EG 1101 is an improved Alamo type and EG 1102 is an improved Kanlow type. Both have been bred for high biomass yields and better vigor/establishment. They have shown superior conversion characteristics for biochemical and thermochemical processes. EG 2101 is an improved Cave-in-Rock type. It is more winterhardy than EG 1101 and EG 1102.

A perennial, switchgrass can be utilized as a spring forage for cattle. High-biomass sorghum: Blade is also booking seed for new high-biomass types of sorghum, ES 5200 and ES 5201. Both hybrids feature Skyscraper™, a trait that provides a generation’s worth of biomass yield improvement in a single step.

EG 5200 and EG 5201 are suited to single-cut harvest systems. As an annual, sorghum provides a flexible, fast-growing source of biomass and fits well into established crop rotations. Blade customers may be eligible for payments of up to 75 percent of seed and other establishment costs from the federal Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP).

Check with your local Farm Service Agency office for program rules.

Barkley Seed, Inc.
Barkley Seed, Inc. specializes in meeting the seed and grain needs of growers in the West. Continued research throughout the forage production areas of California has resulted in the release and subsequent acceptance by growers of two new varieties.

PR 1404 and Triple IV are awnless, red wheat varieties, which allow for a greenchop harvest in the boot or dough stage, as well as a third option for wheat hay. The full-season trait of PR 1404 and its “staygreen” growth habit provides a wide harvest window without sacrificing yield due to premature drydown.

Triple IV’s very early maturity and early winter growth habit results in increased yields at the boot stage, allowing an early harvest and “on-time” planting of subsequent crops of corn/cotton. Both varieties have been comparatively tested for yield and forage quality.

Extensive digestibility studies over three years have proven that these varieties produce high-quality feed which dairymen demand. PR 1404 and Triple IV also provide excellent tolerance to the stripe rust nemesis that has plagued other wheat varieties in California.

Lockwood Seed and Grain has exclusive distribution and marketing rights to PR 1404 and Triple IV throughout the forage production regions of California. Syngenta Seeds Building on the performance and genetics of the Garst and Golden Harvest sorghum products, Syngenta also offers a more complete lineup of outstanding sorghum hybrids.

340BMR is a new medium-to-full-season forage sorghum hybrid from Syngenta. As the new standard for brown midrib forage sorghum, 340BMR is a brychritic dwarf hybrid with the brown midrib trait for corn silage-like feed quality.

In addition, this new hybrid has shortened internodes that provide great standability in a BMR product with yields that rival traditional hybrids and provide unbeatable ease of harvest.

Eagle Seed Company
Eagle Seed Company in Weiner, Arkansas has forage soybeans that are not only easy to grow, but have amazing whole-plant protein content (up to 35%) and high leaf protein (up to 41.8%). These newly developed varieties, Large Lad and Big Fellow, grow on a wide range of soil types and conditions.

They have been tested by numerous universities on acidic, basic, droughty, swampy, and sandy soils and even performed well in high elevation. Southern Illinois University (SIU) beef forage specialist, Dr. Atkinson, has evaluated these soybeans for two years.

Her research has shown that the Eagle Seed soybeans produce massive tonnage with plant heights near 6 feet tall. In her 2008 study, the Big Fellow variety yielded 9.6 tons of dry matter with 28 percent protein content.

The SIU study included silage data showing yields of 10-12 tons per acre with excellent feed values (RFV 194, RFQ 244, and 70 TDN). Dr. Butler’s (Noble Foundation; Oklahoma) research on sandy, acidic soil received no rainfall and still managed to produce 1 ton of dry matter per acre, surpassing all other plants and native grasses tested.

In 2009, Dr. Atkinson found that the soybeans could be grazed up to four times. In current research, soybeans are grown with corn to improve protein content in silage. Dr. Scaglia, LSU Ag Center animal scientist, also mentioned the additional benefits of Eagle’s forage soybeans returning nitrogen to the soil and controlling weeds.

DEKALB
DKS28-05 – This DEKALB® sorghum product is early maturing and offers excellent yield potential for its maturity. DKS28-05 features excellent drought stress standability, excellent test weight and bronze-colored grain. This product also features strong panicle exsertion, seedling vigor, staygreen and pre- and post-flower stress tolerance.

DKS53-67 – A medium-full maturity DEKALB® grain sorghum product, DKS53-67 offers strong yield for its maturity and it is highly responsive to favorable growing environments.

Both threshability and stalk strength are excellent, and the product features a high test weight. Seedling vigor, staygreen, panicle exsertion and post-flower stress tolerance are strong.  FG