Teff Hay?

[bdw593]

I've been reading up on this hay as a annual hay crop. Anyone on here had any experience with this type of hay? From what I've read this seems to be a high yeilding annual crop.
I have about 30+ acres that I'm thinking about replanting and just running some ideas through my head and would like some input.

 

[RobA]

Do you want an annual as a hay crop rather than a perenial?

 

[TwinWillows]

We went to the UK field day @ teh Princeton station last year & they had a demo plot of Teff hay. Even in the drought it looked good. You might want to try & contact someone there to find out more.

 

[jimg]

Plus its very drought tolerant. Seeing as its only popular in Africa getting seed could be difficult. Until your post Id never heard of it. If you do find seed Id be very interested in where and how much $. According to what I read it really yields well! If youre planning to sell it Im sure there will be some (perhaps significant) marketing work also involved. On the face of it though it sounds like it might work. I think Id consider using it on top of a warm season grass though. Otherwise, you be doing a lot of planting which means youll need a steady supply of seed.

I would really appreciate it if you could update this thread as you discover more info and decide what youre going to do.

Heres a source for seed....Hankins Seed :: Grass Seed

 

[bdw593]

I just found out that the local Southern States is having a representative on hand on the 25th of this month in regards to Teff hay. From what I've been reading, even though it is an annual, the yeilds are very high, and very drought resistant. Since the drought we had last year there has been several people interested in Teff.
From those I have talked to there were several test plots planted in Kentucky, Tennesee as well as throughout the midwest, and the outcomes were very favorable. I've heard that the Teff is as good as if not better than many of the traditional hays. I'm very interested in what the rep has to say,
I'll keep this thread updated, any other info would be appreciated.

 

[chh]

Let us know what you find out. I have read several articles that were very high on it.

 

[bdw593]

Tiffany Teff Grass is for high quality grass hay
Heres a website with some prices and basic info for anyone interested.

 

[jimg]

I just found out that the local Southern States is having a representative on hand on the 25th of this month in regards to Teff hay. From what I've been reading, even though it is an annual, the yeilds are very high, and very drought resistant. Since the drought we had last year there has been several people interested in Teff.
From those I have talked to there were several test plots planted in Kentucky, Tennesee as well as throughout the midwest, and the outcomes were very favorable. I've heard that the Teff is as good as if not better than many of the traditional hays. I'm very interested in what the rep has to say,
I'll keep this thread updated, any other info would be appreciated.

Thats interesting SS is going to handle the seed. Id be interested in what their rep has to say about it + pricing and availability.

I also read about the high yields and palatability and that part looks great. According to the guy at Hankin Seed it goes dormant during drought. So you need considerable rain or irrigation to get the high yield. Im not sure you would have been any better off growing Teff in a drought situation. This would be a good question to ask the SS rep. Id like to know if what he says agrees w/ what I was told.

ETA: One more thing...I was also told the seed rate was about 5lbs/ac. That seemed really small until he mentioned how small the seed is. I wished I would have asked about using it w/ a NT drill. This might also be good to ask you SS rep...seed rate and what challenges you might encounter NT planting.

 

[Eastinlet]

Sounds like it may be a winner. Sorghum, sudan, and millet are warm season annuals with high yields, but are coarse and said to be hard to dry down.

Anybody here grow switchgrass? I have no hay experience with it, but have grown it during mine reclamation on droughty soils. Supposedly high yields with the benefit of hanging on during drought. The stuff is tough and has roots that go down to China.

 

[jimg]

Alot of Sudan grass is grouwn around here for cattle. I dont think those are good (or at least preferred) for horses. Youre right they can be really high yield!

Switch grass is supposed to be grown around here as part of the alternative energy 'program' -- converted to ethanol. Otherwise, I dont think theres much interest in it as a food source.

The only problem I see w/ Teff is that youre dependent on a seed supplier.