Amarillo, Texas
August 4, 2003
Area ranchers and
farmers interested in sorghum and sudan grass grazing and
silage hybrids should attend a morning field day on Aug. 26.
Event sponsors include
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and Texas Cooperative
Extension, units of the Texas A&M University System Agriculture
Program. The
event begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends by 11:30 a.m. Travel one-half
mile north of Bushland on Jim Line Road and to the test sites
which are part of the James Bush Farm, a field laboratory
operated by the Experiment Station's Amarillo headquarters.
The event includes
presentations by Dr. Ted McCollum, Extension beef cattle
specialist; Dr. Wayne Greene, Experiment Station beef cattle
nutritionist; and Dr. Brent Bean, Extension and Experiment
Station agronomist.
Long-term grazing
studies, started in 1999, involve many types of sorghum and
sudan grass hybrids. Current tests include the new brown midrib
and photoperiod sensitive varieties. Results have shown stocker
cattle gains have consistently been above 2.25 pounds per day
with several selections under study.
Discussions will
feature stocking rates and frequency, gains per acre, seeding
rates and other cultural practices, using mineral supplements,
comparisons of brown midrib versus conventional hybrids, and
strategies to avoid nitrate and prussic acid problems. Other
topics include an overview of photosensitive hybrids and their
role in grazing regimes.
Three years of forage
sorghum silage trials include over 90 hybrids. Most varieties
will fit a producer's hay or silage needs. Several are high
yielders, others produce little grain.
"Participants can see all
the hybrids up close," Bean added. Presenters will cover sorghum
varieties for tonnage or for quality. Sorghum silage production
requires less water than corn.
By comparing a wide range
of varieties, Bean said, silage users and growers can make
selections for silage crops that approach the value of corn.
Producers will also hear tips on managing their operations to
include increased hay and silage production. Water use
efficiency will be addressed, as well as ways to reduce
phosphorus buildup in soils from manure application by using
selected sorghum-sudan hybrids.
For more information,
contact Bean at (806) 677-5600,
b-bean@tamu.edu, or a local Extension office. |