Thoughts on Reed Canary Grass

[fargus]

Too late! We already put some in. For those that have used it, how much do you like to include? Both as a percentage of your mix when seeding down, and on what percentage of your land? It works here, and we know we need to sock the nitrogen to it in order to get maximum value out of it. Planted one of the new low-alkaloid varieties, and I know we don't have issues with it. We bought hay last year with the same variety of reed canary and the cows like it fine.

We put it in a field with variable drainage (clay loam soil) and seeded a mix of alfalfa, trefoil, smooth brome, and reed canary. I expect the alfalfa to thin out, and the trefoil and grasses to thicken over time. (I plowed this field in my youthful enthusiasm. It will NEVER be broken up again as long as I own the place.) This will probably have a first cut of hay taken off most years, and then the regrowth will be intensively grazed through the rest of the season. I'm doing my planning now for next year, and we are in the process of seeding all of our land down. Wondering if we should plant more, or keep it to the 10% of our acreage it's on now. Thanks in advance.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Reed canary establishes slow but CAN out yield almost everything else. What most people don't know is that the RC yield drops way off (to become similar to many other cool season grasses) if you go to short rotations.

My standard renovation mix is alfalfa(4 to 8#), white clover(1 to 1.5#), RC(4 to 6#), meadow fescue(2 to 4#), and a little Kura clover. I calculate seeds/sq ft to come up with an exact mix. The RC will choke out almost everything else after about 4 years.

I like BFT but it does not compete well except is low spots were nothing else grows. Cattle love brome but I don't - - expensive per seed and also does not compete well.