New "supergrasses"

[Flacowman]

I know UF is developing a few new varieties and even a new species or 2 and one such has been rumored to be able to carry 10 pair to the acre around here but the name is still unreleased. I was just wondering if any other universities have pet projects that are supposed to be phenomenal when compared to what we have now? Was also wondering what stocking rates some of my fellow southerners were getting. We stock 2 pair to 3 acres on tifton 9 bahia and successfully stocked almost 3 pair to the acre on some new Sand mountain bahia by Auburn. That's all dry land btw and constantly grazed as I am in school and Dad is on the tractor all day so right now we can't rotate for better yields, hopefully in forever when I have my degree done that'll change though...

 

[tampamiketaylor]

Hey Flacowman,

I live out near tampa and do not have any info on supergrasses, but would also really be interested in anyone has more detail. I am plowing my feilds end of winter and replant so would be great to get ahold of some. When you say carry 10 pair to the acre- you are referring to 10 cow per acre, right? That seems like a lot as around here I hear 1 to 1.5 per acre.

Thx,
Mike

 

[dieselbeef]

10 cow /acre in fl...thatd be tuff..but im in for that..need any test pastures....

 

[Flacowman]

According to a friend of mine who interned at NFREC while in community college and is interning at the usda dpi office in gainesville while she is finishing up her phd, it is some asian grass that grows roots up to ten feet deep and grows foliage faster than anything we have now. She doesn't even know the name but she had to sign a confidentiality form in case she ever overheard it or read it. She said UF wants to start testing some on a limited basis with farmers possibly as soon as next year. I think I might have seen some at NFREC on the back side of a test pasture...it was definitely something that grew to about 5 feet tall in less than 2 weeks, but I guess it could have been an ethanol crop. If I hear anything else I'll get it posted.

 

[3waycross]

According to a friend of mine who interned at NFREC while in community college and is interning at the usda dpi office in gainesville while she is finishing up her phd, it is some asian grass that grows roots up to ten feet deep and grows foliage faster than anything we have now. She doesn't even know the name but she had to sign a confidentiality form in case she ever overheard it or read it. She said UF wants to start testing some on a limited basis with farmers possibly as soon as next year. I think I might have seen some at NFREC on the back side of a test pasture...it was definitely something that grew to about 5 feet tall in less than 2 weeks, but I guess it could have been an ethanol crop. If I hear anything else I'll get it posted.

Sounds like another Kudzu epidemic in the making. Just sayin. :help:

 

[dun]

The only "grass" I know of that grows that fast is bamboo

 

[Anonymous]

10 pairs to the acre, there better be someone there everyday cleaning up manure!

 

[dun]

10 pairs to the acre, there better be someone there everyday cleaning up manure!

From the cows or the people making the claim?

 

[Anonymous]

Yes to both

 

[cowboy43]

1 pair will eat about 50 lbs roughage a day x 10 pair = 500 lbs a day x 30 days month = 15000 lbs a month = 15 - 1000lbs of bales of hay a month.
Also it will be a lot excretion going on and stomping the grass. Don't mean to be negative but it sounds to good to be true. But for a hay crop sure sounds like a money maker if it will produce that much. Plus you would have to have agood average rainfall or irrigate to have that kind of production.

 

[agmantoo]

I do intensive rotational grazing in western NC. We have 4 obvious seasons per year. For winter and late summer grazing I have to stockpile grass. The brood cow herd is approximately 100 head. The pastures are all dry land, no irrigation. In a non drought year I can fed a cow for the entire 365 days and her calf until it is approximately 550 lbs when it is sold as a feeder calf on 1.4 acres. In a drought condition I buy hay. Since 2000, hay was bought in 2007 and fed for roughly 3 months. Again this year I had to buy hay to feed for roughly 33 days in order to give the pastures a short rest. Other than the exceptions mentioned, I have fed the herd year round with no hay. The cattle have a good body condition and have consistently bred back quickly. Tomorrow I am going back to rotational grazing what grass I managed to get during the rest period as well as what grass I had amassed earlier.

