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Livestock producers in the southern Great Plains should not overlook johnsongrass in their pastures. For one thing, under certain conditions it can kill your cattle. Another reason not to overlook johnsongrass is that it is excellent forage - if you can get over the fact that it can kill your cattle! Positive aspects of johnsongrass In another Noble Foundation study that was initiated in the summer of 2007 and is ongoing in 2008, the palatability of several warm-season grasses is being evaluated by forage connoisseurs - yearling steers. In the study, three yearling steers have access to plots containing pure stands of 14 different warm-season perennial grasses (both native and introduced). We count the bites of each steer during their morning grazing to determine their preference for a particular grass or grasses. After one year of data collection consisting of two grazing cycles conducted during the summer of 2007, johnsongrass came out near the top in this study. Alamo switchgrass was the only other grass in the study that had more bites taken of it than johnsongrass in year one (9,262 versus 6,062, respectively). Preliminary data from the first grazing cycle in 2008 show that johnsongrass is the second most preferred grass in the study this year - second to bermudagrass (5,084 vs. 4,625, respectively). A testament to the preference for johnsongrass by livestock can be seen while driving down the road; pastures that are continually grazed generally won't have any johnsongrass, but you will see it all along the roadside - out of reach of the fenced-in cattle. Negative aspects of johnsongrass For more information on nitrate and prussic acid poisoning, and testing plants for these compounds, please see the following two articles by Clay Wright in the Ag News and Views archives: |
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© 1997-2008 by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc.
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