Planting Pearl Millet

[pricefarm]

Going to plant some pearl millet going to plant it on about a acre lot where I feed the cows this winter. Most of it is bare dirt. Would you plant some rye with it or just straight Millet ? I will be chisel plowing the ground first to bust it up some then run the disc over it. Going to broadcast my seed.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Going to plant some pearl millet going to plant it on about a acre lot where I feed the cows this winter. Most of it is bare dirt. Would you plant some rye with it or just straight Millet ? I will be chisel plowing the ground first to bust it up some then run the disc over it. Going to broadcast my seed.

Too hot for rye here. Not sure about there but I'm guessing that it is if it's warm enough for millet. I plant some TifLeaf 3 hybrid pearl millet every year. I'd plant it straight. Broadcast will work. Just be careful not to plant it to deep. And follow recommend seeding rate. Too thick can be counterproductive. Makes awesome grazing here. I think you'll like it.

 

[pricefarm]

Going to plant some pearl millet going to plant it on about a acre lot where I feed the cows this winter. Most of it is bare dirt. Would you plant some rye with it or just straight Millet ? I will be chisel plowing the ground first to bust it up some then run the disc over it. Going to broadcast my seed.

Too hot for rye here. Not sure about there but I'm guessing that it is if it's warm enough for millet. I plant some TifLeaf 3 hybrid pearl millet every year. I'd plant it straight. Broadcast will work. Just be careful not to plant it to deep. And follow recommend seeding rate. Too thick can be counterproductive. Makes awesome grazing here. I think you'll like it.

Thanks. How many pounds per acre do you seed ?

 

[Bigfoot]

It loves fertilizer.

 

[Texasmark]

I tried PM once. Big flop. Did the soil prep, drilled seed. However, if you leave pasture unattended, Foxtail is everywhere, free.

 

[callmefence]

I tried PM once. Big flop. Did the soil prep, drilled seed. However, if you leave pasture unattended, Foxtail is everywhere, free.

Yep
Generally makes a pretty good stand. About half of what haygrazer gives. Them once you cut it or graze it it quits. I think there's a reason millet seed stays about the same and haygrazer has quadruple in five years
We plant plenty of haygrazer for high value hay
Bin run Milo for grazing

 

[VaCowman]

Going to plant some pearl millet going to plant it on about a acre lot where I feed the cows this winter. Most of it is bare dirt. Would you plant some rye with it or just straight Millet ? I will be chisel plowing the ground first to bust it up some then run the disc over it. Going to broadcast my seed.

Too hot for rye here. Not sure about there but I'm guessing that it is if it's warm enough for millet. I plant some TifLeaf 3 hybrid pearl millet every year. I'd plant it straight. Broadcast will work. Just be careful not to plant it to deep. And follow recommend seeding rate. Too thick can be counterproductive. Makes awesome grazing here. I think you'll like it.

Thanks. How many pounds per acre do you seed ?

I'm in SW VA, and I plant 25-30#/acre (drilled). if you are broadcasting, I'd up the rate some, and be sure to watch the weather and plant when you have rain coming. The top dries out really quick and can hurt broadcast plantings because they are so shallow. Prime 360 PM has done the best for us when we used PM. We have switched to AS9302 sudangrass. We are having problems getting the 9302 this year, so we are going with the 9301, which is the 9302 without the dwarf gene. (it gets taller, but has a bit more stem to it. We are grazing, so I'm not too concerned, just may have to adjust stocking rates up some to make sure we stay ahead of it. You need to put some N on it at planting. We use 1 unit of N/planned day of growth. You may not need that much since you are planting in a feed area, but I'd still put some down if you want to get some growth across the entire field, and not just where there is adequate N. Are you grazing or haying?

 

[pricefarm]

Too hot for rye here. Not sure about there but I'm guessing that it is if it's warm enough for millet. I plant some TifLeaf 3 hybrid pearl millet every year. I'd plant it straight. Broadcast will work. Just be careful not to plant it to deep. And follow recommend seeding rate. Too thick can be counterproductive. Makes awesome grazing here. I think you'll like it.

Thanks. How many pounds per acre do you seed ?

I'm in SW VA, and I plant 25-30#/acre (drilled). if you are broadcasting, I'd up the rate some, and be sure to watch the weather and plant when you have rain coming. The top dries out really quick and can hurt broadcast plantings because they are so shallow. Prime 360 PM has done the best for us when we used PM. We have switched to AS9302 sudangrass. We are having problems getting the 9302 this year, so we are going with the 9301, which is the 9302 without the dwarf gene. (it gets taller, but has a bit more stem to it. We are grazing, so I'm not too concerned, just may have to adjust stocking rates up some to make sure we stay ahead of it. You need to put some N on it at planting. We use 1 unit of N/planned day of growth. You may not need that much since you are planting in a feed area, but I'd still put some down if you want to get some growth across the entire field, and not just where there is adequate N. Are you grazing or haying?

Going to graze it. I was planning on putting about 60 units of N on it when I planted it.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Why switch from pearl millet to sudan grass?

 

[JMJ Farms]

Going to plant some pearl millet going to plant it on about a acre lot where I feed the cows this winter. Most of it is bare dirt. Would you plant some rye with it or just straight Millet ? I will be chisel plowing the ground first to bust it up some then run the disc over it. Going to broadcast my seed.

