 | Hi Gain II Sorgo/Sudangrass |
| Brown Mid-rib Sorghum/Sudan |
| Safe Graze Hybrid Pearl Millet |
| Excel Forage Sorghum |
| German Strain R Millet |
| Caution Statements |
General Information
The warm-season annual grasses utilized for pasture, greenchop, silage, or hay are an excellent supplement for perennial cool and warm-season meadows and pastures. Most cool-season grasses become semi-dormant during the hot summer months, and most warm-season perennials provide forage relatively low in protein at this time of the year. The warm-season annuals are most productive during the months of July, August, and September and provide a high quality forage.
Warm soil temperatures (70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit) are essential for rapid, uniform emergence, growth, and development. Once established, the summer annuals adapt to both hot and dry conditions.
There are several members of the sorghum and millet families utilized as warm-season annuals. The sorghums utilized include: grain sorghums, sorgos, grass sorghums, and sudangrass. The most widely used millets are pearl millet and in more northern areas foxtail millet. The importance and prominence of forage sorghums increased rapidly in the 1960�s with the advent of improved hybrids. Likewise, improvement of pearl millet cultivars and hybrids has led to its increased usage while most other millets are declining.
The warm-season annual grasses are often cut for hay. During a growing season two to five cuttings may be attempted, each with a potential yield of three tons per acre or more. Plants are difficult to cure because of their thick stems; even sudangrass and pearl millet with thinner stems may be difficult to cure because of the large amount of forage to be dried. Sunshine, wind, and the use of a crimper help reduce the time required to dry these products.
Livestock are the most economical harvesters of any forage. However, grazing summer annuals demands considerable management skill. Planting rates and stocking rates must be carefully adjusted to efficiently utilize forage and maximize animal performance. The threat of prussic acid poisoning in the sorghum family and nitrate poisoning in both sorghums and millets are real concerns. Grazing often leads to waste due to trampling or fouling by excreta. All of these issues must be addressed by the producer/manager in order to effectively utilize warm-season annual grasses for pasture.
Utilizing sorghums and pearl millet as silage or greenchop for dairy cows is an increasingly common practice. Management of forage sorghums for silage is similar to that of corn silage. Proper moisture content (65% to 70%), length of cut, packing, and avoidance of air and moisture are critical in the making of good quality silage.
Sorghums become progressively less digestible as they mature. Thus, it�s imperative to harvest when whole plant moisture is in the range of 65% to 70%. Silage inoculant may be necessary as the relatively high moisture of these forages is favorable for butyric acid producing bacteria. These bacteria result in bad smelling, unpalatable feed. Silage inoculant will decrease butyric acid production and speedup fermentation time.