Everybody Needs a Little Bit of Crabgrass
Allison Brown, Livestock Agent, Alexander County
Mention planting crabgrass at your local country store and your buddies may think you have lost your mind. However, crabgrass is a yard weed no longer, it is a viable, nutrient filled forage that can be a life- saver during the summer. Crabgrass is a summer annual grass that germinates in spring, grows through summer and dies at frost in fall. For famers with a fescue based operation, crabgrass can be a game changer during those hot summer months. Crabgrass works well to provide summer grazing when paired with a cool season annual such as ryegrass or a small grain.
Several species of crabgrass exist but the most common one grown for forage is large or hairy crabgrass. Crabgrass has a clump-type growth habit and can grow to 2 feet tall. One of the perks of crabgrass is that it is drought tolerant. However, a magic grass it is not. For maximum yield and production it should not be planted on sites that are excessively droughty during the summer months. One of the best perks about crabgrass production is that once established it usually produces enough seed each year to ensure a volunteer stand the next year.
Establishing crabgrass is not that difficult. Planting too deep is a bigger concern than planting too shallow. Seed can be broadcast on a prepared, firm seedbed and covered by a second pass with a roller or drilled at a ¼” depth. Some have also had good luck with broadcasting the seed early and letting livestock trample it in, taking care that they don’t trample it too deep if the ground becomes saturated. Crabgrass seed is extremely small and planting with a drill can be challenging unless you are using seed that contains a coating. Coated seed increases the individual seed size thereby making it easier to plant using a drill. An average of 5 lbs to the acre should be sufficient for an average stand. A
range of 2 to 10 pounds to the acre is given.
Crabgrass grows well under a wide range of soil pH levels from 5.5 to 7.5. It responds well to nitrogen but can accumulate high nitrate levels under high nitrogen fertilizer manure applications. Nitrogen should be applied in split applications of 50 to 60 pounds per acre, with the first application made when the seedlings have emerged and are in the early tiller stage. A second application of nitrogen can be made after the first grazing.
Cows love to graze crabgrass as it is very palatable. Grazing can begin when crabgrass is 4 to 6 inches. Plants should not be grazed below 3 inches to allow opportunity for maximum regrowth. While crabgrass is very hardy and can take the abuse, yield is what you will compromise if you allow animals to continuously graze. Rotational grazing better utilizes grazing efficiency and allows the plant to have plenty of leaf area left to maximize regrowth. Crabgrass can be grazed up until frost and then becomes very unpalatable and will be avoided by grazing animals. As long as you have allowed the plants to seed at least one time (which shouldn’t be hard) during the growing season, you should be set for the
following year’s crop.
Studies have shown that crabgrass ranges between 15% and 21% Crude Protein depending on the stage of maturity and averages 60% TDN (Total Digestible Nutrients). A lower fiber content in crabgrass stems leads to better forage quality even nearing maturity which equates to improved digestion rates in cattle.
Crabgrass is certainly gaining in popularity on farms. You can start by sectioning off a portion of your pasture (10% of the grazing acreage was our rule of thumb) and dedicating it to crabgrass followed by a cool season annual. You will quickly see the benefits of having even a small portion of annuals on your farm. Most people associate a lot of added cost when you start talking annual production. Not so with crabgrass, it re-seeds itself making it a very cost effective option in annual forage production.
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