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| After a dismal run last year with oat hay, I decided to hold off and wait for a warm season planting of Teff in hopes the market will look better. I have experience with some smaller seeds in a Brillion but I KNOW Teff is small. I have considered broadcast planting and packing after to hopefully cover and pack but....
The Brillion we have now is only 6ft, we use for fescue yard planting. I am curious if there are other drills I can shop for with similar performance? Why does Brillion have a corner on this market?
Anyway, I can probably rent one but I am hoping to find a decent one cheap enough that I can justify just owning.
As well, I am curious what variety might be preferred in KS and what I "might" be able to expect for annual tonnage?
My plan involves scratching the ground cover with a cultivator, then either broadcasting and rolling, or running the drill on that which has packing wheels. I know a firm seed bed is important so I did not want to disc but I sort of have a wild mess in this field right now. I might need to go over it a couple times.
EDIT: please excuse my use of the word "drill". I realize a Brillion is technically a seeder though it would be great if I could tune one to plant medium grains as well. Probably not realistic though.
Edited by fastline1 4/2/2014 23:54
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| I've planted teff the last few years and work the ground up well, firm it with a crowsfoot packer, then spread the seed with a spinner seeder on the back of a 4 wheeler and run the crowsfoot over it again twice. I set the seeder very light and just keep driving over the area in several different directions until the proper amount of seed is used. Probably not the ideal planting method but thats the equipment I have available. |
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NC Iowa | The most important thing is to have the seedbed firm BEFORE spreading the teff.
I planted an entire field of it last year. The best establishment came from under tractor tires and where the spreader drove.
Picture is of where I had to stop packing the field before it was spread. I was in a hurry to get it done since another rain was on the way. It all eventually came in, but it was one rain event. The angle going to the right is where I drove to the field driveway, the V in the middle wasn't packed before.
 behind. |
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| In my research anyway, as finicky as Teff seems, harvesting is still more forgivable than Alfalfa and price for Teff in the hay markets is typically that of Alfalfa. I have never hayed Alfalfa but I understand leaf loss is a serious concern and my equipment is not the newest and fastest. Honestly just can't afford to buy better for what hay sells for!!! Catch 22, making me wonder why I waste the time.
I have a 4x5 round baler. Not sure how much market there is for Alfalfa. I will be doing some reshaping and such of the ground in the next 1-2yrs so I did not want to plant a long term product and tear it up I guess.
I also had thoughts to double and maybe triple crop with oat hay. Spring oats can come out in June, plant to Teff, cultivate the Teff in Sept and plant back to oats and harvest just before serious winter hits. Might be a little optimistic there!
What do you recommend to prep the seed bed for Teff? Cult, THEN cultipack? |
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| I don't particularly like to grow teff, it looks like a field of crabgrass, and I've found it hard to dry but some of my customers want grass hay for their horses and I haven't been able to keep orchardgrass alive the last few years. Teff will also grow on wetter ground not suitable for alfalfa. I plant it exactly like I plant alfalfa. I've grown it with irrigation but I didn't see a real yield advantage. I've planted it double crop after wheat harvest but that's a bit late and you lose a cutting. I usually grow it in some of my dry corners and always follow it with wheat. The teff might not be completely dead at wheat planting time but the cool nights have drastically slowed its growth down so you aren't loosing much by terminating it before frost. As far as drying it seems to feel dryer than it actually is and it's such a fine stem I don't think it cures out once in a bale like alfalfa or orchardgrass does. I routinely use a hay preservative to prevent heating and dusty hay. If everyone liked alfalfa or I could grow orchardgrass I much prefer these crops but teff fits a niche for me. |
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NC Iowa | 
fastline1 - 4/3/2014 What do you recommend to prep the seed bed for Teff? Cult, THEN cultipack?
I would cultivate, cultipack, (Optional-roll if you can find one or have someone do it reasonable), spread on top, cultipack and hope for some nice rains.
