Klein Grass - Good or Bad

[callmefence]

Definitely enjoying the firsthand learning experiences. Some have been tough, but all have at least been memorable.

Lots of folks will tell you what to do that have little to no firsthand experience.
Just repeating what they've heard.
Here's a example of Klein grass this year, drought and no fertilizer if my memory is right it made 8+ bales per acre. The bdahl field a half mile away made 1.5 and the Bermuda about the same. When times are tough the cream rises to the top....I'm in Florence btw.

 

[rocfarm]

Lots of folks will tell you what to do that have little to no firsthand experience.
Just repeating what they've heard.
Here's a example of Klein grass this year, drought and no fertilizer if my memory is right it made 8+ bales per acre. The bdahl field a half mile away made 1.5 and the Bermuda about the same. When times are tough the cream rises to the top....I'm in Florence btw

Wow. Can't see myself ever having enough capital to hay myself, but that's a lot of hay. 6500lbs or more DM per acre would be awesome.

If I could get 5 per acre I just might want to seek out a custom baler. Gonna stick with the stockpiling trial for now, though.

 

[callmefence]

Wow. Can't see myself ever having enough capital to hay myself, but that's a lot of hay. 6500lbs or more DM per acre would be awesome.

If I could get 5 per acre I just might want to seek out a custom baler. Gonna stick with the stockpiling trial for now, though.

I'm not trying to change your plan...lol..

 

[Brute 23]

Fence is right.

My teenage son is standing in a Klein/ B-Dahl field in this picture. It looks great in the pic but the real story is I almost lost it all due to poor management. It got very thin and KR was taking over. When I got away from cattle guys and started getting mentored by grass people, it started turning for the better. Once we saw what it was capable of, we started planting and re-planting to speed up the results.

 

[Rafter S]

Mine, too. Was still trying to put out green shoots on December 20th this year.

I really think the verdict is that, if you can add it to a mix of other grasses on your place, it can serve some good functions: decent forage in the hottest part of the year, quick recovery to large lbs of dry matter per acre with minimal rain, decent stockpiling ability, good longevity, and at least fair wildlife value.

Hope I haven't yet or won't make any mistakes to set mine back.

So far my observation is that, if you need to plant something, Klein would be in the top five or even top three to consider for dryland areas in central Texas.

You're certainly right about the longevity. I'm still cutting hay from some that was planted (as far as I can remember) in the early 1980's. I got married in 1988, and I know it was well before then.

 

[Otha]

I won't address stockpiling (stockpiling doesn't work for my little operation), but from watching it for 30+ years I do know that it handles cold weather better than any other warm season grass in my part of the country. Unless there's an early hard freeze it stays green when everything else has turned brown.

It also comes out early in the spring. Beats the bermuda grass by several weeks.

 

[dcarp]

I can't speak to stockpiling either as all my Klein is harvested for hay. I let it seed out & wait till the seeds start dropping before I cut it to ensure that the stand continues thick.
As far as deep root system for drought resistance I saw proof when a neighbor installed a septic system in what was a mature Klein hayfield. The roots went down about 3 feet.