The drought has taken a toll on cool-season grasses, diminishing forage for cattle and other livestock, particularly in Missouri.
“Native warm-season grasses are the ideal forage for summer during the production slump of cool-season grasses due to heat, especially in a drought,” said Rusty Lee, University of Missouri Extension agronomy field specialist.
Lee says now is a teachable moment. While they take one year for establishment, warm-season grasses can be lightly grazed in year two and fully grazed in year three and beyond.
“When I ask them, producers say they want high forage…
