Just about every farmer and rancher, whether large scale or small, industrial or alternative, can agree on one important thing – grass is important.
Without grass, livestock can’t eat, hay can’t be cut and farms and ranches can’t thrive. Grass is one of the key components in any agriculture endeavor, so good management practices and proper education on grass is essential. On a grazing operation, ideally you will be able to keep your stock on grass year round – but this can be difficult when the summer forage gap comes into play.
Here is how planting some varieties of Ozarks native warm season grasses can help.
A summer “forage gap” can occur when cool season grasses, such as fescue, have ran their course and go dormant as the weather warms. If you run a grazing livestock operation, this grassless gap can be a big problem, but native warm season grasses can come to your rescue.
Forages that thrive in your geographical area and have a high heat tolerance can be a win-win for your farm – not only are they drought tolerant, but they require little to no fertilization and added inputs to thrive, which can greatly increase your profits margins, according to the Natural Resource Conservation Service.
Native grasses can also provide crucial benefits like food and shelter to wildlife. Andy Humble, Missouri Private Land Conservationist for Christian, Stone and Taney counties, notes that planting native grasses, such as Little Bluestem, Big Bluestem, Indiangrass and Sideoats Grama, can be a great asset to creating habitat for wildlife like bobwhite quail. The roots on wildlife-friendly native grasses tend to form a bigger, better base than non-native grasses, creating a forage system that uses water resources as efficiently as possible, and aids soil aeration and erosion control.
Livestock tend to do well grazing on native grasses. In fact, according to an article by the University of Missouri Extension, native warm season grasses “are highly palatable to livestock prior to heading and can produce beef animal gain more than 2 pounds per day during summer.”
There are three particular varieties of native warm season grasses that grow very well in the Ozarks – Big Bluestem, Indiangrass and Switchgrass.
Big Bluestem: Big Bluestem Grass, also known as Turkey-Foot, Bluejoint and Tall Bluestem, is a forage native to the Great Plains area and prairie regions of North America – and this includes the Ozarks.
Big Bluestem adapts well to a wide variety of soil types and conditions, and is quite heat tolerant due to its deep, sod-like root system. The base of this grass turns to a bluish purple color as it matures, leading to the name.
Indiangrass: This striking native grass starts out growing low before shooting up to heights of 8 feet in the fall, and tends to grow in thick bunches. With its blue green leaf blades and golden shimmering seed heads, Indiangrass is often used as an ornamental plant, not just as a livestock forage. Indiangrass has a high drought tolerance, and is helpful to plant in regions where wind erosion is a problem.
Switchgrass: Switchgrass is a hardy forage that can perform well even when planted in shallow, rocky soil types. Switchgrass does the majority of its growing in the long hot months of June, July and August and can provide excellent grazing material for livestock during this time period.
Its tall, upright growing habits also make a field of Switchgrass a very protective home for wildlife, while allowing enough room at the ground level for critters to forage freely.
Like any grass, native warm season grasses will produce best under good management – MU recommends careful weed control, and implementing rotational grazing into your program for successful growing of these hardy and helpful native grasses.
