The majority of livestock production systems in South Carolina are based on perennial grasses (e.g., bermudagrass, bahiagrass, and tall fescue). Bermudagrass and bahiagrass are warm-season grasses and they become dormant when temperatures decrease, and days shorten in fall. Many livestock producers plant cool-season annual forages to extend their grazing season and provide additional high forage quality diet to the herd. With the elevated costs of off-farm inputs, it is crucial to plan for the fall and winter period aiming to reduce hay feeding and to ensure the nutrient requirements of animal categories are met. Cool-season annuals can be sowed to prepared seedbed or overseeded into perennial grass stands.
Choosing adapted forage species requires considering soil type, weather conditions, animal nutritional requirements, operation goals, costs, grazing management and skillset required, and available equipment. In order to evaluate forage species and varieties in terms of forage mass and quality, and adaptation to different locations, researchers must conduct forage variety trials. These trials involve setting up plots to conduct data collection and harvests throughout the season in multiple locations.
The “2024-2025 Cool-season Forage Results from the Edisto and Sandhill RECs Demonstration Plots” serves as a resources to see the forage production and forage quality determined in selected forage species and varities at the designated season. Our Extension agents will be distributing this resource with their producer’s emailists soon. If you would like a copy, please email Liliane Silva at lseveri@clemson.edu
