Drought and overgrazing have left cattle pasture stands thin and possibly in need of renovation, said University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist Patrick Davis. He urges cattle producers to use summer annuals as a tool to thicken stands or begin the renovation of cool-season perennial pastures.
“Crabgrass, pearl millet and Sudan grass are summer annual grasses that can be seeded now to strengthen the summer grazing rotation,” said Davis. If plans are to renovate cool-season pastures, pearl millet and Sudan grass are good forages to help begin the “spray, smoother, spray” renovation process. These forages provide grazing in the summer months to fill in the cool-season grass slump.