Early fall is the best time for forage producers to seed cool-season grasses according to University of Missouri Extension agronomist Tim Schnakenberg. “That’s really when the growing season begins for those forages,” Schnakenberg told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor. “Fescue rejuvenates itself in the fall.”
But the second best time is late winter and early spring, although it can be challenging to get cool-season grasses established at that time. “They’ve missed 5-6 months of time to get their roots under them,” Schnakenberg said. “Spring seedings sometimes have the disadvantage of dealing with heat that may set in around May… The other issue is the problem with weed competition; things like crabgrass and foxtail can really be a major competitor for spring seeded forages.”
When planting at that time of year, the earlier the better. Schnakenberg said the new stand needs as much time as possible to get established, and earlier plantings take advantage of moisture while it’s still plentiful. “So many times, these forages deal with dry conditions as we get into summer, and they just don’t have the development that we need,” he said.
Fertilizer can also help the new grass get started but while potash, potassium and, if pH needs to be adjusted, limestone can help, nitrogen should be applied sparingly, if at all. “Just a small amount,” Schnakenberg said. “20-30 pounds would be adequate once the crop is up and growing. If you put too much on at seeding time, I’m concerned that you’re actually going to be feeding the competition, when weed pressure is there.”
There aren’t many options for dealing with weeds; if you’re starting from square one, glyphosate will completely clear the field. Broadleaf killers like 2, 4 D, and Grazon are not viable for newly planted fields. “You have to be careful about that until the plant is up and growing really well,” he said. “It needs to be well tillered before you can put that over the top.”
Some producers in this region are turning to native, warm-season grasses. Dr. John Jennings, University of Arkansas Extension forage specialist, said following the drought of 2012, “a lot of information was going around about how these grasses are drought proof, and they’ll fix all of our forage problems. That’s not necessarily so; these grasses are difficult to establish unless you follow certain procedures.”
The primary native warm-season grasses grown for forage in this region are big bluestem, little bluestem, switchgrass and Indiangrass. Seed is not readily available “through the local coop, where you go down and buy fescue or wheat,” Jennings told OFN. “But there are vendors in Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma, so it is available; you can do some searching around and find those vendors. You can have some variety selection; you just have to look around.”
Jennings said the native grasses are typically planted in May and early June; planting them later leaves you at the mercy of rainfall. “They’re generally slow to establish,” he said. “They produce more of a root system the first year than top growth.” Weed control is critical; if the weeds form a heavy canopy over the crop, stand establishment will take another 1-2 years. “You need to do a complete renovation process, and try to get rid of all of the existing weeds and forage,” he said.
And they’re not very grazing tolerant, which is why they’re not common now. Jennings explained, “Back when the bison and the elk grazed through Arkansas we had a lot of them but there were no fences, so those animals could graze in an area and then they’d be gone. Those grasses would grow back, and then eventually the animals would come back and graze them again. But now that we have property ownership and fences, if you confine an animal on a piece of property all year round and the grazing is not controlled, those grasses die out.”
Beyond their perceived drought tolerance, native grasses offer tangible benefits. They have lower nutrient needs than do forages like bermudagrass, although soil tests and appropriate nutrient applications are still recommended. They can also make good quality hay and pasture – or poor hay and pasture, if they’re not harvested or grazed on time. When native grass stands fail, Jennings said, it’s typically because they weren’t managed properly. The producers “wanted to manage them more like fescue and bermudagrass,” he said, “and those two practices aren’t compatible.”