Too hot for rye here. Not sure about there but I'm guessing that it is if it's warm enough for millet. I plant some TifLeaf 3 hybrid pearl millet every year. I'd plant it straight. Broadcast will work. Just be careful not to plant it to deep. And follow recommend seeding rate. Too thick can be counterproductive. Makes awesome grazing here. I think you'll like it.

Thanks. How many pounds per acre do you seed ?

25lbs/ac. I'm drilling. If broadcasting is probably go 35-40. Never tried it. 50 units N at planting. Try to graze at about 60 days. And usually 50 more units N at about 30 days after beginning grazing. It's tricky. I try to keep it grazed down so it doesn't head out but I don't graze it under 6 inches if at all possible until about 120 days after I plant. I try to get 60-75 days worth of grazing. Sometimes I do. Sometimes it doesn't work out. Best of luck to you.

 

[VaCowman]

Why switch from pearl millet to sudan grass?

TONNAGE!!!

 

[VaCowman]

Too hot for rye here. Not sure about there but I'm guessing that it is if it's warm enough for millet. I plant some TifLeaf 3 hybrid pearl millet every year. I'd plant it straight. Broadcast will work. Just be careful not to plant it to deep. And follow recommend seeding rate. Too thick can be counterproductive. Makes awesome grazing here. I think you'll like it.

Thanks. How many pounds per acre do you seed ?

25lbs/ac. I'm drilling. If broadcasting is probably go 35-40. Never tried it. 50 units N at planting. Try to graze at about 60 days. And usually 50 more units N at about 30 days after beginning grazing. It's tricky. I try to keep it grazed down so it doesn't head out but I don't graze it under 6 inches if at all possible until about 120 days after I plant. I try to get 60-75 days worth of grazing. Sometimes I do. Sometimes it doesn't work out. Best of luck to you.

What is your stocking rate when you turn out at 60D? We tried 60D the first time we grazed it, but we've since moved that back to about 40-45d, with quicker rotations and higher stocking densities. We put 50 units of N at planting and then about 40 after first grazing. That seems to be our sweet spot. Ours started seeding out before we got through the first rotation. Not what we wanted, but supposedly, once it goes to seed, the quality goes up due to the seeds. I still prefer vegetative for grazing.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Would there be improved N utilization if you applied it a couple weeks after seeding?

 

[pricefarm]

I planted mine on Friday afternoon. I spread 300 lbs of 19/19/19 per acre and disced it in. We got rain yesterday and today and it looks like rain for the next several days. I broadcasted around 40 lbs of seed per acre. We will see how it goes

 

[JMJ Farms]

Thanks. How many pounds per acre do you seed ?

25lbs/ac. I'm drilling. If broadcasting is probably go 35-40. Never tried it. 50 units N at planting. Try to graze at about 60 days. And usually 50 more units N at about 30 days after beginning grazing. It's tricky. I try to keep it grazed down so it doesn't head out but I don't graze it under 6 inches if at all possible until about 120 days after I plant. I try to get 60-75 days worth of grazing. Sometimes I do. Sometimes it doesn't work out. Best of luck to you.

What is your stocking rate when you turn out at 60D? We tried 60D the first time we grazed it, but we've since moved that back to about 40-45d, with quicker rotations and higher stocking densities. We put 50 units of N at planting and then about 40 after first grazing. That seems to be our sweet spot. Ours started seeding out before we got through the first rotation. Not what we wanted, but supposedly, once it goes to seed, the quality goes up due to the seeds. I still prefer vegetative for grazing.

I'm the past it has been 3 pairs to the acre. If we have good rainfall I don't have to wait the full 60 days. But most of the time it's pretty dry and hot. You are correct, 40 days is definitely better.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Would there be improved N utilization if you applied it a couple weeks after seeding?

Possibly but you would likely damage a good portion of the crop. However, if N is incorporated and you don't have several 3-4" rains to cause it to leach, I think the difference would be negligible. But that's just my opinion. I'm not positive.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Tift leaf 3 Pearl millet sowed on Memorial Day. Be ready to graze within 2 weeks.

 

[pricefarm]

Tift leaf 3 Pearl millet sowed on Memorial Day. Be ready to graze within 2 weeks.

Looks nice. I planted mine on May 19th it's about 6" high.

 

[Allenw]

Tift leaf 3 Pearl millet sowed on Memorial Day. Be ready to graze within 2 weeks.

How many pounds per acre did you plant? I've seen recommendations from 6 to 15 lbs per acre.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Tift leaf 3 Pearl millet sowed on Memorial Day. Be ready to graze within 2 weeks.

How many pounds per acre did you plant? I've seen recommendations from 6 to 15 lbs per acre.

25#. Broadcast on top of well prepared seedbed and 3 days of slow on and off rain following. Didn't cover seed at all.
Circumstances just dictated a different technique. Normally I drill it in at 15# acre. We have been super busy and I didn't have time to get it done so I tried this and it worked well. Mainly bc I was confident we were gonna have enough rain in the forecast to get it sprouted. But I believe every single hill come up. It's as thick as the hair on a dogs back.