 

[shaz]

I do intensive rotational grazing in western NC. We have 4 obvious seasons per year. For winter and late summer grazing I have to stockpile grass. The brood cow herd is approximately 100 head. The pastures are all dry land, no irrigation. In a non drought year I can fed a cow for the entire 365 days and her calf until it is approximately 550 lbs when it is sold as a feeder calf on 1.4 acres. In a drought condition I buy hay. Since 2000, hay was bought in 2007 and fed for roughly 3 months. Again this year I had to buy hay to feed for roughly 33 days in order to give the pastures a short rest. Other than the exceptions mentioned, I have fed the herd year round with no hay. The cattle have a good body condition and have consistently bred back quickly. Tomorrow I am going back to rotational grazing what grass I managed to get during the rest period as well as what grass I had amassed earlier.

Your grazing 50 pairs on how many acres?
Also, how did the teff work out this year?

 

[SirLoin]

It sounds to me like someone's been smoking some Super Grass :cowboy:

 

[Jogeephus]

According to a friend of mine who interned at NFREC while in community college and is interning at the usda dpi office in gainesville while she is finishing up her phd, it is some asian grass that grows roots up to ten feet deep and grows foliage faster than anything we have now. She doesn't even know the name but she had to sign a confidentiality form in case she ever overheard it or read it. She said UF wants to start testing some on a limited basis with farmers possibly as soon as next year. I think I might have seen some at NFREC on the back side of a test pasture...it was definitely something that grew to about 5 feet tall in less than 2 weeks, but I guess it could have been an ethanol crop. If I hear anything else I'll get it posted.

If its miscanthus stay clear. Some of the univerities have jumped into bed with some snake oil salesmen and are trying to beef up their pockets peddling super miscanthus. Can't be used for anything but ethanol. I will become a noxious weed even though they claim its sterile. (look at the Blue Ridge Parkway and see how well sterile miscanthus spreads) Only costs a poor farmer $35,000 for enough sprigs to plant 1/4 of an acre and have the right to plant 50. I think a $100,000 and you can plant up to 200 acres. I was gonna do it myself but instead I invested in Turbo Tax for Children. Hopefully it will be a big seller this Chrismas and I'll be rich enough to move to Brazil.

BTW - Tift 85 roots reach down to 15 feet on dry sand so 10 feet isn't that surprising.

 

[agmantoo]

shaz,

There are approximately 100 brood cows and heifers in the herd plus the offspring. I also have two mammoth donkeys with them. I have the herd limited to 141 acres. I have an additional 20 acres on which I am establishing pasture. The rest of the farm is in trees.

The teff grew just fine and held during the drought. The only problem was the teff roots very shallow. As the herd grazed they pulled the plants up with the roots attached.

Photobucket is not working properly for me tonight. Hopefully here is a pic of some of the animals to give an idea of the herd and its size to the non believers. The herd is grazing the area between P2 and P3 in the second pic

Here is a satellite view of the farm layout

 

[cowboy43]

AG
Looks like a good operation, do you have a fertilizer program to keep the grass growing to its maxium? How do you rotate, do you leave the herd in one unit, how many days per pasture?

 

[agmantoo]

AG
Looks like a good operation, do you have a fertilizer program to keep the grass growing to its maxium? How do you rotate, do you leave the herd in one unit, how many days per pasture?

I have a PH program done by a professional service. I do not buy commercial fertilizer for the established pastures. The family owns 1 off site layer house and I use that poultry manure. The amount of poultry manure is only adequate to fertilize 20 percent of the pastures per year. Therefore the pastures get fertilized only once per 5 years. The cattle rotate their manure over the pastures as they graze. The herd is a closed one and all animals are co-mingled. The paddocks are rotated daily. Years previously I was one a 3 day rotation but the farm would only support about 75% of what it will on the daily rotation. I feed no grain or supplemental protein. The cattle are on grass and legumes only throughout their life at my place.

I know how to grow grass provided I can get water.

This is what it looks like during growing season

 

[shaz]

Speaking of water. I noticed that I see very little cow manure during spring and summer months. In the winter there is manure everywhere which must mean that the crap is going in the ponds the rest of the time.
I would say my "manure return" is about 20 percent overall :???:

 

[Howdyjabo]

In the warmer months bugs are breaking down the piles

 

[cowboy43]

Looks like you have 11 different pastures so that means that it rests 11 or 12 days before turning back in. The electric fence is how you have your pastures divided ? Also it looks like a lane down the middle of your propery to tie the pastures together.