Forage Types

South Central: Forage species and grazing management impact animal performance

jason.banta@ag.tamu.edu — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Understanding and managing forage quality is important for cow-calf and stocker operations that rely on forage as the main component of the diet.

Better bahiagrass is possible with effective establishment

drivera@uada.edu — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Besides spray recommendations, pasture plantings contribute to the volume of calls that extension agents and specialists get in the spring. What should I plant? Where can I find the seed? How should I get seed in the ground?

5 reasons to add summer annuals to your grazing plan

dschwab@iastate.edu — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

While cool-season grasses grow well in the Upper Midwest, producing forage in the spring and again when temperatures cool off in the fall, they suffer from “summer slump” when conditions get too hot or dry, and their growth slows.

Knowing what’s in every bite: Understanding CRP forage quality

jasonwarner@ksu.edu — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0400

If I asked 10 different producers, “How good of quality do you think your CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) forage is for grazing?” I would expect that nine would respond with something to the extent of “Not much better than trees.”

Lucky clovers

gelley.2@osu.edu — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

March is the humble clover’s time to shine. Symbolic of luck, the celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day, the welcoming of spring and 4-H enrollment time, clovers are featured prominently in our culture this time of year – and they become prominent in pastures, too.

Winter cereals for early spring grazing in an integrated livestock cropping system

kevin.sedivec@ndsu.edu — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Winter cereals provide green, actively growing plants during the fall and early winter periods and are the first to green up in the spring.

Proper timing of pasture turnout critical for optimal forage production

kevin.sedivec@ndsu.edu — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0400

While we carefully select species to plant in our fields and utilize as cover crops or plan a total mixed ration, many ranchers do not know the primary grass species being consumed by their livestock.

Increasing Forage Biodiversity: Advice For Ranchers

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Improving plant biodiversity on your ranch will often increase forage supply, forage quality, and soil health, along with carbon capture potential. Increasing plant biodiversity often comes in the form of interseeding or overseeding desirable grasses and/or legumes to change the composition or productivity of a forage base. Forbs can also be of interest but are not considered here.

The opportunities and challenges of grazing sudangrass and sorghum-sudan hybrids

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 09:57:27 -0400

Successful beef producers maximize available pasture. Planting annual forages is a time-tested way to increase yield per acre for a grazing herd of cattle.

[Podcast] Farming rocks and not liking it much, McIntyre Family Farm makes a change

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Beating the odds of farm consolidations or sell-offs, 4th generation family members at McIntyre Farms are now actively preparing for the 5th generation through soil health practices and multi-species grazing that will ensure their operation is sustainable for many years ahead.

The basics of grazing cover crops for cattle

acconway@missouri.edu — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 15:57:21 -0400

As livestock graziers, “roots in the ground, all year ’round” is standard practice when managing perennial pastures, but it’s a mantra that is gaining momentum among crop growers as well.

Southeast: Crabgrass: A summer annual option for producers

mullemk@auburn.edu — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 14:00:01 -0400

Early summer is a key time for production of our warm-season perennial grasses such as bermudagrass and bahiagrass in the southeast U.S. But what about summer annuals? Do they fit in our system – and if so, which ones?

Perennial peanut: Your questions answered

d.leonard@ufl.edu — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 14:00:01 -0500

Often referred to as “the alfalfa of the South,” the addition of perennial peanut into forage systems has been a game-changer for many Florida cattlemen looking to improve their ranch’s performance.

Finding natural growth promoter compounds

michael.flythe@usda.gov — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 16:54:40 -0400

The focus for graziers has always been on forage quality in meeting the nutrient requirements of pastured cattle. The content of crude protein, neutral- and acid-detergent fiber (structural carbohydrates), water-soluble carbohydrates, crude fiber and minerals in a specific forage has been used for estimating forage quality and for formulating supplemental concentrate rations.

Feeding soyhulls on toxic tall fescue is option for stockers

gaiken@ufl.edu — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 14:00:01 -0400

Kentucky was covered mostly by trees, briars, broadleaf weeds and very little forage when the original cultivar of tall fescue, Kentucky 31, was commercially released in 1943. However, in the early 1950s, cattle producers began to complain that their cattle did not perform well on tall fescue and lacked thriftiness in warm temperatures. But it was not until the early 1980s that it was discovered that most tall fescue plants are infected with a fungal endophyte.

Red clover: An alternative to antibiotic growth promoters?

michael.flythe@usda.gov — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 15:00:01 -0500

People have always used food to overcome illness and improve health. Human nutritionists have recently started calling foods with medicinal value functional foods. We borrowed that idea to look for a functional feed, a plant, or plant-based product, which could be used to achieve the same benefit as antibiotic growth promoters.

Tackle fescue toxicosis with spring strategies

gaiken@ufl.edu — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Tall fescue is a cool-season perennial grass that is productive and well adapted to the soils and climate in a region of the U.S. commonly called the “fescue belt.”