first. I have considerable amount on my rowcrop land but herbicides are quite effective on in.
I dont like it growing in the meadows that i am cutting for hay because it likes to grow in patches, usually grows faster than the other grass and will choke other grass out because of it.
It also grows in clumps with a big root system taking alot of moisture to grow compared to other grass like crab, dallas, bemuda grass.
I dont know this for sure but i dont think it would produce as much tonage per acre as bemuda, crab, or dallas grass because it is not as dense growing as the other grasses.
And when it grows this way because it is so much bigger, more leafy and stemmy. It is usually still some what green when it is time to rake & bale. So you wind up with some green spots in the bale.
But from what i have read and been told cows do love it. I think some people call it ice cream grass because cows go after it so well.
It also grows in clumps with a big root system taking alot of moisture to grow compared to other grass like crab, dallas, bemuda grass.
I dont know this for sure but i dont think it would produce as much tonage per acre as bemuda, crab, or dallas grass because it is not as dense growing as the other grasses.
And when it grows this way because it is so much bigger, more leafy and stemmy. It is usually still some what green when it is time to rake & bale. So you wind up with some green spots in the bale.
But from what i have read and been told cows do love it. I think some people call it ice cream grass because cows go after it so well.
dcara
Well-known member
Johnson grass has 2 problems which are nitrate accumulation and prussic acid (i.e. Hydrogen cyanide). Either one can kill a cow. Nitrate poisioning can occur from fertilization practices and prussic acid occurs after either a frost or if it gets rained on after having been drought stressed. The prussic acid issue can be effectively addressed by baling and letting set for for enough time to let the prussic acid disipate.
Heres a link to more info
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/plant43.htm
yeah, I have Johnson grass in one of the pastures and I've been afraid of it ever since one of my friends said he lost 4 cows to it. Yet, like everybody else, I've heard it can be good feed under normal circumstances.
JRM
Well-known member
If people would fertilize it like they would costal, or haygrazer they would be suprised at how much hay they can make.
I can get 3 cuttings on a Johnson grass field. I have done 4 cuttings a year a couple times but weather has to be just right to do this.
The little bit I sell, the horse people love it. They tell me their horses will leave costal hay to go eat johnson grass hay.
in my books it some of the best, cheapest (to grow) hay there is and curing time is usually a day or 2 quicker than haygrazer
I can get 3 cuttings on a Johnson grass field. I have done 4 cuttings a year a couple times but weather has to be just right to do this.
The little bit I sell, the horse people love it. They tell me their horses will leave costal hay to go eat johnson grass hay.
in my books it some of the best, cheapest (to grow) hay there is and curing time is usually a day or 2 quicker than haygrazer
john250
Well-known member
We have had this discussion before. The stuff is a devils bargain. Cows will control it. They love it. But as soon as you pull them off the pasture it will regrow from rhizomes. Before Roundup and RR crops it was a huge problem in crops.
It is only dangerous IF it got a big dose of N and then became drought stressed or killed by an early freeze.
I spent most of my best years fighting the stuff so I'll never be able to accept it for its positive attributes.
It is a noxious weed in Indiana. You are required by law (seldom enforced) to control it. It must not be found in certified seed. It must not be found in hay for sale.
It is only dangerous IF it got a big dose of N and then became drought stressed or killed by an early freeze.
I spent most of my best years fighting the stuff so I'll never be able to accept it for its positive attributes.
It is a noxious weed in Indiana. You are required by law (seldom enforced) to control it. It must not be found in certified seed. It must not be found in hay for sale.
It is a perennial, but it will die out if it is continually cut or grazed. The rhizomes need photosynthesis to stay alive. That is why you see it growing on the roadside but seldom in pastures because cows graze it down so quickly and it dies.
ga. prime
Well-known member
Good explaination, JT.
