My Diigo 05/29/2011

• Teff may be a Midwest forage option | Farm and Dairy - The Auction Guide and Rural Marketplace

  • Pasture perfect. In addition, the teff plant is used as a livestock forage or pasture crop. Recent research from the Oregon State University Klamath Experiment Station and the Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations of Jefferson, St. Lawrence and Rensselaer Counties indicate great promise for teff as a forage crop.
    Potential uses for teff include emergency hay, pasture or silage from a crop that can be planted in mid-summer; summer annual cover crop for erosion control; a green manure crop; or a stand-alone annual hay crop for market.
  • For next year. Teff can be seeded from June through late July.
    A major threat to the grass is frost, Phillips said. Seeds must be planted after the risk of frost has passed.
  • Problem-free. So far, there have been few disease or insect problems.
    There are several seed varieties available. Last summer, they grazed some of it after first cutting it for hay. Phillips said it is important to have a firm seedbed otherwise the cattle can pull it out of the ground. On this trial, heifers grazed it down to stems before moving to a fescue plot, he said.

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