Mahoney Pursley Ranch
Well-known member
Someone told me that Johnson grass that cattle eat after the first frost can kill them. Is this true?
Johnson grass
- Thread starter Mahoney Pursley Ranch
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Mahoney Pursley Ranch":tn58j0ub said:
Do a search for prussic acid and johnson grass..... I'm experiencing some difficulty pasteing url's.....
We have never had a problem with Johnson grass .... however it is mainly found in our hay field on the second cutting.
OP
OP
Mahoney Pursley Ranch
Well-known member
Did the search. Very interesting. Thank you
greenwillowherefords
Well-known member
I'm told it makes good hay when cut at the right time. I must confess that I've fed a bale or two of it that gave me no problems.
greenwillowherefords":27n3x2yb said:
Prussic acid will not be a problem in Johnson grass (or anything else) when cut for hay. Grazing it while short and after droughty conditions is when you can run into problems.
Nitrate poisoning is another story, nitrates can be a problem in hay AND grazing.
Running Arrow Bill
Well-known member
greenwillowherefords":t23j74kr said:
For those unfamiliar with the infamous johnsongrass:
Just don't feed it if you don't want a pasture growing johnsongrass. Its propagated via rhizomes and seeds. If you plow it, it spreads (nodules, sprigs). About only way to kill it is over several years with repeated herbicide use, as with Glyphosate (several brand names)...of course you kill everything else....
preston39
Well-known member
=================Running Arrow Bill":2ab0yz8y said:
I know little except when we get a few sprigs here and there...in a rotational field and turn the cows in..it seems they seek it out...it's the first thing gone.
Anyone have an actual field of it for pasture?
Some say it is like a wild sorghum....little sweet I am told.
The prussic acid search suggest it to be highest in the chemical of all the sorghums...hummmmmm!!!!!!!!
Suggest this site for review;
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/livestk/01612.html
....................."Lush regrowth after cutting for hay, grazing or frost is particularly dangerous"........"In Colorado, plants most likely to cause HCN poisoning are sorghums. The potential is greatest for johnsongrass and least for true sudans".
Johnsongrass will not invade a pasture that is stocked with cattle. The cows will graze it first and it cannot tolerate constant grazing pressure. The easiest way to kill johnsongrass is to load it up with cows.
Hayfields are another story.
Hayfields are another story.
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
Mahoney Pursley Ranch":2p4qe5rv said:
You bet it is
preston39
Well-known member
========Caustic Burno":nxdqdzwc said:
Caustic,
A couple years back....a fellow up in indiana swears by JJ for hay. He told me he had 10 acres that he cut 3 x yearly for hay...when the head gets formed. The cows ate it well in the winter and they did great.
Does that make sense?
Not knowing experiences...additional opinions welcome also.
preston39":2icmppzk said:
I ain't caustic but down here fescue seems to hold Johnson grass down until the second cutting .... I reckon it is becauce fescue is a grass that likes cooler rather than hotter temps .... are you asking about feeding Johnson grass as hay in the winter????
preston39
Well-known member
=========Wewild":2pgxtkxo said:
Thanks for jumping in.
Yes he said he fed it as hay and the cows did well on it. He said there were some other general grasses in it. He said he didn't pasture it...just kept the field for hay!!!!!!!!????
stocky
Well-known member
preston,
Johnsongrass makes great hay. it is high in nutrition and energy. cows love it and do very well eating it. it makes the best hay if you cut it just as it is starting to head----do not let it go to seed or every where you feed it will start new johsongrass. it is a warm season grass, so after the first cutting of fescue it will come strong and fast, in sw missouri, we get 3 or 4 cuttings each summer, depending on the amount of rain.
it makes great pasture, but at certain times it is poisonous to cattle. i have seen it kill in 5 minutes and i have seen cows bloat and live long enough to get help. you can never predict for sure when it will kill a cow. my neighbor had 8 get in a patch in august and 4 died within minutes, the others werent harmed. not all cows are reactive to it. once the cows start eating it, they are resistant and will be fine for the season, however they love it and will eat it into the ground and kill it out if you let them. if the cows are not currently eating the johnson grass when frost hits, you need to wait 5 days or so before turning them into the field. then they will eat it like candy.
i have never seen a problem with it as hay, we have pastured and fed hay from johnsongrass for over 40 years. you just have to manage it properly----like a guy asked, "i have johnsongrass in my hayfield, what do i do?" the best answer is ----fertilize it heavy
Johnsongrass makes great hay. it is high in nutrition and energy. cows love it and do very well eating it. it makes the best hay if you cut it just as it is starting to head----do not let it go to seed or every where you feed it will start new johsongrass. it is a warm season grass, so after the first cutting of fescue it will come strong and fast, in sw missouri, we get 3 or 4 cuttings each summer, depending on the amount of rain.
it makes great pasture, but at certain times it is poisonous to cattle. i have seen it kill in 5 minutes and i have seen cows bloat and live long enough to get help. you can never predict for sure when it will kill a cow. my neighbor had 8 get in a patch in august and 4 died within minutes, the others werent harmed. not all cows are reactive to it. once the cows start eating it, they are resistant and will be fine for the season, however they love it and will eat it into the ground and kill it out if you let them. if the cows are not currently eating the johnson grass when frost hits, you need to wait 5 days or so before turning them into the field. then they will eat it like candy.
i have never seen a problem with it as hay, we have pastured and fed hay from johnsongrass for over 40 years. you just have to manage it properly----like a guy asked, "i have johnsongrass in my hayfield, what do i do?" the best answer is ----fertilize it heavy
MrBilly
Well-known member
Last year I took over an abandoned field that had been not taken care of for years. My plan was to plant Cheyenne Bermuda grass.
