Remember that the seed are small and light and will not broadcast farther than 25 feet from most fan-type spreaders. Managed properly, this annual grass can persist as a perennial through natural reseeding. To ensure natural reseeding, livestock should be removed at least 3 weeks before the first killing frost to allow seed to set. The following spring, the ground should be lightly scratched with a disk or harrow in late April or early May to provide adequate soil-seed contact. An application of 40 pounds of nitrogen per acre will speed development of a stand.
Animals perform best on crabgrass pasture if it is grazed rotationally.
This allows the producer to keep the forage in a high-quality, vegetative growth stage. Ideally, it should be grazed before it reaches a height of 8-10 inches and not grazed to less than 3 inches. Beef cattle have gained up to 2.25 pounds per day on good crabgrass pasture and have repeatedly gained 0.2 pound per day more on crabgrass than on bermudagrass. Harvest management Hay curing is difficult with either pearlmillet or sorghum-sudangrass because of large stem size. It is imperative that a mower-conditioner be used to crush the stems to speed drying.