May 31, 2001

Plan Now to Plant Annual Forages for Late Summer and Fall Grazing, Specialist Says

As dry weather begins to stress pastures in western North Dakota, livestock producers should consider planting annual forages for secondary grazing options, according to a rangeland management specialist at North Dakota State University.

If the dry spring conditions continue into the summer months, drought-stressed pastures will be common throughout the western Dakotas and eastern Montana. Livestock producers will need to match their stock numbers with available pasture forage, and consider where to put their livestock in August, September and October if shortfalls occur. One option is planting annual forages for late summer and fall use, but you need to plan for that now, says Kevin Sedivec of the NDSU Extension Service.

If those crops are planted by the second or third week of June, before the really hot weather occurs and available soil moisture is depleted, they should be available by August for grazing or haying, he says.

At the top of Sedivec's list for both haying and grazing is sudan grass. This forage produces good quantity and quality under a range of conditions. The only disadvantage is that sudan grass can produce prussic acid, a toxin that can be deadly to livestock. The toxin is present during early growth stages, so producers should wait until the grass is 18 to 24 inches tall before grazing or cutting it for hay. Prussic acid can also become a problem if the grass becomes stressed. The toxin gradually diminishes as the hay ages. Sedivec recommends waiting 90 days after harvesting before feeding hay containing prussic acid to livestock.

If you have any concerns at all that the grass or hay contains prussic acid, have it tested, he says. The test is inexpensive compared to the loss of livestock. He notes that newer varieties of sudan grass produce less prussic acid.

Forage barley and oats are also good annual forages for grazing. Those crops also make good hay. If producers plan to use annual forage crops for hay, they should also consider hay millets, he says. Hay millet typically pulls up easily by the grazing animal, but yield more hay than barley or oats in most years. Barley is a good choice in saline soils.

With the exception of forage barley, seed for most annual forage crops is readily available across the region. NDSU county extension agents can provide local seeding recommendations and availability of seed.

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Source: Kevin Sedivec, (701) 231-7647, ksedivec@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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