I killed everything with Roundup, and a Remedy like stuff. The 18 A looked like a moonscape for about 4-6 weeks after the two applications. I planted the seed and fertilized, just like I was told to do by our agronomists.
The rains came and before I knew it I had Johnson Grass (JG) everywhere. It was too wet to get into the filed so it grew and grew. Finally it was shading the new seedlings as it reached in some areas six feet tall.
Too tall to mow because it would lay on the seedlings, we thought of baling it, but opted to wick it with Roundup. I build a 10 ft wick with a kit from the feed store and placing the wicks and collars into a three inch PVC pipe that had an elbow and a screw cap. Put it on the front loader , filled it with 50% Roundup and took off for the field. As I travelled the field going 1.5 MPH and pushing over this very tall JG, I felt that all I was doing was wasting my time and money. Anyway, there were few options at this point. By golly, within two weeks I had a 90% kill of the JG. Widking therefore is one very effective means to hit the taller JG while sparing shorter plants like Bermuda, clover, etc. and using very little herbicide at the same time.
I even tried wicking horse nettle in my fescue/clover pastures. This worked to some extent, but was no where as effective as with the JG.
Billy
I killed everything with Roundup, and a Remedy like stuff. The 18 A looked like a moonscape for about 4-6 weeks after the two applications. I planted the seed and fertilized, just like I was told to do by our agronomists.
The rains came and before I knew it I had Johnson Grass (JG) everywhere. It was too wet to get into the filed so it grew and grew. Finally it was shading the new seedlings as it reached in some areas six feet tall.
Too tall to mow because it would lay on the seedlings, we thought of baling it, but opted to wick it with Roundup. I build a 10 ft wick with a kit from the feed store and placing the wicks and collars into a three inch PVC pipe that had an elbow and a screw cap. Put it on the front loader , filled it with 50% Roundup and took off for the field. As I travelled the field going 1.5 MPH and pushing over this very tall JG, I felt that all I was doing was wasting my time and money. Anyway, there were few options at this point. By golly, within two weeks I had a 90% kill of the JG. Widking therefore is one very effective means to hit the taller JG while sparing shorter plants like Bermuda, clover, etc. and using very little herbicide at the same time.
I even tried wicking horse nettle in my fescue/clover pastures. This worked to some extent, but was no where as effective as with the JG.
Billy
preston39
Well-known member
==========stocky":23vh78ps said:
"stocky"
Thanks for the summary...never had much experience with it...hear a lot of folks talking about JG...with all kinds of mixed ops. Was just concerned about the ocasional sprig I see pop up to 6" real quick...in the fields on rotation...here and there. Don't know where it comes from...birds...I guess.
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
The way I took the question was the man was wanting to feed his cattle on stockpiled Johnson grass after frost. This will kill cattle due to prusiac acid.
preston39
Well-known member
=============Caustic Burno":1myl5nvj said:
Caustic...your advice is sound. I guess though.....timing is the key. Check out the web site i posted on a previous comment on this thread. Intersting.
I guess the guy in Indiana knew what he was doing.
Also, he following comment from another board...thread...is good;
"preston,
Johnsongrass makes great hay. it is high in nutrition and energy. cows love it and do very well eating it. it makes the best hay if you cut it just as it is starting to head----do not let it go to seed or every where you feed it will start new johsongrass. it is a warm season grass, so after the first cutting of fescue it will come strong and fast, in sw missouri, we get 3 or 4 cuttings each summer, depending on the amount of rain.
it makes great pasture, but at certain times it is poisonous to cattle. i have seen it kill in 5 minutes and i have seen cows bloat and live long enough to get help. you can never predict for sure when it will kill a cow. my neighbor had 8 get in a patch in august and 4 died within minutes, the others werent harmed. not all cows are reactive to it. once the cows start eating it, they are resistant and will be fine for the season, however they love it and will eat it into the ground and kill it out if you let them. if the cows are not currently eating the johnson grass when frost hits, you need to wait 5 days or so before turning them into the field. then they will eat it like candy.
i have never seen a problem with it as hay, we have pastured and fed hay from johnsongrass for over 40 years. you just have to manage it properly----like a guy asked, "i have johnsongrass in my hayfield, what do i do?" the best answer is ----fertilize it heavy"
I guess thats it in a nutshell.
I would give him due credit if i would have captured his name when i copyed and pasted it.
Before commenting on JG I wanted to check with NRCS about it's status in MO. As I had thought, it's classified as a noxious weedin MO along with serecia lespedza. As an aside I was told that if that's all you have or will grow well in your area, use it.
dun
dun
