Single Species Seed

Buckwheat is a fast establishing broadleaf that works great as a warm season cover crop. Buckwheat is also known for being a phosphorus scavenger. Which means it can take up more phosphorus efficiently than other plants. Being a short season plant around 45-60 days, it can still produce viable seed throughout the growing season. In a situation where the one plant is grazed it can drop a seed down to take that previous plant's spot to help prevent weeds. This plant while dropping and producing these seeds can also flower making it a great species for pollinators.

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Purple top turnips have been a staple grazing brassica for many years and are commonly used in late summer planted grazing mixes, often with a cool season cereal. Turnip bulbs are storehouses of nutrition and energy and are very valuable to winter grazers.

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Safflower is a drought tolerant, annual, warm season broadleaf that can be seeded in cool soils. Safflower is exceptional at breaking hard pans, encouraging water and air movement into the soil profile, as well as scavenging nutrients from depths unavailable to most agronomic crops. It is capable of doing this due to its impressive taproot which has been observed to grow 8-10 feet in ideal conditions. Safflower provides excellent forage for grazing but most varieties become prickly with maturity, rendering the plants unpalatable for livestock. Baldy safflower is one of the world's first spineless safflower varieties and has been developed specifically for grazing and cover crops. Baldy can be handled with bare hands even at maturity and is palatable for livestock grazing. Green Cover Seed owns the exclusive marketing rights for Baldy spineless safflower.

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Flax can be utilized in many small grain and corn rotations as a potential cover crop or fiber/oil crop. Compared to other common crops, overall nutrient demand is lower and very little nitrogen is needed. Vegetative growth normally requires 50 days before flowering occurs but after this flowering can last 2-4 weeks. Flax can be utilized as a green manure if terminated early enough but take caution if attempting to cut too late as lignin/cellulose content increase with maturity and would hamper decomposition. Nearly 95% of the water flax extracts from the soil is in the top 2-3 feet because of its shallow root structure. Water use is considered moderate with respect to other field crops, but flax uses about 3-4 inches less than soybeans. This is primarily due to the fact that the leaves of flax are generally numerous but leaf area is limited and thus ET is lower. As mentioned before, this species is an excellent companion crop next to other species in an early season mixture. Flax is generally a self-pollinated crop but pollinating insects are attracted to the various blue/purple colors of the flowers. Because flax is a broadleaf species, most diseases associated with it will not transfer over and cause infection to corn, soybeans, or wheat with the exception of powdery mildew and rhizoctonia after legumes.

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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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Proso millet is one of the most drought tolerant and cost effective annual grasses. It is the shortest growing millet though it grows taller in the northern plains than it might in the central or southern plains. Heading out in less than 60 days, this is a great plant for game bird mixes.

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Sesame is a warm season broadleaf that is normally grown for the oil content of the seed. It is one of the oldest cultivated plants and has been grown by people for over 4,000 years. Sesame loves hot weather and can grow with very limited water as well as being fairly tolerant of low pH soils. Sesame can grow 5-6 tall and will put on bell-shaped, white and purple flowers late in the season which makes it a great addition to a full season pollinator mix. Sesame has little to no forage value as livestock will not graze it, but it can still be a good addition to a grazing mix so there is some taller standing structure after the cattle have grazed the paddock.

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White wonder foxtail millet is used primarily for hay production. The stem is not as fine as Golden German Millet but it will get taller in height, approximately three feet, given adequate moisture. Expect to cut hay in approximately 50-55 days after planting. Windrow when heads begin emerging from the boot. Foxtail millet is also a great addition to summer grazing or wildlife mixes. 

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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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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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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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