Teff seen as potential annual hay option

Teff seen as potential annual hay option

December 3, 2014 - Livestock producers looking for an annual hay crop would do well to consider Teff, a warm season annual thats native to North Africa and often grown as a cereal crop. Michigan State University extension specialist Jerry Lindquist says Teff grass grows in frost-free environments and prefers temperatures from 60 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also moisture and drought tolerant. Teff regrows rapidly after harvest and can provide two to three cuttings in a summer even though it is commonly not planted until June, he says. It is being grown by a number of Midwest hay producers because animals, including cattle and horses, really like it, and because it works well in hay crop rotations, he adds. Since alfalfa after alfalfa is not recommended, rotation to another crop is preferred for at least for one year. Teff a grass and not in the alfalfa legume family can fit that bill, Lindquist says. With Teff the same planting equipment as well as the same hay mowing and baling equipment that you use for other hay crops can be used, he says. It also means the farms rotation acres never have to be out of hay production if thats the plan. The feed quality of Teff is moderate, not as high as pure alfalfa hay, but if cut at the pre-boot stage, higher than most cool season grasses, he says. You can attain crude protein levels of 12 to 16 per cent depending on maturity at harvest and if the crop was fertilized with nitrogen. It meets the nutritional needs of the light working horse, the dry cow and, if supplemented with grain, the growing replacement heifer, he says. Horse owners feel their horses stay healthier and maintain the proper stage of body condition when fed Teff grass hay. Research trials at Michigan State and other universities reveal that Teff varieties can yield three to five tons of dry matter hay per acre. Northern zones may only get two cuttings and yields will be closer to three tons per acre, but southern parts of Michigan and beyond can attain three cuttings and over five tons in good years, he says. The seed is small, 1.25 million seeds per pound, so planting into level, firm seed beds is strongly advised. Planting approximately eight to 10 lbs. of seed per acre is the recommended rate and it should not be sown until the risk of spring frost is gone. If wet, cool spring conditions prevail, waiting for soil warm up is advised as planting in mid-June in trials yielded the best at the MSU Campus. Like all new hay seedings, weeds can be a problem in the first cutting, he warns. If a grass herbicide was used to eliminate the previous sod hay crop, the only weed issue that will normally appear in the first cutting will be broadleaves and they can be easily controlled with timely applications of inexpensive broadleaf weed herbicides. Soil testing and fertilizing to meet the nutritional needs of Teff grass is important, especially making sure it has adequate nitrogen. If a previous hay crop had at least 30 per cent legumes, there may be enough residual nitrogen to grow Teff, he says. If not, it is advised to apply 60 to 80 lbs. per acre of actual nitrogen at planting time. Teff has a finer stem than most cool season grasses, even finer than many alfalfa varieties. Because of this it will lay more tightly in a windrow and not dry as rapidly as some other hays, Lindquist says. With good drying conditions it is not a problem, but at the end of the summer season, or in periods without much sunshine or wind, it can be a challenging crop to dry. Laying a wide swath at mowing time, conditioning the stem and even using a tedder may be necessary to get it to dry properly for baling.

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Teff seen as potential annual hay option