Pasture grass ideas

[WiltonRanch]

Variety is the spice of life. Plant as many varieties as you can. I dislike crested wheat but nothing earlier going than it if you’re needing early pasture. Some of our oldest swards have it but it’s past due for rejuvenation.

[shtferbrains]

There is so much to learn about pasture grass selection and more important pasture management you could read stacks of books and still not consider everything.

Alberta ag has one of the best online if you search
Alberta Forage Manual

Great for picking suitable varieties and a great section on chosing varieties for a season long grazing calender.

Start on the white clover description as what you see in overgazed pasture is not White Dutch.

If you find the download usefull I'd buy the $30 print version.

[Landdownunder]

Hmmmm.

Different situations the world over.

Multi species mixes good in theory but if there are a few things sheep don’t really like why plant them.

Plant what they like and do well on maybe only two or at best three.

Do you guys know what vetch is young stock do well on it once it gets to sweet stage. Up until then is bitter and they graze everything else in preference and let’s the vetch grow but is slow.

Mostly here it’s medic and grass.

Planted feed mostly rye or you might call it rye corn and vetch.

Sheep don’t get the shitze on rye like they do on oats when planted for feed.

But you situation way way different than mine and austcanada

[Blaithin]

Yes hairy vetch is common here.

I think one of the larger ideals about planting a lot of species is diversity boosting the swards health. It’s not all about the animals.

I’m still waiting for Steve Kenyon to share his implemented info from different amounts of species in a sward. If I recall properly he was running trials on 1 species, 4, 8, 16 and perhaps even 32. I believe studies have shown that 16 different species is the ideal number to get a biodiversity boost.

[shtferbrains]

We see wild Purple Vetch more in wet years. We probably graze it to often and to hard for it to add much to tonnage.
Gets to be a big thick stand in the bottom of the hyway ditch some years.
I have one field with pretty good Cicer Milk Vetch well established.
I think it can be the best of the bloat free legumes but it is not without its problems.
Can provide big tonnage but needs a lot of time to get going and when at its best it smothers the grass out and the thistles come in the next year.

[Landdownunder]

Vetch and oats common for hay here.

50 kg ha oats 20 kg ha vetch if you want higher protien hay change ratio to more vetch.

Huge variance in hard seed % of types.

Some soft seeded last for one two years.

Other only 20% soft seeded hangs around for years like you’ve got it forever.

[Guest]

Vetch and oats common for hay here.

50 kg ha oats 20 kg ha vetch if you want higher protien hay change ratio to more vetch.

Huge variance in hard seed % of types.

Some soft seeded last for one two years.

Other only 20% soft seeded hangs around for years like you’ve got it forever.

Triticale/vetch is a good mix here mallee. Soil and animal health benefits too sheepwheat

[Landdownunder]

Triticale/vetch is a good mix here mallee. Soil and animal health benefits too sheepwheat

Cattle?

Sheep not that keen on tri hay here but yep more bulk per ha with trit

[LEP]

Cattle?

Sheep not that keen on tri hay here but yep more bulk per ha with trit

Triticale is coarse. My brother tried it for a couple years and gave up on it.

It was for cattle.

[TOM4CWB]

Triticale is coarse. My brother tried it for a couple years and gave up on it.

It was for cattle.

We have bought pasture mixes from Brett Young Seeds and they had a good selection...

https://www.brettyoung.ca/forage-seed/clover-varieties

Parsley really liked Sainfoin mixes for cattle etc... they have a forage selector section with all the different forages...
Many choices...