# Teff is up!



## T&LSkaarfarms (Dec 11, 2011)

Hey everyone. Just wanted to update you on my Teff experience. I have 15 acres on 2 fields that I wanted to experiment with Tiffany Teff this year. Basically nobody grows this up here. I finally got it planted with the grass seeder on my drill last thursday. Was up about a half inch today when I checked it. This was planted in a hay field that had not been worked in about 20 years. I fall plowed it but with all the rain this year it really got delayed planting as corn and beans were more important to me. I fertilized it with 200lbs/acre of 20/10/20 with 4% sulfur. Rolled it once with my 15ft roller. Planted it with the drill. Rolled it once more. So far I am very happy. Next year I will likely buy a brillion seeder to plant with. Have spent to much money already this year...

Tom


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## T&LSkaarfarms (Dec 11, 2011)

Hey everyone. Just wanted to give you an update on my Teff experiment. I planted this on June 20, about two and a half weeks ago, and as of yesterday it was about 6" tall and looks wonderfull. I didnt think it would look nearly as good as it does! I did take the seed tubes off of the drill when I planted it and it really amazed me on the coverage I got in the field. You cannot see rows at all! Maybe I will be ok without the purchase of the brillion seeder. Although it would be nice not having to roll it again after it is seeded witht the drill... At any rate, I am very happy with how it looks so far. We just got about an inch of rain last night and it is suppose to remain in the 80s for the forseeable future so I am really hopefull that I get a good yield. Will try to keep everyone updated as I appreciate all of your updates

Tom


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

I planted mine with my great plains drill and didn't even pull the seed tubes and the Teff came up great.


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## T&LSkaarfarms (Dec 11, 2011)

Hey all,

Just an update on the Teff. I planted it June 20 and cut August 1. 41 days... It was about 2 feet tall and very, very thick. You could not tell at all where the seed rows from the drill were thats for sure. I would have probably waited a little while longer but wanted to get a good second crop off before any chance of frost and it started to lodge pretty good. I planted it at about 10 lbs/acre so I dont really know what happened there. The only thing I can think of is that I put to much nitrogen on the field this spring. (Was not planning on planting teff originally) Either way, I baled it today and was just a hair over 2 ton/acre. I didnt think that was bad for a seed to cut plant in 41 days! I am sure interested in seeing how second crop comes along. Very nice hay though!!! I will be growing more in the future

Tom


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

So, was it good and dry when you baled the Teff Tom?

Regards, Mike


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

T&LSkaarfarms said:


> Hey all,
> 
> Just an update on the Teff. I planted it June 20 and cut August 1. 41 days... It was about 2 feet tall and very, very thick. You could not tell at all where the seed rows from the drill were thats for sure. I would have probably waited a little while longer but wanted to get a good second crop off before any chance of frost and it started to lodge pretty good. I planted it at about 10 lbs/acre so I dont really know what happened there. The only thing I can think of is that I put to much nitrogen on the field this spring. (Was not planning on planting teff originally) Either way, I baled it today and was just a hair over 2 ton/acre. I didnt think that was bad for a seed to cut plant in 41 days! I am sure interested in seeing how second crop comes along. Very nice hay though!!! I will be growing more in the future
> 
> Tom


Nice job Tom.

I think you cut it just right-about 2 feet, just before heading and when it starts to lodge. I also used 10#/ac and that seems right as well. I think teff has a real future as top quality horse hay in the east. My third cut looks like it will be ready about Aug 21-28. It was slow coming out of the gate after 2nd cut, but this am looks like it is back to its old self. Good luck on second.


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## T&LSkaarfarms (Dec 11, 2011)

Vol said:


> So, was it good and dry when you baled the Teff Tom?
> 
> Regards, Mike


Yeah, it was dry. I mowed it thursday, let it sit friday, tedded it saturday morning, raked it sunday morning and baled it sunday at 3pm. There were a few green slugs here and there and along a pesky woods line you could tell it was a little tougher but not to the point where I had to make baler adjustments. I think I would ted it again just to be safe next time though. I do not have a moisture probe so I am not sure on the % moisture though. Will let you know if I run into trouble

Tom


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

T&LSkaarfarms said:


> Yeah, it was dry. I mowed it thursday, let it sit friday, tedded it saturday morning, raked it sunday morning and baled it sunday at 3pm. There were a few green slugs here and there and along a pesky woods line you could tell it was a little tougher but not to the point where I had to make baler adjustments. I think I would ted it again just to be safe next time though. I do not have a moisture probe so I am not sure on the % moisture though. Will let you know if I run into trouble
> 
> Tom


Teff dries different then other grasses. It might feel dry, but might not be. I learned this year if you think it is dry let it dry another day or two. Watch those bales with the green slugs especially if you are storing the hay inside. Although I sure wish I had baled our 2nd cutting on Friday even if it hadn't been totally cured. Would have made better cow hay then it will now after 4-5 inches of rain and half blown away. I have no idea how I'm going to get ours baled now. Teff is good feed, but more work then I wish to have to put it up. Glad it's just a rotational crop for me.


