A New Option for Dairy, Beef or Sheep Producers
- A fast growing hybrid with fine stems, aggressive tillering and a mass of leaves at harvest.
- Adapted to all geographies where sorghum sudan hybrids or sudangrass are normally grown.
- Can be harvested as pasture, green chop or hay.
- Fine stems facilitate field drying.
- Reduced lignin, improved digestibility and enhanced animal intake for improved animal performance.
- Product Profile and Management Guide.
Animal Performance
- Beef Cattle: Replicated grazing studies document a 20% greater weight gain per animal per day and a 20% greater weight gain per acre for beef cattle grazing HayKing versus Piper sudangrass.
- Sheep: In a controlled feeding study, pelleted HayKing had a 12% higher digestibility than pelleted Piper Sudangrass.
- Dairy: A replicated milk output study documented a 5% increase in feed intake per day and a 12% increase in milk production per day when 18% of the TMR ration was HayKing versus Piper Sudangrass.
- Dairy and Beef Cattle: Grazing trials in Wisconsin, Kentucky, Illinois and Mississippi demonstrated that HayKing with Hi-Gest Technology was preferentially grazed over Piper Sudangrass and BMR sorghum/sudangrass hybrids.
Field Appearance at Harvest Maturity
- A fast-growing hybrid with very fine stems, aggressive tillering and a mass of leaves at harvest maturity.
- Medium, dark green leaves with a characteristic brown midrib. The brown coloring may also express at the stems.
Adaptation and Use
- Adapted to all areas of the US where hybrid sudangrass or hybrid sorghum/sudangrass are normally grown.
- For direct pasture, dried hay, green chop or silage. HayKing’s fine stems may help field dry down in humid production areas.
- Drilled Seeding Rates*:
Management
- Plant after the danger of frost and soil temperatures exceed 65°.
- Apply approximately 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre preplant and 40 to 60 pounds after each harvest to maximize yield.
- Harvest at height of 45-50 inches. Leave 3-6” of stubble to encourage faster recovery and tillering of the next crop. Do not graze until growth exceeds 18”.
- Multiple harvests each season.
- Improved fall disease package over many sudangrass or sorghum/sudangrass hybrids in humid production areas.
- Follow the same feeding precautions as with other forage sorghums to minimize the risk of prussic acid or nitrate poisoning.
HayKing Hybrid Sudangrass contains the brown midrib (BMR) gene that reduces the amount of lignin in the plant making it more digestible. Developed by Cal/West Seeds, the trait is marketed under the Hi-Gest Technology trademark. HayKing, with the Hi-Gest Technology, is the result of 17 years of plant breeding, inbred line development and on-farm evaluation. The result is a hybrid that is more digestible and an important new forage option for beef, dairy, and sheep producers. A true hybrid sudangrass that offers:
- Reduced lignin
- Improved fiber digestibility
- Animal preference and palatability
- Superior animal performance
