# Big (Giant) Bluestem



## okiecraig (Oct 6, 2009)

I have prairie hay (bluestem, indian grass, bunch grass) that I am going to get to cut thanks to some rain lately. Right now, big bluestem is growing like a weed and will be 3-4 feet tall when I cut; however, it it mostly stem with seed head.

Should I top all the bluestem now to spread all the seed head for next year?


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## Farmall706 (Sep 4, 2011)

If the stem has seed I would, but I am one of those that will not cut until most grass has gone to seed and the seed is dry.


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## mulberrygrovefamilyfarm (Feb 11, 2009)

We run several native grass (big blue, indian etc) paddocks for cattle and hay several as well. As with most grasses, when the seed head is past boot stage and reaches a mature stage, the grass nutrition goes way, way down. With big blue it's even worse. Not that there's no nutrition in it, but for hay if you have a mature seed head at baling, you are baling close to straw because the fiber content is so high in comparison to the nutrition. Most cattle would rather bed on mature blue stem than eat it. My objectives for my native paddocks is to provide a high quality forage, increase the natives, and provide winter and fall cover for wildlife as a bonus. So for native grasses here, I graze hard and early, and for baling I try to cut it slightly less than knee high when it's deep green, then I let the stand come back the rest of the year and they seed themselves. Early grazing and cutting at the right time and height, will stunt any cool season grasses in the stand and make the native stand stronger. To remove a native stand, graze late and hay late and cool seasons will begin to take over. By the way, haying natives at the right time may also require that you either put cattle on in the spring to break up the organic mat (which is what we do) or to burn every several years which is what we used to do, or you will probably pickup a tremendous amount of last years organic material in your hay.


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