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## T&LSkaarfarms (Dec 11, 2011)

So I got to cracking open a few of my Teff bales and it turns out what I thought was going to be great bales turned into dust bale after dust bale. You can imagine my dissapointment... I guess you really do have to be carefull with that stuff! It was een pretty crunchy in the field! I dont know. I guess I will just have to buy more cattle to feed it out too! LOL. The worst part about it is when my wife found out and said "for all the reading you do on that website and you didnt let it dry enough like those guys said" What do you say...Live and learn! Atleast there is second crop.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Sorry to disapoint- we have all had this experience this year-it's a bummer!


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

I think we all knew to let it dry longer then other hay, but still our hands and heads told us it was cured based on other experience. Even moisture probes say it's dry enough. Hopefully guys planning to plant Teff and searching online will find these threads and heed our experience. I gave up getting my 2nd cutting baled. Since the wind blew away a lot of it the teff was growing through the few windrows that were left. So I decided to just leave what was in the field. Since the ground was and is still moist and the teff is 10 inches high I figured I would kill more teff raking, baling, and stacking then I would be able to bale of my 2nd cutting. So when and if I get 3rd cutting off I will disk it up. Next year back to Alfalfa. A crop I know when it is ready to go.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

I really like the idea behind teff. I was hoping I could go into a corn-beans-teff rotation. My experiment this year was OK but not great.

A 4" rain right after planting washed a lot of the seed down hill. The weather just didn't cooperate at all--I really needed 4-5 days of good drying weather. Lucky to get 3. The reabsortion of moisture overnight combined with the higher humidity from the rivers puts the baling window in the 4 PM range.

Yield was a little lighter than I hoped--probably needed more nitrogen. Horses are grazing on it now. Doing OK--just don't seem to like it as much as other grasses--could be that it has gotten tough or has been affected by the cold summer.

Back to the drawing board.

Ralph


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

rjmoses said:


> I really like the idea behind teff. I was hoping I could go into a corn-beans-teff rotation. My experiment this year was OK but not great.
> 
> A 4" rain right after planting washed a lot of the seed down hill. The weather just didn't cooperate at all--I really needed 4-5 days of good drying weather. Lucky to get 3. The reabsortion of moisture overnight combined with the higher humidity from the rivers puts the baling window in the 4 PM range.
> 
> ...


I still think it is viable as a rotation crop between Alfalfa plantings. Even if it doesn't cure property and turns yellow on me again in the bale it still sells very well as cow hay. Better then oats, sudex or those kinds of one year forage crops. And cheaper for me to plant and harvest then wheat or corn with the returns about the same or even better. Plus more then just one harvest to get it right. Then if I don't get a 4 inch rain the day before it's ready to bale it should have been fine for 2nd cutting. That kind of rain is once in a 5 year thing here.


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## Waterway64 (Dec 2, 2011)

I have been following this thread with interest. How would teffbe for summer and late summer mob grazing? It looks like it might work better that way here than trying to dry it down as hay.

Mel


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Waterway64 said:


> I have been following this thread with interest. How would teffbe for summer and late summer mob grazing? It looks like it might work better that way here than trying to dry it down as hay.
> 
> Mel


Might work good. From what I've seen here with 6-8 horses grazing on 6 acres, it seems to stay way ahead of what they can eat.

Ralph


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## vharbison (Aug 15, 2013)

I am looking to purchase about 50 - 70 bales of Teff. I live near Petersburg, VA. How can I get in touch with you?



Hayman1 said:


> Nice job Tom.
> 
> I think you cut it just right-about 2 feet, just before heading and when it starts to lodge. I also used 10#/ac and that seems right as well. I think teff has a real future as top quality horse hay in the east. My third cut looks like it will be ready about Aug 21-28. It was slow coming out of the gate after 2nd cut, but this am looks like it is back to its old self. Good luck on second.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

vharbison said:


> I am looking to purchase about 50 - 70 bales of Teff. I live near Petersburg, VA. How can I get in touch with you?


