# Crowne Royal Orchardgrass



## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Been busy getting my first cutting done on my OG (Yeah, I know I'm late but this is the first window of opportunity I've had!)

Laid down 22 acres of Potomac OG and 15 of Crowne Royal OG over the last two days.

I was able to mow the Potomac OG at 6.5 ac/hour and had no problems with the NH H7230 moco being able to handle it,

On the other hand, the Crowne Royal was so thick that I had to gear down to 4.2 acres/hour. But, in all fairness, my nitrogen program was not the same. I had the conveyor drive chain break on the fertilizer buggy when I was spreading the Potomac and didn't catch it for quite a while--so I ended up with some areas skipped and some doubly applied. But even the doubly applied areas where not as thick!

The Crowne Royal matures about 2 weeks later than Potomac, so the quality is still reasonable.

I'll be interested to see how the yield/acre is on the two fields.

Ralph


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

rjmoses said:


> Been busy getting my first cutting done on my OG (Yeah, I know I'm late but this is the first window of opportunity I've had!)
> 
> The Crowne Royal matures about 2 weeks later than Potomac, so the quality is still reasonable.
> 
> ...


Interesting.
It's not supposed to be 2 weeks different but nice to here its not matureing for you in delayed cutting.

There was a discussion not long ago how all orchardgrass turned to straw and was worthless if cut late because a university said so.My advise was to plant a later variety.Looks like Ralph proved the university studies were not totally accurate.There is a difference in varieties you can't just put ALL orchardgrass in 1 category.

Thanks for the info,let us know difference in yield.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Were these stands the same age, Ralph? I'm not trying to debunk your results but orchard grass certainly changes it's characteristics as it ages so I'm curious.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

The Potomac stand in 7 years old, the Crowne Royal is 3 years old.

I wouldn't think age of the stand has anything to do with maturity, but I can see yield being affected if the stand is not well tended. Both Crowne Royal and Tekapo are advertised as being 2 weeks later than Potomac (at least they where when I planted them).

4 years ago, I wanted to plant an OG that was later maturing so I planted 10 acres of Tekapo and 15 of Crowne Royal. I lost the Tekapo stand the the first year because of drought. But the Crowne Royal was hurt. I think it was because the Tekapo was planted on a west facing hillside and higher up. The Crowne Royal field was more shaded and lower.

But what I'm seeing is that any OG luuuuves nitrogen!

Ralph


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Not age of stand relative to maturity but age relative to ease of mowing. As a stand ages and becomes more of a bunch grass, it's going to mow differently than a young stand which is still essentially solid. Maybe it wasn't an issue in you case.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Dang it.... I just read title and though I was going to be reading your thoughts on Crown Royal... 

Maybe as a salute to Canada day the other day. Join the fun drink Canadian whiskey.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Finshed baling the OG yesterday. All round bales, 5x5, moisture about the same--16-19%, bale weight estimated at about 900-1000#.

Potomac--------22 acres---81 bales--40.5 tons--1.8 tons/acre

Crowne Royal-15 acres--108 bales----54 tons--3.6 tons/acre

I'm impressed!

Ralph


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## Don Pine (Feb 2, 2012)

swmnhay said:


> There was a discussion not long ago how all orchardgrass turned to straw and was worthless if cut late because a university said so.My advise was to plant a later variety.Looks like Ralph proved the university studies were not totally accurate.There is a difference in varieties you can't just put ALL orchardgrass in 1 category.


Cy,

It would be interesting to see a nutritional analysis for either of Ralph's varieties. I'd bet you a steak dinner that neither of them would supply the nutritional requirements of a cow.

I'm in the same boat as Ralph. I'm rolling up the first cutting of OG today. We should be working on the 2nd cutting on the 4th of July! And regardless of maturity, a first cut of OG this late in the season is nutritionally deficient.

As Ralph pointed out, he has a good amount of "decent" hay. He could add some corn and protein supplement and feed a bunch of critters. But with a grass fed herd, adding grain to meet energy requirements isn't an option.

