In addition to timothy, smooth bromegrass, and orchardgrass (which are discussed in the general text), here are some other grass species that are used in Illinois:
Reed canarygrass is not widely used, but it has growth attributes that deserve consideration. Reed canarygrass is the most productive of tall perennial grasses that are well suited to Illinois hay and pasture lands. It tolerates wet soils but also is one of the most drought-resistant grasses and can utilize high fertility. It is coarser than orchardgrass or bromegrass and similar in coarseness to tall fescue.
Grazing studies indicate that reed canarygrass will produce good livestock gains equal to those of bromegrass, orchardgrass, or tall fescue under proper grazing management. It should be considered for grazing during spring, summer, and early fall. Cool temperatures and frost retard its growth and induce dormancy earlier than with tall fescue, smooth bromegrass, or orchardgrass. Varieties with improved animal acceptance and digestibility are available.
Tall Fescue, a high-yielding grass, is outstanding in performance when used properly, and it is a popular grass for beef cattle in southern Illinois. It is especially useful for winter pasture because it grows well in cool weather. Also, it is most palatable during the cool seasons of spring and late fall.
Evidence indicates that a fungus living within the plant tissue can lower the palatability and digestibility of this grass during the warm summer months. However, fungus-free varieties are now becoming available and may revolutionize the use of tall fescue on livestock farms.
Tall fescue is marginally winter hardy when used in pastures or hay crops in the northern quarter of the state.
Sudangrass, sudangrass hybrids, and sorghum-sudangrass hybrids are annual grasses that are very productive in late summer. These grasses, which need to be seeded each year on a prepared seedbed, may have a total season production that is less than that from perennial grasses with equal fertility and management. However, these annual grasses fill a need for quick, supplemental pastures or green feed, and they are extremely drought-tolerant.
Being tall, juicy grasses, they are difficult to make into high-quality hay. But if you do use them for hay purposes, choose sudangrass and sudangrass hybrids over the sorghum-Sudan hybrids because they will dry more rapidly. Also, crushing the stems with a hay conditioner will help speed drying.
Millets are warm-season, annual grasses that are very heat-tolerant and drought-tolerant. Four commonly used millets are pearlmillet, browntop millet, foxtail or Italian millet, and Japanese millet.
Pearlmillet has been evaluated in grazing trials and is a suitable alternative for summer annual pastures. It requires a warmer soil for rapid establishment than does sudangrass. Seedings should be delayed until the seedbed's soil temperature averages 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
In addition, pearlmillet does not have the potential to poison livestock with prussic acid, as does sudangrass, nor is pearlmillet as susceptible to leaf diseases. It also is more drought-tolerant, thus producing more pasture during hot, dry periods of late summer than does sudangrass.
Native grasses, such as bluestem, Indian grass, and switchgrass are warm-season perennial species that blanketed Illinois over 150 years ago when it was more accurately called the prairie state-before the prairie was plowed under.
However, native grasses are more fragile than cool-season grasses. They are more susceptible to competition from other plants and are more sensitive to overgrazing. Therefore, care must be taken not to allow them to be grazed too short.
Being warm-season species, prairie grasses produce well during the hot, dry period of summer-the time when coolseason grasses produce most poorly. One limitation though, is that they can only be used for grazing during a six- to eight-week period in late July through August.
It takes longer to establish native grasses, so they do not provide as much soil cover in the early stages as other grasses. But once they are established, they do not have to be reseeded as often, and they provide more permanent soil cover.
As for other advantages, native grasses are aesthetically pleasing to many people and can create a nostalgic appreciation for the natural prairie that once flourished in Illinois.