Evaluation of Warm Season Annual Forages for Livestock: Biomass and Cost of Production

Seventeen warm season annual forage options were evaluated as livestock feed to be grazed, hayed, ensiled, or left a cover crop. Treatments planted in mid-May and terminated late September with one harvest for silage, two hay cuttings, three grazing rotations. One additional treatment was unharvested serve Biomass production cost produce final outputs determined. Even restricted rainfall during the summer months 2020, growth chosen at least 1,500 lb of dry matter (DM) per acre, exception sun­flowers that had lowest biomass production. greatest forages field crop, followed by hay, then measured silage harvest. Monocultures grass sunn hemp produced much multi-species blends included hemp. Adding high-producing species sunflower cowpeas increased compared respective monoculture. Regardless method, monocultures cowpea blend pearl millet + most unit The costs all methods found treatments: monoculture sorghum-sudan, low seeding rate millet, sorghum-sudan