POTOSI, Mo. – Missouri is coming off consecutive years of severe droughts and depleted cool-season pastures.

As drought lingers, so do old practices that worsen its impact, says Rachel Hopkins, University of Missouri Extension agricultural business specialist.

She likens it to an oft-quoted definition of insanity – “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” – to the mindset of some long-term fescue growers.

Back-to-back drought forces forage growers to break old habits. Continuously reseeding with cool-season introduced grasses creates a financial heartache when the next drought arrives, says Hopkins.

She lists several things to consider when thinking through a switch to native warm-season grasses:

Establishment and competition

The biggest obstacles in switching from cool-season grasses to native warm-season grasses include establishment and competition.

Buying seed can be expensive, but various organizations offer programs to relieve this cost burden to make it cost competitive.

Control competition from weeds and fescue when native warm-season grasses are seedlings. Once mature, natives handle the competition well. However, continuous overgrazing will weaken the stand.

Best of both worlds

Another approach is to use fescue and natives together. Initial findings on this method at the MU Wurdack Extension and Education Center have been promising, Hopkins says. An upcoming research trial will further examine planting natives and fescue together.

Use MU planning tool to estimate costs

The biggest cost in making the switch to natives lies in the establishment says Hopkins. Use MU Extension’s Native Warm-Season Grass Planning Tool (Excel file) to predict this.

The MU planning tool evaluated establishment of big bluestem, Indiangrass and switchgrass during the dormant period for grazing.

In Year 1, existing forage was sprayed and killed out in the fall. The Year 1 cost showed a loss of $133.14 per acre. This included $82.90 in fertility applications, $10.24 in herbicide, $23 in custom hire and labor, $4.50 in interest and an ownership cost of $12.50.

In Year 2, establishment takes place during the dormant season, and no grazing should occur this year. The goal is to keep competition to a minimum. The cost for this year is a $510.11 loss per acre. This includes $370 in seed, $4.88 in herbicide, $69 in custom hire, $17.20 in interest and $50 in ownership costs. Seed cost accounts for 72% of this, but there are organizations and programs that cover much of this cost. Depending on the program, there may also be funds for drilling and spraying.

In Year 3, there is an opportunity to lightly graze. “Just keep in mind that the stand is still growing and establishing the root system,” says Hopkins. In the MU example, there is income of $8.50 an acre: $58.50 in grazing revenue and an ownership charge of $50. In Year 4, you have an income of $86.50 per acre: $136.50 in grazing revenue and an ownership charge of $50.

For this grazing scenario, the payback period would be 4.81 years if using Missouri Department of Conservation cost-share. Without cost-share, the payback period increases to 7.44 years.

During a grazing trial at the University of Tennessee, researchers saw other benefits. The average daily gain for weaned steers was 1.65 pounds for switchgrass and 2.21 pounds for big bluestem/Indiangrass. This compares to approximately 0.8 pounds average daily gain for cattle grazing fescue during the same time.

Hopkins says producers should ask themselves what the chances are of another drought and how much the operation would save by availability of native warm-season grass pastures to graze during these payback periods.

Download MU Extension’s free “Native Warm-Season Grass Planning Budget” at https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g672, or contact your local MU Extension agronomist or agricultural business specialist.