Summer Annuals

Annual warm-season grasses can be used as part of a year-round grazing system throughout the Midwest. With adequate moisture and fertility, they rapidly produce high-quality forage during late spring and summer when cool-season forages are dormant. In addition, warm-season annual grasses work well in rotation with row crops or as emergency pastures.

Forage Sorghums

SP3904 BD/BMR

A Brachytic Dwarf BMR forage sorghum that is excellent for producing high quality silage. SP3904 will reach soft dough in approximately 110 days and will produce high levels of starch, which contributes to silage digestibility and energy levels. The
brachytic dwarf trait reduces plant height and improves standability while maintaining leafiness.  This hybrid is an excellent fit for the demand of high-quality feed with superb tonnage.

Sorghum-Sudangrass

SP4555 BMF

Versatile hybrid BMR sorghum x sudangrass that can meet the nutritional needs of most classes of livestock. This hybrid can be used for grazing, hay, haylage, and green chop. SP4555 has a good leaf-to-stem ratio providing high quality and excellent production when combined with proper management.

Sordan 79

Hybrid sorghum x sudangrass that can be used for grazing, haylage, greenchop, and ground cover. It is well suited for use as emergency feed as it will be ready for grazing in 40 days, with adequate moisture. Sordan 79’s leaf-to-stem ratio helps insure good palatability and ease of management.

Sudan X Sudangrass

SP7106 BMR/PS

Widely adapted BMR sudangrass hybrid. Because it is photoperiod-sensitive it will not head under most conditions, providing great harvest flexibility. SP 7106 can tolerate high cutting frequencies as well as being well adapted to intensive grazing. This hybrid has very fine stems and a high leaf-to-stem ratio and produces high quality hay or haylage.

Trudan Headless

An exceptional photoperiod-sensitive hybrid sudangrass for most summer forage needs. It is best positioned and used for hay, haylage and grazing. Regrowth is fast after cutting or grazing. It adapts well to and can tolerate high cutting frequencies and intensive grazing practices with proper management. Exceptional forage quality can be produced that is high in protein and TDN.

Pearl Millet

Millex 32

Hybrid pearl millet for production of summer forage, even in hot, dry conditions. It is especially well suited in light, sandy soils where stress is common. Millex 32 is well positioned for hay, summer grazing, haylage or greenchop. It produces lush, leafy forage and can provide good quality with proper management. Millex 32 larger than normal seed size helps insure more consistent stands.

Other Millets

German R Strain Millet

A late-maturing, warm-season annual crop. It has medium stem thickness and numerous broad leaves up the stem. It is shallow rooted but tolerates short periods of drought during the growing season.  German R Strain Millet produces most of its growth during July and August. The crop remains vegetative and grows rapidly whenever moisture is available. Used for food plots or dry hay production.

Japanese Millet

A warm season annual crop commonly grown for mid-season grazing and forage production. It is a crop that compares to Sudangrass but without the prussic acid poisoning. Cattle find the forage palatable and it can be cut or grazed multiple times in the season. It is the most rapid growing of all millets producing ripe grain in 45 days after seeding.

White Proso Millet

Matures 75 days after emergence, grows to a height of 3 to 4 ft. tall, and has one of the lowest water requirements of summer annuals. Produces well during hot weather conditions and does not require high-input additions of nutrients.

Teff Grass

Teff

A self-pollinated, warm season annual grass which can be harvested multiple times during the growing season as dry hay, silage or pasture. As a fast-growing crop, Teff combines excellent forage quality with high yield during a relatively short growing season. Very low seeding rates due to extremely small seed size.