As mentioned in the June newsletter, at this point, a one cut of BMR sorghum-Sudan, or Sudan grass, or Pearl Millet, can give you highly digestible forage at the end of September. In my tests, we have harvested 2 to 3 tons of very decent forage, even though it was planted in mid-July with a warm fall. An overlooked crop is BMR pearl millet. Other researchers and I have found that pearl millets have very high feed quality. In our replicated study, the grazing corn was 12.9% crude protein, the sorghum-Sudan was 14.2%; and the BMR pearl millet was 20% crude protein. The energy was similar (very high) between the BMR grazing corn, BMR sorghum-Sudan, and BMR pearl millet. All three had very high plant sugars. The pearl millet does not have prussic acid management issues. It yields very well in late summer. Pearl millet has thinner stems that may be easier to round bale for wrapping. If you are looking at grazing, be careful, as it is so rich that it can cause bloat.
