I was wondering if there would be advantages to planting a warn season grass like a Big Blue Stem to offset some of the summer slump of the Timmothy/Brome/Legume. I am looking to make my pastue/ hay ground (like everyone) the most productive it can be. I am also thinking of planting a forage brassica crop for the late Fall and early Winter. Just wondering is others have tried this and how it worked for them or if anyone had opinions on the subject.
Warm season grass in SE Iowa?
- Thread starter BAR_R
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
I also am interested in responses. We are in central IL. Most of our fields are Orchard/Timothy/Brome/Rye/Clover mix. We get a good first cutting and sometimes a decent second cutting (if we get rain) but when the heat turns on the cool season grasses don't grown much. Last year we planted sorghum/sudangrass (sudax), it grows well in the hot dry months. We also have planted a field of red clover, as it does better than the cool season grasses in hot months.
This year we are trying a sudangrass hybrid called Greentreat Dynamo, (it is a brachhytic dwarf). The brachytic dwarf hybrids have shortened internodes, the height of the plant is reduced, but the same number of nodes exists as normal hybrids. We attended a seminar that ofcourse was selling this seed. They explained because of the shortened internodes you will get a leafier plant, you can harvest at a shorter height, you will get more cuttings. They say it has excellent regrowth after cutting or grazing. We followed the sudax last year with winter wheat.
The only negative thing I have heard about planting blue stem or other native grasses is that the seed is expensive and that it can be challenging to establish a good stand. We have some blue stem in our hay fields (native), the cattle like it.
donna
This year we are trying a sudangrass hybrid called Greentreat Dynamo, (it is a brachhytic dwarf). The brachytic dwarf hybrids have shortened internodes, the height of the plant is reduced, but the same number of nodes exists as normal hybrids. We attended a seminar that ofcourse was selling this seed. They explained because of the shortened internodes you will get a leafier plant, you can harvest at a shorter height, you will get more cuttings. They say it has excellent regrowth after cutting or grazing. We followed the sudax last year with winter wheat.
The only negative thing I have heard about planting blue stem or other native grasses is that the seed is expensive and that it can be challenging to establish a good stand. We have some blue stem in our hay fields (native), the cattle like it.
donna
