# Anyone feed Teff to their livestock?



## downtownjr

Just wondering and if you do what kind of animal and do they like it? I met a guy who feeds it to his four donkeys a the local fair. Says two will eat it before the orchard grass and timothy. Stated a local guy baled 5 acres of it this year and that is where he bought it from. Supposedly sold all he baled. Thanks.


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## Erock813

never had a probelm with it yet...we dry bale the first cutting,then put in baleage the second..never had a probelm yet


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## downtownjr

I am leaning toward trying this out next year on a piece of land that I may only get for 1 year. I like the higher yield potential and for an annual the seed price is not too bad...alfalfa is up so it may be worth the try...just extra fuel making a good seed bed, but again a higher yield could offset that cost as well. What kind of luck have you had with it...decent yield? Also where you planting it? Thanks


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## Erock813

last year we tired it on 8 acres,this year we have 50 acres,i plan to no till new seedings in the spring,we used a brillion seeder to sew it ,makes the field smooth as a babies butt to reseed. with two cutting you control your weeds and it will choke out most weeds. never had a weed in the 8 acres from last year...we notilled corn on that .


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## greenacres

I have ten acres this year got first cutting done in big sq and small sq giving some bales to all customers this year dairy, beef, and horse markets to try and give me feedback on how the animals eat it waste it or pick through it. The only thing I found is that it it isn't as leafy as I was lead to believe even though it is fine stemed, so far I have priced it as any other grass hay except second or third cutting orchard grass I have that priced at 200 ton in small sq delivered less than 100 miles


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## downtownjr

Teff gaining ground with Hoosier forage producers 
(Taken from this week's Purdue Ag Answers Newsletter for us to discuss)

Teff, a grass originating from Ethiopia where it's used to make flour for cooking, is a summer annual grass that's relatively new to Indiana and is increasing in popularity because it does well in hot, dry conditions.
"Teff can withstand the heat and takes less water than many of our other summer annuals," said Brad Shelton, Purdue University Cooperative Extension educator in Washington County. "It's also making a niche for itself in the horse industry because its stems and leaves are much finer than other hays."
In addition to being finer, there is no risk of prussic acid poisoning or nitrate poisoning to horses from feeding teff. 
Dennis Brown, territory manager for Byron Seeds in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, is watching teff sales grow.
Last year was the first year Brown handled teff and he sold much more than anticipated. For 2008, he estimates sales went up about 30 percent to 40 percent from the previous year.
"We sold out," Brown said. "Next year I expect sales to grow another 30 percent to 40 percent."
He believes last year's weather was especially conducive for growing the hardy grass.
"The late freeze left stands thin and in awful shape and then coupled with the extremely dry weather, teff could fill void perfectly," Brown said.
Amos Glick, a forage producer from Marshall who grew the grass last year, said he would definitely grow it again. 
"It's hard to believe how fast teff establishes and grows," Glick said. "It's phenomenal and it dries out very easy too." 
Teff has a potential to produce 4 tons of dry matter per growing season, Shelton said. Last year a 15 by 20 foot plot was planted at the Feldun-Purdue Agriculture Center to see how it would react to Indiana's climate. This year at the Southern Indiana Purdue Agriculture Center, the farm manager has planted 3 acres of teff and is currently running stocker calves on it to demonstrate performance and palatability.
For growers who may be thinking about seeding teff in 2009, Shelton recommends sharpening your pencil and doing some cost calculations ahead of time.
"The seed will cost $3 to $4 per lb and each lb has more than 1 million seeds," Shelton said. "Depending on how much you're growing and who it's for, it may not be worth the cost by the time you plant it, fertilize and harvest it."
He also cautions that because the seed is so small, growers need to make sure they have the right seeding equipment. Shelton said it's important not to plant the seed until the soil temperature approaches 70 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent the seeding from rotting. In addition to paying attention to soil temperature, Shelton said planting depth is very critical. "This grass doesn't need to be planted very deep at all, about a quarter of an inch at most," he said.
Brown said it's a good annual grass for people who need to make dry hay, but has slightly less tonnage in comparison to sorghum-sudangrass. He also likes its ability to no-till into a thin alfalfa stand, which he believes has been a driver in its increasing popularity. "Dairies and beef cattle will get along very well feeding teff," Brown said. "It has 16 percent to 18 percent crude protein with a relative value of about 110 -120."


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## greenacres

got my first report of teff back from two dairys the first said his 200 to 300 lbs calfs went from 4 th cutting alf/orchard to the teff and did not sort or waste any they ate it all everything, the second dairy said all his calfs ate all and the treated cows coming back on production came back just as good as on orchard or better, both wanted some more, both have never heard of it before this spring, one horse guy said his horses turned away and went back to waterway grass then came back when nothing else was left. Test was sent in today will get it back monday or tuesday


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## Production Acres

we planted 125 acres of teff this summer. 1st cutting yeilded very well. Was told it dried very fast and have not found that to be true. It acts very much like a summer annual - which it is - and takes much more time to dry than a second cutting grass hay will. Have sold several loads to horse clients with good responses thus far. We had a lot of problem with teh hay lodging very quickly, however.


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