Despite the many positive attributes of native grasses, these grasses, like all forages, have their drawbacks.

Photosynthesis is a little like Ben & Jerry’s ice cream – it comes in a variety of flavors. Some folks can probably recite all the ice cream flavors from memory, but how many folks know the types of photosynthesis?

One challenge with establishing native grass forages, really, almost any perennial forage, is the lack of forage production during the establishment cycle. Unlike annuals, perennials, especially native warm-season perennials, are distance runners.

Challenging growing conditions have created potential shortages in silage stocks over the past few years, which has sparked interest in putting up alternative silage crops, some more creative than others.