In Spring (late April) 2008 we planted 15 acres of SucraSEED Beef Bank on a south-east facing slope, with heavy clay soils.  Prior to this we had raised and finished our beef, Angus crosses, on a mix of Fescue, Orchardgrass, Reed Canarygrass, and Italian Ryegrass pastures.

 

In Late August of 2008 we moved a group of 12 steers - weighing an average of 320 lbs - onto this new seeding.  Using a monthly weighing of these animals, by early September we noticed that we were achieving ADG's of between 2.28 - 3.0 lbs per animal per day.  On the previous mixture we had seldom 'topped' 2.22 - 2.25 lbs.  The impressive gains of our beef steers on the SucraSEED mix convinced us to go ahead and plant more of this for the 2009 season.  Over the next two seasons we will extend these grazing/hay plantings of Beef Bank to an extra 100 acres.  In addition we have started using Pasture Sweet'ner in our old pastures, and although measurements have not yet started since they were only added in June 2009, we have 'Visually' noticed a thickening of the original stands.

 

Without a doubt I'd highly recommend the SucraSEED Beef Bank for beef producers, especially those focused on being Grass Farmers first and Cattle Farmers second.  High daily gains are crucial for the success of any commercial beef operation and Beef Bank meet these needs admirably.

 

Marco Turco PhD

Manzini Farm, LLC

Keesville, NY 

 THIS GRASS DRAWS ANIMALS LIKE A MAGNET!

 

Rob M, Roy WA

September 14, 2009

Fall pasture management is a key factor that will determine how a pasture performs the following Spring.  This 3rd year Beef Bank pasture in Southeast Iowa was nearly grazed to the dirt late last Fall.  Unlike most tall fescue, orchardgrass and brome grass based pastures with stiff, unpalatable crowns, the high sugar grasses have soft crowns that livestock will graze to the ground if not managed properly. When I looked at this pasture in early May, it appeared that less than 10% of the HSG Perennial had survived the winter.  Today's pasture inspection revealed that much more of the HSG perennial had survived that I thought.  This can be attributed to the high levels of carbohydrates stored in the crown and roots of SucraSEED's High Sugar Grasses.  The farmer was just getting ready to take his 3rd hay cutting then plans to drill Pasture Sweet'ner into the stubble.



Brent

Fairfield, IA

AberDart HSG has survived for three years now in the upper peninsula of Michigan!  It appears that the key to winter survival is to maintain a minimum of 3 inches of stubble heading into winter and then make sure to wait a little while after Spring growth begins before grazing.  It seems that the HSG varieties are one of the first grasses to start growing and as a result people turn the animals in to graze before the plant has been able to restore the carbs consumed over the winter. 

 

"I rated the High Sugar Ryegrass stands today and looks pretty good.  I was surprised to see these High Sugar Perennial Ryegrasses survived the third winter here in the UP.  Amazing!"

 

Dr. Doo-Hong Min

Michigan State University

Pasture Sweet'ner grown for silage in the Willamette Valley.  Wet weather prevented cutting for a week, but still looks to be excellent feed for Volbeda Dairy in Albany Oregon.  Cutting taken June 1, 2009.

Don Wilkinsen of Pasture Proper, a grass fed co-op in Idaho, has been impressed with root system of the HSGs.  The SucraSEED fields were the first to green up coming out of winter, and the livestock sure show a preference for it.  Photo was taken February '09 on Bill Gale's farm.

 

September 23, 2008

I visited Bruce's Beef Bank pasture today and I was blown away.  The summer has been cooler and wetter than normal and man did it pay dividends for the grazers in particular.  Not as much for the hay growers as they had a real hard time getting a long enough stretch of dry weather to get their fields harvested in a timely maner.  This pasture was last grazed in early August and it is now about 18" high and very thick.  The weeds have about all been choked out by the HSG Perennial, orchardgrass and clovers.  This is remarkable given the fact that this pasture has only been fertilized one time in April with 50 lbs of N/acre.  Bruce is the envy of the county and his neighbors are becoming believers in the SucraSeed High Sugar Grass Pasture products!

Brent Jones

Fairfield, IA

July 28, 2008:   What a difference a year made in the development of this Beef Bank pasture.  In the first picture the pasture is about 4 months old and consists mainly of Perennial Ryegrass and Orchardgrass with young white and red clover plants still getting established.  The first year, July was very hot and dry here in SE Iowa.  The second picture is the same pasture at about 16 months.  The Clover plants are absolutely thriving and the pasture is so thick that there are almost no weeds present.  July 2008 has been cooler and much wetter than 2007. 

Brent

Fairfield, IA

July 7, 2008

Larry put his cows out to pasture on the new Beef Bank for the first time - first authorized time at least.  They had broken down the fence to get at it once a couple weeks ago also.  This seems to happen to every farmer with a High Sugar Grass pasture.  There is still a fair amount of tall fescue in this pasture that survived the round-up unfortunately.  You can really tell where the cows selectively grazed the HSG and clover and ignored the fescue. 

Brent   Fairfield, IA

 

 July 7, 2008

The pasture is looking great again.  Much better than it looked 2 weeks ago when I was last out there.  We've had a couple of nice rains totaling about 1.5 inches since then and the heat and humidity are really starting to build.  It is ready to be grazed again (third time this year) to keep the clover from going to seed.  Talked to Bruce and he's going to put up some additional electric fencing so he can keep grazing this pasture periodically thru the Summer.  He and his herd are very pleased with the Beef Bank.

Brent   Fairfield, IA