I would order uncoated seed, it's 1/2 the price of coated, and just increase the rate a little. I sprayed mine with 2,4-D about a month after establishment. First cutting was very fine with no seed heads, if I would have small square baled it would have been worth good money. Second cutting was late so I shaved the ground as close as I could. First cutting was 1 ton/acre, and the second was 2 ton/acre, I thought it would have been reversed, it's tough to judge quantity.
I planted it as I only needed forage for one year, and wanted to return ground to corn and soybeans. I didn't plant mine until July 5th.
Edited by mafrif 4/3/2014 12:45
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NE Iowa | How would teff do for use for an "off" year in alfalfa, to allow autotoxicity to pass and reseed alfalfa. I have 8 acres of alfalfa at my acreage about 7 miles from main farm, that I wouldn't mind just keeping in continuous hay vs dragging planter and combine over for 8 acres split by a creek, so very irregular shaped. I don't know anyone around here who has teff but I definitely have enough horse people allready buying my grass hay that I think I could sell it well. also how warm does it need to be for seeding teff? |
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| Thanks a bunch for the info guys!!
In talking with a few local Teff seedmen and growers, it sounds like I might be best to cultipack or otherwise roll what is there and semi prep, broadcast, then roll again and forgo the cultivation as any agitation of the soil will hurt the firm seedbed target? Obviously this depends on the cover that is on it now. I was going to get a pic and load it here for review. I had mostly weed growth last summer that was never cleaned up. I realize I might get some weed in it but seems like anything I do will not be ideal due to lack of working it for a year.
The local guy said he always just broadcasts over what is there and let mother nature take over but I think the cultipacker could help tear up the trash in there, and pack the new seed in.
Is there any concern with fert contact on the seed? I know some grains don't like it.
Also, cannot find UNCOATED seed anywhere. Is that stuff around?
Edited by fastline1 4/3/2014 14:03
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NC Iowa | IMO that is the perfect example how teff should be used. I would wait till late may/early June to seed, soil needs to be around 60 and climbing. If it has enough moisture it will take any heat you give it. Should be able to get 3 cuttings easily, maybe a late fourth if the fall is nice. |
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| My wife bought our daughter a mini horse and the vet says they need Teft grass. Never heard of it before then. The only problem is the only one that carries it that I know of is our competitor.
Our typical hay crops that we grow are primarily Alfalfa and then on some of the poorer usually rented ground we will plant Oats, Beardless wheat, or Sudan grass.
Anyhow so I take it you only get one season out of a planting of teft yet it takes all of the groundwork of alfalfa planting? If this is true I can see why most people either spend the money and plant Dairy Alfalfa, or go with the orchard grass mixes for horse hay around here.
I take it teft grass is smaller than alfalfa seed? If it is I might pull all of my Deere 33 vegetable planters out of the barn and plant 1 acre as a test plot and see how it does on different row spacing's.
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| Well, there are areas that are a little worse than I thought. Not much of it is over 12" tall but lodged pretty good. Not much will come up without a little prep work.
Going back to my grass growing roots, I want to go to what is called a "pulverizer" which is basically a steel drum with short teeth that shred only the top layer. We use then to prep seed beds for grass seeding. I am wondering if someone has other thoughts or ideas to scratch this crap out without going NUTS with discing and such? I don't think a cultivator is the right weapon. I need to grab the stuff and rip it up and let the KS wind do the job on this one.
Soil temp tested at 56*F at 4" with overcast and rain.
There are some areas that are greening up but mostly grassy weeds, NOT broadleaf. I will email full size pics to anyone that wants to zoom in and ID some of the grasses. I think a lot is crab, There is some pigweed in there. Thystle but not too much. Not sure what grassy weed is greening in April though. I bet in a few weeks she will be looking pretty green though.
Edited by fastline1 4/3/2014 16:47
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East Central North Dakota | I am looking at sourcing some teff. Please contact me. [email protected] |
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Planting Teff, 1st time. Economical drill and hope