On. Vacation now in ak catching salmon. Email is [email protected] Phone 540-837-1252. Back 8/22. Thanks


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## T&LSkaarfarms (Dec 11, 2011)

Ok guys, mowed 2nd crop of my 15 acres of teff yesterday. Didnt look to bad. Probably knee to thigh high average. I would say it looks like that 1.5-2 tons per acre range. Not a darn weed in the field. I have to say that being weed free seems to be one of the nicest things about these fields. They were basically old pasture grass fields with all kinds of junk in them too. Just plowed and worked, no spray. Beautiful! Anyway, I think I will ted it daily for the next few days then bale it wed/thurs, depending on weather. It looks like a nice week up here in Wisco. I will let you know how round 2 turns out...

Tom


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

T&LSkaarfarms said:


> Ok guys, mowed 2nd crop of my 15 acres of teff yesterday. Didnt look to bad. Probably knee to thigh high average. I would say it looks like that 1.5-2 tons per acre range. Not a darn weed in the field. I have to say that being weed free seems to be one of the nicest things about these fields. They were basically old pasture grass fields with all kinds of junk in them too. Just plowed and worked, no spray. Beautiful! Anyway, I think I will ted it daily for the next few days then bale it wed/thurs, depending on weather. It looks like a nice week up here in Wisco. I will let you know how round 2 turns out...
> 
> Tom


Got bit by the teff bug on my third cutting. It was dry, looked dry, felt dry, measured dry so I baled the outside windrow. Made 80 bales before the teff rule was trobbing in my head-

It its ready, hold steady;

If its dry, let it lie;

When its dead, make it instead!

Waited another day and made the last 120 bales. Lost 8 of the 80. And the "dead 120" are just georgeous.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

I baled my 3rd cutting a week ago. Felt as dry as the 1st cutting did that some spoiled. 3rd cutting hasn't spoiled. I think the difference over the 1st cutting was the ground moisture. 1st cutting had been irrigated in some parts 3 days before cutting and other parts 5-7 days. Third cutting it hadn't been irrigated in 2 weeks. No rain in that time also. Hoping my 4th cutting turns out well in 2-3 weeks. Irrigated once. Might irrigate one more time if no rain shows up. I also learned something cutting 3rd cutting. All the stuff I read said not to cut under 4 inches. Well 3rd cutting I cut at about 2 inches as I wasn't sure I was going to try for a 4th. The teff started growing again easily after a couple days. Didn't recover quite as fast as when I cut only 4 inches. But I think that might be a good thing so that you can wait a bit longer for the cut teff to dry.


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## T&LSkaarfarms (Dec 11, 2011)

Well boys, after letting the teff lay for 6, yes 6 days I got it baled up today. I was going to round bale it but a neighbor stoped by and wanted to big square bale it and buy it from me. I did sell it to him and he baled it up this afternoon. I advised him to put acid on it but he thought it would be ok. After a few acres he probed it and it was reading about 20% moisture. Still he didnt put acid on it. We will see how it turns out. I got cash in hand for the bales tonight so I guess I am not worried about it.

I am still not sold on the teff in our climate. I think between the higher humidity and late morning dews (especially in late cuts) it is really tough to get dry. I cant even ted it enough it appears. IDK. I have to say that it does come up thick and I had no issues establishing a stand though. In that respect I loved it.

I guess next year is another year...

Tom


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

T&LSkaarfarms said:


> Well boys, after letting the teff lay for 6, yes 6 days I got it baled up today. I was going to round bale it but a neighbor stoped by and wanted to big square bale it and buy it from me. I did sell it to him and he baled it up this afternoon. I advised him to put acid on it but he thought it would be ok. After a few acres he probed it and it was reading about 20% moisture. Still he didnt put acid on it. We will see how it turns out. I got cash in hand for the bales tonight so I guess I am not worried about it.
> 
> I am still not sold on the teff in our climate. I think between the higher humidity and late morning dews (especially in late cuts) it is really tough to get dry. I cant even ted it enough it appears. IDK. I have to say that it does come up thick and I had no issues establishing a stand though. In that respect I loved it.
> 
> ...


I think your neighbor is going to have problems with his bales at 20%. They will probably be 25-30% tomorrow.. Good thing you got the money in hand.


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