Smooth Bromegrass
A cool season, long lived perennial, sod-forming grass that grows 2 to 4 feet tall. Smooth Bromegrass spreads by creeping rhizomes and is one of the most productive nutritious and palatable forage grasses in the north central states. It withstands hot, dry weather and has a long growing season.
Meadow Bromegrass
A cool season, long lived perennial, sod-former with short rhizomes. Adapted to most sites, but performs best on moderately deep, well-drained moist soils. Provides excellent forage and is often used in blends with legumes and other grasses because of its ability to survive but not compete with them.
Crested Wheatgrass
Crested Wheatgrass is an extremely hardy, drought tolerant, long-lived, perennial bunch grass. It makes excellent early pasture and is dormant during hot summer months, greens up with fall moisture.
Nordan Crested Wheatgrass
Excellent seeding vigor. Rapid first year growths, leafy, uniform. Seed is plump and heavy for easier seeding.
Hycrest Crested Wheatgrass
Hycrest Crested Wheatgrass offers improved forage and yield over its parent species. It has excellent seedling vigor and is easier to establish than either of it’s parents. It is very drought tolerant, establishes well on dry sites, and thrives in sagebrush communities.
Does well on shallow to deep, coarse to fine textures, moderately well to well drained soils. It is not adapted to excessively saline areas
Fairway Crested Wheatgrass
Fine stemmed and leafy. Tillers more than standard crested. Also shorter, more uniform than Nordan. Adapted for turf use in drier areas.
Timothy
Timothy is valuable in pasture mixtures but is not suited for permanent pasture except in combination with grasses and legumes. It is an ideal grass to plant with alsike clover. Timothy is adapted to a considerable range of soil reactions but is adversely affected by high acid to about the same degree as corn. As compared to clover or alfalfa hay, timothy is relatively low in protein and also in minerals, especially calcium or lime. Timothy is a cool season short-lived perennial bunch grass, is tall and late maturing.
Orchardgrass
A cool season, tall, perennial bunchgrass. For best results it should be mixed with other grasses and legumes. It is sometimes used for hay purposes, but is preferred for pastures when seeded in a mixture because of its early and late growth in the season. It seems to adapt itself to most types of soil, but does better in heavy rich soil. Although not as winter hardy as bromegrass it will stand more heat, drought and low fertility, and will make more summer growth.
Meadow Fescue
Meadow Fescue is a hardy, fairly tall, short-lived perennial bunchgrass. It is slow in starting but yields well after the first year. Meadow Fescue is especially adapted to heavy wet soils and is generally used as a pasture crop, either alone or in mixtures with legumes. It makes good pasture because it is early, stays green late into the fall, and also makes good quality hay, especially when mixed with Ladino or Alsike Clover.
Tall Fescue
A cool season, productive, soil conserving, perennial bunchgrass that tolerates wet poorly drained soils. Good palatability for both pasture and hay, it is important to use endophyte-free strains when used for forage.
Reed Canarygrass
Reed Canarygrass is a tall, coarse, bigious, long-lived perennial bunchgrass that grows to a height of 2 to 8 feet. It spreads by short scaly underground rhizomes that form a heavy sod in well-managed solid seedings. It is adapted for permanent pastures on poorly drained, wet areas. Reed Canarygrass is very tolerant to flooding, even for several weeks' duration. It can be used for pasture, hay or silage. Hay quality may be improved by early spring pasturing to delay maturity, thus reducing the coarseness of the growth. Although this grass grows best on moist, cool sites, it makes excellent growth on upland soils. One of the earliest grasses to begin growth in the spring, it produces large yields of nutritious forage. Reed Canarygrass is an excellent waterway grass because of its tolerance to water logged situations and should be considered a first choice under these conditions.
Western Wheatgrass (20%)
It is a native, cool season, long-lived perennial, sod-forming grass that reproduces by underground rhizomes. Under good conditions, western wheatgrass produces an abundance of early season nutritious forage. This is readily eaten by livestock until late summer when it becomes harsh and fibrous. Western wheatgrass performs well under a wide range of soil types, from sandy to clayey, and is very tolerant to higher soil salinity.
Big Bluestem (20%)
Big blue is a warm season, perennial bunch grass that grows to a height of 3 to 8 feet. It has roots that permeate the top two feet of soil. Big Bluestem is adapted to moist, deep, well-drained soils. Big Bluestem is very palatable and nutritious although, if continuously grazed closer than 6 to 8 inches, will be replaced by less desirable grasses. It also works well in pure stands and is used extensively for nesting habitat, and reclamation projects.
Green Needlegrass (15%)
Green needle is a cool season, perennial bunch type grass that grows from 1 1/2 to 3 feet tall. It is a native grass that grows on medium to fine textured soils. Green Needlegrass starts growth early in the spring, and is nutritious, palatable, and remains green throughout the year. Stand establishment may be slow because of high dormant seed percentage.
Indiangrass (15%)
Indian is a warm season grass that spreads by seed and short rhizomes. It grows to a height of 3 to 6 feet and will grow on sandy soil, it is better adapted to moist well-drained bottomlands. Indiangrass exhibits moderate salt tolerance and will withstand occasional flooding. It makes good quality hay, and is found primarily in the tall grass prairie, and mixed-grass prairie. Primary use is in wildlife habitat and native range and pasture mixtures.
Sideoats Grama (10%)
Side Oats Grama is a warm season, erect native perennial grass that grows in tufts and open bunches to a height of 1 to 2 feet tall. It is more tolerant to drought than Indiangrass or Big Bluestem. It grows fast in late spring and early summer and stays green late into the summer. Side Oats Grama has good forage value and is grazed mostly in late summer and fall. It is found primarily on poorly developed shallow soiled, steep slopes, and ridgetops. Primary use is in grass mixtures for rangeland seeding and its excellent seedling vigor allows rapid establishment.
Little Bluestem (10%)
A warm season, leafy perennial grass that grows to a height of 1 to 4 feet. It can be grazed and has good forage value when the leaves are tender. It does not cure well and has moderate palatability for fall or winter grazing. Recommended in a mixture of warm season grasses for erosion control or summer pasture.
Blue Grama (5%)
A warm season short tufted perennial of the mixed grass prairie that is widely distributed on medium to heavy soils throughout the Dakotas and Minnesota. It has high drought tolerance on all soil types. Primarily used in rangeland seed mixes, low maintenance turf areas and roadsides.
Slender Wheatgrass (5%)
It is a short-lived, cool season perennial bunchgrass primarily used in seed mixtures due to its excellent seedling vigor, ease of establishment and fast growth. Established plants lose vigor and decline in abundance within 3 to 4 years. Slender wheatgrass improves stand productivity, especially in the first year, allowing other grasses to become better established. Its high tolerance to saline soils makes it a great addition to this mix.
Recommended usage: Designed for people who want a native pasture, ‘Old time native prairie’, ‘natural’ looking field. A relatively expensive mixture that takes 2-3 years to get well established, due to the high percentage of warm season grasses which are slower to establish.