I'd take good OG anyday. But the weather patterns over the past decade where Ralph and I are located don't allow us to put up good OG. I converted another 20 acres this year to millet, and I'm glad I did. I'll have that much more hay (with a much greater yield than OG) that won't need to be supplemented. Of course I didn't have to spend the money to work the field and plant the crop with OG, so maybe it's just a matter of where I choose to spend the dollars; on supplement or hay.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

swmnhay said:


> There was a discussion not long ago how all orchardgrass turned to straw and was worthless if cut late because a university said so.My advise was to plant a later variety.Looks like Ralph proved the university studies were not totally accurate.There is a difference in varieties you can't just put ALL orchardgrass in 1 category.
> 
> Thanks for the info,let us know difference in yield.


Just for fun, and to satisfy my own curiosity, I'm going to take a couple of core samples from each variety and send them in for nutritional analysis.

My guess is that the Potomac will come back with a RFV of about 6-7 and the CR at about 7-8. This is ideal for horses but marginal for cattle unless supplemented like Don said above. Time will tell.

Ralph


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Don Pine said:


> Cy,
> 
> It would be interesting to see a nutritional analysis for either of Ralph's varieties. I'd bet you a steak dinner that neither of them would supply the nutritional requirements of a cow.
> 
> ...


yea I probably got the brain a little off whack forgetting I am about 250? Miles north.and yep most here will supplement grass hay with corn silage or distillers.oor feed a mixed hay of alfalfa,grass.

Heck I,ll grill you a steak anytime for the heck of it!!!


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

rjmoses said:


> Just for fun, and to satisfy my own curiosity, I'm going to take a couple of core samples from each variety and send them in for nutritional analysis.
> 
> My guess is that the Potomac will come back with a RFV of about 6-7 and the CR at about 7-8. This is ideal for horses but marginal for cattle unless supplemented like Don said above. Time will tell.
> 
> Ralph


protien??

With added nitrogen I would think it would be higher,but that is here not there.i would think over 10 percent.be interesting what the results are


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

swmnhay said:


> protien??
> 
> With added nitrogen I would think it would be higher,but that is here not there.i would think over 10 percent.be interesting what the results are


Yes, crude protein 5-8%---brain freeze after 11 hours in the tractor seat and two beers.

Ralph


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## bunkhouse (Aug 10, 2013)

Good job Ralph . We baled our 1st. cut june 27th. 3 year stand got 1.3 ton/acre . Applied fertilizer last week, got rain and looking good. Need to drill some seed across rows after next cut for better yield. Elevator sub contractor did a grid soil test and helped o/g out alot so far. Hope my next yield is alot better.

John

Bunkhouse


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## Don Pine (Feb 2, 2012)

rjmoses said:


> Just for fun, and to satisfy my own curiosity, I'm going to take a couple of core samples from each variety and send them in for nutritional analysis.


Hey Ralph,

Did you happen to send in those samples?


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Don Pine said:


> Hey Ralph,
> 
> Did you happen to send in those samples?


Taking them today--the lab I used to use no long does forage samples. Had to find a new lab.

Ralph


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Test results back:

Sent two samples from each field in for analysis. Each sample was 6 corings from 3 bales in order to give me a good cross section.

Potomac OG

Field--------Type---------DM--------CP--------RFV

KW1 - 1--- Potomac----89%-------7.62%-----72

KW1 - 2--- Potomac----89%-------9.02%-----67

R1 - 1 ------Cr. Royal---89%-------8.97%-----67

R1 - 2 ------Cr. Royal---87%-------9.79%-----70

H1 - 1 --KY31 Fescue--91%-------8.83%-----77

All three fields were cut the same day, July 2nd (really late this year).

It appears that the Crown Royale runs about 1% higher on the crude protein. Did a fescue sample just for fun to see how it would stack up.

Ralph


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Ralph, does Crown Royale mature about the same time as Potomac? Yields are very impressive.

Regards, Mike


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Vol said:


> Ralph, does Crown Royale mature about the same time as Potomac? Yields are very impressive.
> 
> Regards, Mike


Maturity is 10-15 days later than Potomac. Potomac is May 15th hereabouts and I've been having a real problem with the weather in mid to late May. I was hoping to push back cutting until late May/early June to gain a couple of weeks.

