This Agfact will help in making good decisions on crop choice, growing the crop, efficient and safe grazing management, avoiding common pitfalls and making money from forage sorghum and millet. It can be grazed within 6 weeks of emergence depending on rainfall; it is palatable to sheep and cattle and is completely free of prussic acid, which occurs in forage sorghums. When fed on dry, well-sodded, snow covered or frozen ground, however, sheep will clean up fine hay better than cattle because of their smaller mouths and ability to pick up the leaves. As a result, it is occasionally used for grazing or hay production. The Pearl Millet is a very tall grass that can reach to be 15 feet tall that is used as a multiple cut forage grass and green manure. Browntop millet can be planted from mid-April until mid-August in most locations, though later plantings will … The Pearl Millet is perfect used for hay, pasture and silage for feeding cattle, horses, goats and other livestock. How did they like it? Silage Production The great value of millet lies in its fast grownig habit providing quick feed during the hot dry months of January to March. Typical hay yields range from 1.5 to 2.5 tons/acre, but it is also earlier maturing and dries quickly. The fast growing versatile forage provides forage for grazing, hay and silage. It is extremely quick growing and can be ready to cut for hay within 50 days of planting. Cattle grazing standing pearl millet in the dry season made an average liveweight gain of 269 kg/ha over 16 weeks during a period when animals grazing natural pasture lost weight Leafy 22 Hybrid Pearl Millet - Leafy 22 is a improved hybrid Pearl Millet variety used mainly for cattle forage and hay production during the warm season. Per acre seeding rates of 10 lbs. Using oats to start cattle on proso may be of benefit. Animal performance during … The bristles may also affect palatability. Have some packs from bottom of stack with slight moisture damage to 7 of the 21 bales reduced to $100 ex gst per pack bottom seven bales probably not suitable for horses Millet can be the sole grain source if maximum gains of 2 pounds a day are desired. per acre and for best emergence when soil temperatures are 55-60 degrees. Pearl millet has good nutritive values (60 – 65 % digestible and 14 – 18% crude protein) if grazed when 12 – 24 inches tall. Eventually, most cattle producers who feed hay will have hay with high nitrates, especially when using millet, sorghum, oat or other cereal-based hays. Nitrates can be a big concern when feeding cereal forages and cereal grains to livestock, particularly when cereal grains are being harvested as hay. This grass is high in protein, digestible and free of prussic acid. One big advantage of Pearl Millet is that it does not produce hydrocyanic acids (like sorghums do), so the poisonous prussic acid does not occur in pearl millet, making it safe for livestock and horses to graze. Major advantages of pearl millet as a summer annual forage: 1. Windrow when heads begin emerging from the boots. Caring for Your Pastures Detail. But two years of drought have now put fescue hay in short supply, driving producers to find winter forage from alternate feedstuffs like baled pearl millet, sudangrass, and drought-stricken corn. If managed properly you will get high leaf yield per acre. It is a shorter variety that is commonly planted as a single-cut hay millet. Pasture management research and observation recommends to start grazing millet before boot stage, when it reaches between 18 and 24 inches high, leaving about 10 to 12 inches of residue. Nitrate poisoning can occur commonly in cattle raised in North Dakota and other areas of the western Great Plains. Sheep and cattle are more susceptible to poisoning than nonruminant species because microbes in their digestive tract favor the conversion of nitrate to nitrite. Pasture management research and observation recommends to start grazing millet before boot stage, when it reaches between 18 and 24 inches high, leaving about 10 to 12 inches of residue. Making hay is usually difficult because of the large stems. For example, if 700-lb. Japanese Millet is a warm-season annual grass commonly grown for forage. Figure 1. Millet can be used for grazing, hay, silage or green-chop. of DM, 8 lbs. Limit millet to approximately 50 percent of the ration if gains of 2.7 to 3 pounds are desired. This is an improved hybrid pearl millet with excellent leaf to stem ratio. Foxtail Millet. - posted in Alfalfa/Hay: I was looking through the seed catalog the other night and German Foxtail millet caught my eye. But livestock losses do not need to occur if the hay is properly managed and fed. Pennleaf brand pearl millet is a hybrid warm season forage grass used for grazing live stock and horses. Hay production does not reduce the level of nitrate within the plant and as such nitrate poisoning can still be seen when feeding hay including canola, millet or sorghum hay. At Katherine NT wet season grazing by beef cattle at a stocking rate of 2.5 beasts/ha produced a liveweight gain of 102 kg per head in 20-24 weeks. Based on research trials, the following guidelines have been developed for laboratories that analyze for nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N): Reported on 100 percent dry matter basis: NO3-N, ppm Comment <350 Generally safe for all conditions and livestock 350-1130. Forage harvests generally followed a four-week regrowth interval during the growing season. Expect to cut hay 50-55 days after planting. Seed cost is also usually less for foxtail millet. Management: Tifleaf 3 can be planted when soil temperates are above 70 degrees. The stem is fine and will reach a plant height of approximately 30” given adequate moisture. It also displays good regrowth persistence in a multi-cut haying or grazing scenario. Just as teff has found some high-end markets for horse hay, it may be possible to custom market selected millet species for particular forage markets. in 36-inch rows, 15 lbs. Overview 1.1 What this notice is about. It grows up to 5’ tall and has a slightly coarser stem than other hay millets. Nitrate toxicity is a function of the amount and rate of nitrate consumption. Anyone fed this to their own cattle? Allow livestock to graze it down to 10-15 cm then remove. When properly cured pearl millet produces excellent hay. Leafy 22 is a shorter, leafier hybrid than most others hybrids. High forage quality. Millet may be a laxative when starting cattle on feed. High drought tolerance. Browntop typically grows only to 2 - 5 ft tall and produces only 60 - 70% of the dry matter of pearl millet or sorghum x sudan hybrids. Millet is also available in our Top Crop blends. Poisoning is usually associated with animals ingesting forage or feed witha high nitrate content. Lawrence has excellent regrowth potential due to its tillering responses to defoliation. 1. Buy and sell Millet Hay on Farm Tender. 100 90 80 70 60 50 Spring-Sell at Weaning Tons of 15% MC Forage Tons of 15% MC Forage Tons of J … A hay conditioner is needed, and extra drying days are required compared to making hay with bermudagrass. Im considering planting 10-15 acres this year to see what happens. If producers are feeding moldy hay, they can try to dilute the mold in the hay by mixing it with non-moldy hay in a mixer wagon. More information is available on the Millet and sorghum fact sheet. Golden german foxtail millet is used primarily for hay production. cattle are expected to eat 18 lbs. Summary. 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