Single Species Seed

Impact forage collards are a cross between Georgia Southern collards and another leafy brassica and are one of the best grazing brassicas on the market. The large, smooth leaves are very palatable and our testing shows that these collards have the highest protein content in the brassica family. Collards can withstand some of the widest ranges of weather, from hot and dry in the summer, and surviving temperature down to the low single digits in the winter.

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Spring peas are one of the fastest growing spring legumes. Planted in spring after the harshest winter cold has passed, spring peas will tolerate some light freezing. Peas are commonly planted with oats as a high quality spring feed either for hay or grazing or even a green manure.

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Mung beans are a warm-season legume known for their remarkable heat tolerance and drought resistance. They exhibit rapid growth, maturing in just 65 days. One advantage of mung beans over cowpeas is that their seed pods remain intact, unlike cowpeas, making them an excellent source of late-fall protein for grazing livestock or wildlife. However, it's important to note that mung beans are highly susceptible to cold weather and require a minimum of 60 frost-free days to ensure successful growth. They can be used for both hay production and grazing and are compatible with peanut inoculant. Mung beans typically reach a height of around 3 feet and have a low to medium water usage. Their strengths lie in nitrogen fixation, forage production, and hay production.

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Kentucky Pride is an improved variety of crimson clover selected for more cold tolerance and more production (taller, deeper roots, more basal leaves and more tillering) than varieties like Dixie. Kentucky Pride crimson clover is a very fast establishing clover.

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Sugar beets, a versatile broadleaf cover crop, bring a formidable combination of deep-rooted prowess and frost resistance to your agricultural arsenal. Their robust taproots can penetrate stubborn hardpans, with the majority of root growth hidden beneath the surface. These beets are not only sweet in content but also a preferred choice for both wildlife and cattle grazing. When grazed early, they display remarkable regrowth potential.

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African cabbage, a robust and rapidly growing brassica, thrives in a variety of warm season mixes, which makes it an intriguing option for interseeding into corn mixes. What sets it apart is its unique ability to stand tall and keep its leaves even in the face of cold weather, making it an exceptional choice for a snow-catching cover crop. Its enduring residue and strong root system enable captured snow to seep into the soil, enriching the moisture content in your land.

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Common vetch, is a valuable cover crop widely used in the industry. As a leguminous plant, it provides nitrogen fixation, improving soil fertility. Common vetch's extensive root system prevents erosion and helps control weeds, making it a natural choice for sustainable farming. It enhances soil quality by adding organic matter, supports crop rotation systems, and provides early-season ground cover. Additionally, it can serve as a habitat for wildlife and, in some cases, offer forage for livestock. Common vetch's cold tolerance makes it suitable for various climates, but it is not nearly as cold tolerant as that of Hairy vetch.

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Berseem clover produces a non-bloating, high quality forage, that's more palatable than alfalfa. Berseem forage has been observed to maintain a CP content of 28-30% throughout harvesting regiments, which is slightly higher than crimson clover or alfalfa. Berseem clover has low water requirements and can provide strong biomass recovery after being mowed. A rapidly, consistent stand can be achieved because germination can occur in just 7 days and minimal hard seed counts. This clover produces flowers which are self-sterile so reseeding is not a concern. These flowers do provide a great pollen source, which is highly sought after by honeybees. Berseem can be controlled easily with glyphosate or when planted in colder regions will winterkill. With good shade tolerance, this species can be utilized for interseeding into crop systems or forage mixtures.

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Vivant Hybrid Brassica excels as a rapidly flourishing leafy brassica with minimal bulb formation, making it an ideal choice for multiple grazing cycles. It has been carefully selected for late bolting and remarkable regrowth after a graze, offering exceptional feed quality and digestibility. This not only enhances animal performance but also significantly boosts producer profits. Vivant can be conveniently planted alongside cereal grains or annual ryegrass in the spring or late summer to provide excellent tonnage and high-quality forage, further maximizing your feed production.

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As the most heat tolerant of the cool season legumes, chickpeas offer a versatility that can be used in both warm and cool season mixes. Though not a great biomass producer, chickpeas are very drought tolerant and can help cover the ground in the midst of a summer drought. This taprooted plant can be used with grasses to add diversity and help break up compaction. As a legume, chickpeas will also fix nitrogen into the soil.

