Cutting or grazing below this height will weaken the plant and delay regrowth. Yields of nearly 7 tons per acre have been achieved when harvesting prairie grass for silage. Prairie grass is an ideal grass for grazing systems because of its potential for early spring and fall growth. Its spring growth offers the opportunity for earlier spring grazing and its fall growth can effectively extend the grazing season by as much as two months over traditional cool- season grass species. In addition, since seed heads are palatable, it is not necessary to mow off the seed heads that remain after grazing.
Prairie grass persists better under rotational grazing than continuous grazing management.
It will not withstand overgrazing, especially when it is under stress of excessively wet or dry conditions. The quality of prairie grass is not as strongly affected by time of harvest as other cool-season grasses. When harvested on May 21, Matua had 25 percent greater DDMI than orchardgrass. This difference increased to 35 percent when harvesting one week later. Prairie grass may contain lower levels of trace elements than other grasses.