Switchgrass?

[dej(Jed)]

Anybody on hear give a guy any advise about switchgrass growing? Where to get seeds , etc.

 

[paul]

Have a good plan for trying to harvest it. I hear it's a real bear to get it done.

--->Paul

 

[Blue guy]

What do you want to grow it for? Wildlife? Forage? Biofuel?

 

[hayray]

Seed Solutions sells the seeds. They have depos around the country in a few states, they can be looked up on the internet.

 

[Keith Harpster]

Do you mean warm season grass or switchgrass. If your trying to produce hay go with bluestem, big and little mixed.

 

[dej(Jed)]

They say it is good for animal forage. Also they say it makes about 4 times the ethanol per acre that corn does?

 

[Blue guy]

Check with your local NRCS office. They use to have an EQIP? program to help you get your land established in NWSG. They cost share on getting your ground prepped and limed and/or fertilized for the NWSG. They also pay so much per acre for the first two years because the land will be out of production at least that long. Also check with your states wildlife resource agency. They may have a one time payment per acre, or they may can at least hook you up with a drill that can plant NWSG seed.

 

[IaGary]

Don"t think that four times the ethanol verses corn will ever happen.

How do they know how much it can produce when they haven"t produced any amount from switch grass yet?

Switch grass ethanol is about ten years away yet.

They havn"t figured out how to extract it yet.

Wait about 5 years to plant it for ethanol.

If you plant it for feed, might have to grind it cause it is so course.

Gary

 

[Dave from MN]

Contac t Joe Schaefer at Minnesota Native Landscapes. I put the link below, I hope it shows up. They produce most all native grass and wildflower seed, have the proper mixs available and their seed is cleaned. I believe they do all their seed harvesting with olf gleaners. Its funny to see all the new JH skid loaders and fancy new tractors and trucks they have there, then to see them old, very old gleaners, sitting their waiting to go to work when the seed is ready to harvest.
Minnesota Native Landscapes

 

[hayray]

Switchgrass is a type of warm season grass.

 

[rrlund]

All that I've heard about it is what's been said about that new plant that UT is building. They say the biggest problem they are going to face for a while is the LACK of seed. Claim there is only enough right now to plant about 1000 acres.

 

[paul]

I've heard it is the coursest, most miserable thing to harvest - about wrecks the tires it's so course. I suppose if you cut young it would be better, but I'd want to more than 'hear' it made good animal feed. I kinda wonder on that?

It does not make good ethanol - yet. They are estimating they can get a a fair amount of ethanol out of the fibers - someday. Today, they get less out of it than they put into it. They assume they will develop the enzymes they need to make this all work. It will take 5 years if you are optomistic to make it work, 10 to make it work well.

Today, it produces far less ethanol per acre than corn does. Frankly, I think my cattle are much happier eating cornstalks too than those plants......

--->Paul

 

[Lou]

Two years back I went and looked at some switch grass being grown experementaly by cornell University in northern NY. They had five or six varieties growing. Its being grown in Canada to produce pellets to burn for heating. Check with Cornell in Potsdam NY they can tell you where to buy seed.

 

[JBruce]

disc mower-give it time to cut it off. wheel rake-not side delivery. baled about 450 big rounds off 98 acres. used about 30 bales to make a wing fence. cows have about eat the fence and are holding their weight here in north central Mo.

 

[greenbeanman in Kansas]

I believe that you are in error when you state that they haven't tried it yet for production.

Especially when a plant is being built in SW Kansas that will produce 30 million gallons a year from cellulosic material including switchgrass.

Story link below.
Kansas Gets First U.S. Cellulosic Ethanol Plant