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Sainfoin produces most of its growth in the spring, with little production in summer or fall. It has beautiful pink clusters of flowers and is an excellent honey plant. In areas where alfalfa makes two cuttings or fewer, sainfoin will exceed alfalfa in production. In warmer areas its yield is much less than alfalfa. Newer varieties such as Shoshone are much better than older ones at yield, regrowth and persistence. Can be used as bloat prevention in alfalfa fields. Used extensively in the Northern Plains in place of alfalfa. It does not tolerate heavy grazing very well.

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Sweet Six Dry Stalk BMR is designed for use in haying or silage situations in non-arid environments. The stalk will shatter when harvested, helping to speed the dry down process. The BMR trait contributes to a highly digestible forage option for livestock.

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Barley has relatively low water usage compared to other cover crop species, especially during earlier growth stages. Under poor fertility conditions, barley would be a good choice and can help render P & K available for your next crop. Barley provides a good feed quality grain that can be harvested 2-3 weeks earlier than wheat which then allows your double crop/cover to be planted sooner.

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Berseem clover is a Mediterranean type that is salt tolerant, nitrogen fixing, and does well on light textured, sandy soils. Compared to other varieties of berseem clover, Frosty is later maturing, more cold tolerant, more productive, and has greater nutritional value. Frosty berseem clover can be overseeded into thinning stands of alfalfa as it looks very similar (before it blooms white) and it has excellent regrowth after cutting. For more information on Frosty berseem clover visit https://frostyclover.com.

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Alsike clover is a perennial that thrives in low lying ground. For pastures or meadows with poor drainage and occasional water logging, this would be the first clover to try. Growing 2-4 feet tall with pink flowers, this adds a pollinator attracting and nitrogen fixing species to perennial pasture mixes. It should be considered that alsike clover can be toxic to horses.

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Endurance aphid tolerant BMR dwarf sorghum sudan is bred for short stature and high digestibility. Don't mistake shorter stature for less biomass, though. The dwarf trait simply shortens the length in between the leaves, called the internode length, while still growing the same number of leaves. The shorter plant makes it easier for livestock to graze and utilize efficiently.

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What is usually known as a salad green, arugula can also be used in cover crop mixes. Arugula is a dense, low growing brassica other than its white flower when it bolts. The bitter taste and smell of arugula is an indication that the glucosinolates give it a natural biofumigant use similar to mustards. Arugula is a very long season plant and if spring planted will stay green late into the fall.

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Chicory is a deep rooted forb that goes great in many perennial pasture mixes. Because of its ability to reach many minerals in the soil, this is a highly nutritious grazing plant especially before it blooms with blue flowers. Chicory has natural deworming abilities adding to its benefits in perennial grazing systems where it should be seeded at a low rate for cattle but can be increased for sheep or other small ruminants.

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Woollypod vetch has the potential to grow faster and earlier than hairy vetch. This vetch has been observed to produce more biomass than many other vetches and fixation of N could even start within a week of emergence. When allowed to overwinter, the extra growth aids in smothering out weed competition and protecting the soil. Woollypod vetch excretes root exudates that can reduce the growth of small grasses. Positive yield responses in corn have been documented when planted after Woollypod vetch and there is no known hazards of increasing insect pest issues.

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Pearl millet is among the best grazing or haying millet varieties. Exceed BMR Pearl Millet also offers the BMR trait allowing the animal to better digest the plant for optimal nutritional efficiency to the animal. Pearl millet is very adaptable to its growing environment with great tillering allowing for more forage and better ground coverage with less seed.

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Spring oats are an excellent choice for quick ground cover in the spring or fall. Rapid growth aids in stabilizing disturbed or bare soil from environmental conditions. Spring oats make a great addition to any spring grazing or forage mix providing ample tonnage for your livestock. Oats can be easily chemically terminated and fall plantings commonly winterkill. Residue from oats suppress winter annuals and protect the soil throughout the winter and will decompose rapidly in the spring. Allelopathic chemicals released by the decomposing residue suppress weed germination for a few weeks. The high quality oat forage is more palatable than rye or wheat. Also, oat is less prone to insect problems than either wheat or barley. 