Guess I pushed it too far back this year.

Ralph


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

I like that part of 10-15 days later....where does the seed come from and who is the company that owns the seed?

I bought some Orchard seed that was grown in Oregon and it had some Quack grass in it....it has been a witch to eradicate.

Regards, Mike


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Vol said:


> I like that part of 10-15 days later....where does the seed come from and who is the company that owns the seed?
> 
> I bought some Orchard seed that was grown in Oregon and it had some Quack grass in it....it has been a witch to eradicate.
> 
> Regards, Mike


Got mine from the local elevator which got it, in turn, from Missouri Seed Co.

Ralph


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

I handle it also.Pretty good chance I will give you a better deal also.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

swmnhay said:


> I handle it also.Pretty good chance I will give you a better deal also.


What would freight run to 37876? Come in 25's or 50's? Probably try 100 lbs. to see how I like it. What state is it produced in Cy? Send me a PM please.

Mike


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

Mike, I planted some CR that I got from Cy. Looks really good. Planted with oats and it's been really dry here. It's holding on good so far. I planted it so that I can work on my early hay first and also planted some with timothy


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

Mike, how is that Crown Royale doing so far? Mine is looking pretty good. Mike


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

NDVA HAYMAN said:


> Mike, how is that Crown Royale doing so far? Mine is looking pretty good. Mike


Doing really well, especially the last 2 weeks and why the last 2 weeks I cannot figure it out. I can see the area I sowed about a quarter mile behind my home in bottomland.....has really thickened....and dark green. The cold period in November (15* low two days in a row) did not affect it. The older and different variety Orchard is yellowing after that bitter November.

Regards, Mike


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## biker250 (Jun 19, 2013)

How does a guy learn about these hay samples? What all the abbreviations mean? What values you strive for? How to take a sample and where to send it? Etc etc etc


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

biker250 said:


> How does a guy learn about these hay samples? What all the abbreviations mean? What values you strive for? How to take a sample and where to send it? Etc etc etc


http://anr.ext.wvu.edu/r/download/196521

http://www.foragetesting.org/index.php?page=exam_info2

Google Forage testing labs to find one near you.

Regards, Mike


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## Bags (Nov 17, 2013)

I noticed the CR Orchard grass I got from Cy last year stayed green long into the fall too Mike.

It will be interesting to see if it starts sooner this spring than the brome/wheatgrass fields.


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

Mike what was the older variety you referred to in your previous post?


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Nate926 said:


> Mike what was the older variety you referred to in your previous post?


"The older and different variety Orchard is yellowing after that bitter November."

It is not a "old" as in heirloom variety....it is old as in age....and it was "Benchmark"....which is a good variety....I just wanted to try a plot of something different that yielded well (performed well in the Ralph Moses trials ) and something that might mature a few days later.

Regards, Mike


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## Nate926 (Apr 6, 2014)

Ok thanks for the info Mike. I'm still tossing persist and crowne royal around mainly trying to find out which one would yield better in our area. I know persist is a early mature variety, but that my be good for me since it will be straight orchard grass. Hopefully it would give me a few days to get up my OG before my other rr alfalfa fields mature. That's if the weather played in my favor lol


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## eastsidehayguy (Aug 12, 2013)

swmnhay said:


> I handle it also.Pretty good chance I will give you a better deal also.


Cy I am going to be planting another 30 acres of alfalfa that I want to mix orchard grass in can you recommend some orchard grass for the thumb of Michigan I am located 7 miles off lake Huron and we do get a lot of snow here so it needs to be winter hardy. Please send me a price delivered to zip 48422 also would like to talk to you about cover crop seed as we need to do about 500 acres of cc with the new conservation program we signed up for..


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

A late Orchardgrass works best in alfalfa so it doesn't mature before the alfalfa.Crown Royal,Latar,or Optima.

http://www.alforexseeds.com/grasses/optima-brand-orchardgrass-late/


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