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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

Foxtail as a forage

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plumboy

07-16-2006 18:18:27




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Last year I had foxtail come into my alfalfa as a drought came in.This year the alfalfa is growing great(seems inces a day)and the feild is basicaly weed free save foxtail and orchard.Happy to have the orchard but am curious about the foxtail.It shows up well because the alfalfa and orchard are the same green the foxtail is a light green.Most literature I read about foxtail says its a high in protein as long as te seed heads are not present,seems they cause problems.As good as this stuff grows why isnt it used more in the forage industry?Seems to grow great in the heat and drought(my amish neighbor calls it fall grass) and is a member of the barly family.Kyhayman if you read this I would like to know your opinion on this weed,or is it used already.

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kyhayman

07-17-2006 05:58:03




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 Re: Foxtail as a forage in reply to plumboy, 07-16-2006 18:18:27  
I deal with it every year in my straight timothy fields (giant foxtail); and tolerate it (yellow foxtail) as an occassional pasture weed. The yellow foxtail seems to be something the cows avoid.

As far as the giant foxtail goes, I've got two hay customers that love it for round baled horse hay (feed to brood mares in the fall on pasture). These are serious breeders (over a hundred mares each) and they love it.

As far as being a weed, all a weed is, is any plant growing where we dont want it. Foxtail is a warm season annual grass. Anything that applies to warm season grasses regarding nutrition and harvesting applies to foxtail. We consider it a weed mostly because it grows volunteer in our cool season managed fields.

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Dachshund

07-16-2006 19:10:56




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 Re: Foxtail as a forage in reply to plumboy, 07-16-2006 18:18:27  
Depends on what you are feeding it to, and how they like it (and how hungrey they are). My goats love the stuff and other weeds. I don't have much use for "horse hay" so I look for the stuff that has weeds in it. I don't much look for alfalfa, though, either!



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Rich in NY

07-16-2006 18:56:45




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 Re: Foxtail as a forage in reply to plumboy, 07-16-2006 18:18:27  
As my friend's farmer dad used to say "Well it's better than feeding snowballs!" Actually many weeds have good feed value if harvested at the proper stage but if you look closely they provide little yield for the amount of soil resources they take. Then again some are toxic or unpalatable to livestock. I think foxtail is closely related to millet.



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plumboy

07-16-2006 19:07:45




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 Re: Foxtail as a forage in reply to Rich in NY, 07-16-2006 18:56:45  
I think your right it is foxtail millet,not foxtail barley.That exactly what my neighbors around here say when the roll bale weeds.



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edchainsaw

07-16-2006 19:18:06




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 Re: Foxtail as a forage in reply to plumboy, 07-16-2006 19:07:45  
I never thought it a bad hay crop--- just not the best hay crop.. as for the seeds...

I've used screenings from beans (weedy beans) that had Millet (foxtail) seeds almost pure as a cattle feed... they love it... and it will grow in the manure if they dont get anything out of it LOL.... and they do like it as a small plant eaten directly

I know that kinda spreads it but I have yet to see it grow a head in the pasture.

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