native grasses for horse hay?

[WTA]

I'm about to plant 2 of our pastures in Native grasses for grazing I had thought but I was also thinking about baling it. My reason for native grasses is my well is bad on that half of the property and it's dryland now.

The grasses in the mix are Blue Grama, Green Sprangletop, Indiangrass and Sideoats Grama. THis is the mix the seed company recommended for our area.

It's supposed to be great for grazing and grows between a foot and 6 foot tall depending on the plant so it should make a lot of hay too. Would people buy it for horses or what do you all think?

 

[jeffinsgf]

I think you may have some issues. For one thing, these native grasses grow in "clumps", rather than creating an even turf bed. They also mature at different rates, making it difficult to harvest the hay for maximum benefit. I'm a big fan of native grasses, and just about have the fescue eliminated from my field, but as hay, I would do some investigating and consulting with your local conservation department and extension service before I went that direction.

 

[WTA]

I just talked to the expert at the seed place. He said it can be done but the sideoats especially will need to be bailed as it just goes into seed. He said it's just like baling wheat for hay in that it loses most of it's nutritional value as soon as it gets that seed head. The other grasses in the mix will grow at different rates but he said they will be ok for hay. I guess I will stick with the plan here unless anyone knows a reason not to bale this stuff ocasionally. I'm not going to grow it specifically for hay, mostly grazing but it would be nice to put up some bales off those fields when the weather allows too, even if it's just once a year.

 

[chh]

It has been my experience that native grass will usually only give one good cutting a year, expecially if it has been grazed some. I have a 50 acre and a 30 acre fields that are all native grass or as we usually call it "prairie hay". Locally(Eastern Oklahoma) it doesn't get mature enough to cut until mid July. If you keep the cows off of it and it gets a couple of good rains on time you can cut it again in September. It is more not the quality of hay many horse owner want, but I sold several round bales of it last year to horse owners and fed it to our mules and donkeys. They will leave some of the grass with heavier stems, but seem to like it fine overall.
At one point I was seriously considering plowing those fields under and planting them to bermuda. After the droughts of 2 and 3 years ago and the cooler, wetter springs of the last year and this spring though I have decided to leave them alone. Native grass requires less inputs, makes more tonnage per acre in drought years than bermuda, and cool springs don't delay the growth nearly as much. I had a field that was struggling resprigged with bermuda this spring, but my native fields will stay as they are. Even my local extension agent has come to the same conclusion after years of recommending that all hayfields be planted to "improved" grass varities.

 

[WTA]

I've got giant bermuda, seeded, in my big pasture. Right no it's doing fine with no irrigation but usualy it needs the sprinklers going to make a lot of hay. We've gotten 10 inches of rain this month which is unusual.

Do you think if I plant more of it on our two dry pastures that I would do ok? I can't irrigate them now and don't anticipate getting that well fixed for a couple of years. I'd almost bet it would naturally establish itself by then and be ready to start watering and baling when I get that pump up and running.

 

[chh]

What we just sprigged was Midland and many of my fields have common in them, none are irrigated. Establishing without irrigation is taking more of a chance since you are depending on the rain, but is the really only cost effective way I have of doing it.