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Meadow brome is a bunchgrass resembling smooth brome but behaving more like orchard grass, only with more drought tolerance. Like orchard grass, it has good regrowth and is one of the better grasses for stockpiling in winter, though it is still distinctly inferior to fescue for that purpose.

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Small burnet is a deep-rooted forb that offers good grazing year round. This well establishing perennial can compete well with existing perennial stands. A great addition to perennial stand in more dry and arid environments.

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White Clover is an excellent choice for a perennial clover. The Stamina variety was developed to be more heat and drought tolerant than most other white clovers. Being a legume this plant can cause bloat, but rarely when it is in a mix with grasses. White clover is also a great choice for areas that have saturated soils.

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Birdsfoot Trefoil is a long lived perennial legume. This plant contains high levels of tannins, making it an excellent addition to pastures for grazing as there is no bloat risk that is common with other pasture legumes. The tannins also help neutralize the impact of grazing endophyte infected fescue. Birdsfoot Trefoil is not as productive when compared to alfalfa and is most commonly used in mixtures with other plants.

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Scout 66 Forage Wheat is a hard, red winter wheat with excellent forage quality and yield. This variety also has good winter hardiness. Scout 66 is a great option for dryland forage production during the fall, winter, and spring months.

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Tetramag intermediate ryegrass offers high forage tonnage with great feed value. This variety offers great tolerance. Use a stand alone grazing or haying forage or utilize in addition with alfalfa or clover to offer a diverse feed for livestock. Planting can be done with a drill or broadcast as long as good seed to soil contact is achieved.

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Cattle Cover offers game-changing combination of agronomics and yield. High digestibility, great palatability, and strong disease package for overall good producibility. First-in-class sugarcane aphid tolerance. Agronomics and maturity makes it a strong hybrid for hay production and grazing.  Being a male sterile it can be used where you do not want the possibility of volunteering.    

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Annual ryegrass stands out as a captivating and remarkable grass within the realm of cover crops. It offers a plethora of advantages, including winter grazing, impressive yields, and an often underrated impact on breaking through compacted soils. Notably, tetraploid ryegrass boasts rapid establishment, extended and broader leaves, but that comes with a reduced cold tolerance when compared to its diploid annual ryegrass.

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Extending the grazing season while protecting and building the soil is a great benefit of this species. The biomass N content can range from 1.3-2.4% and varies depending on the amount of residual N left from the previous crop. Reports of annual ryegrass having the potential to scavenge up to 200 lbs of residual N/A/yr have been recorded. Ryegrass can be very successfully broadcast into established row crops. Winter killed ryegrass can still provide weed suppression, soil protection and trap residual N until spring. Ryegrass attracts very few pest insects that could pester the next crop. With lower needed seeding rates per acre means you will spend less of freight an your applicator can remain in the drill or in the air longer. I like the deep roots of annual ryegrass but when considering it for more northern area, it must be established prior to hard freezing in order to have the best chance of winter survival. keith@greencoverseed.com

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Smooth brome is a productive, cool season grass with good drought tolerance. It has decent palatability though it is best grazed in a vegetative state. Smooth bromegrass is very aggressive, establishing quickly for a perennial and spreads through rhizomes, making a dense sod. This means it is great for waterways and holding soil on slopes but it can also dominate and even choke out other perennial species. For that reason, it should be used sparingly in pasture mixes, relying on other species which are more palatable and offer better regrowth, but using smooth brome to fill in.

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Intermediate wheatgrass is probably the most productive of the western grasses, relatively equal to orchard grass, tall fescue, or smooth brome in yield potential, with much more drought tolerance. It is a strong bunchgrass and tends to lose quality upon maturity. 

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Climax Timothy grass has excellent palatability while vegetative. It is an excellent species to use for hay, especially for horses. Though many varieties lack drought, heat, and grazing tolerance, Climax timothy is an improved variety and can be added to any cool season pasture. 

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SugarCrest Festulolium is a perennial ryegrass crossed with meadow fescue. This grass exhibits superior forage quality, winter-hardiness, drought tolerance, and excellent seedling vigor. This is a great option for anyone looking for a high yielding, high quality forage. Learn more about SugarCrest Festulolium here. 

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