I went Friday evening, but due to thunderstorms wasn't able to do the pasture walk. It also made it hard to hear because the talk was given in a barn with metal roof. Ben's voice did not carry well so I missed most everything he said.
What did I learn? I have not had any experience with NWSGs so some this may or may not be new
1. NWSGs can be very productive. While switchgrass puts the most mass out, the best gains come from eastern gamagrass. One slide had, I believe, an ADG of 2.8 pounds over the 110 days on a mixture of indiangrass and gamagrass.
2. NWSGs are low input. They can thrive in poor soils, and need little N. Pat showed some slide from an ag economist and the best grass for cost was gamagrass, far outstripping any cool weather grass. They are running tests on tailings from coal mines and the NWSGs are thriving on them.
3. Good summer production and drought tolerance. Gamagrass and indiangrass has a nice flat growth curve throughout the summer. Roots can extend 10+ feet.
3. I dont care what Pat claims but converting to NWSGs is difficult and expensive A couple burn downs starting the late summer the year before planting. The first years growth comes slowly at first without many options for chemical help. Ben Tracy did mention that he had someone lightly graze the second year, but the grasses are really online until 2+ years.
4. Management is important. It cannot be grazed under 12-14 inches. On the other hand, they - and particularly switchgrass - have "bodacious" (his words) growth in spring that you have to keep ahead of by either grazing or cutting. Grazing pressure keeps grasses nutritious, and in the long run The UT is doing tests on a management scheme in Nebraska, however, where cattle are brought into a quarter with a mix of NWSG in the spring, then half are removed and the remainder graze until fall. This appears to have both good ADG and persistence of grasses, but its still early to judge.
