CRP

drill hydralics probably aren't going to be capable with the 45.   also don't get nervous; it takes about 3yrs for the grass to establish.

i planted some switchgrass it took it so many years 3 or 4 befor it came up i had forgot that i planted it.i burn mine every feb. or march. that excites the roots and makes it get thicker . i like it TOM

BTDT

I did 3.5 acres about 15 years ago. Wish I would have never signed back up. I didn't get a "plan" from the local soil and water conservation office till after I signed up for the second 10 years. There were about 7 different gubment agencies involved the first sign-up and every guy had a different Idea of how to do things. It was all turned over to a guy from the DNR and he set up delivery of the drill and came out and "supervised" the planting.
 I had a decent stand the first 5 years, but mulberry trees are a real pain. I have to mow them off every year, even after burning the grass. I had some wild flower seed in with the mix you are planting except I didn't have the large bluestem, only the small. I have large bluestem now as there are patches spreading along the roadway here. I also had a waterway with Reeds Canary grass in it, and that will completely take over the prairie grass just like brome will.
 I just want my 3 acres back so I can play in the dirt once in awhile.

Switchgrass is reputed to die out if cut short during the summer. It comes up later than the spring burning anyway. When mowed for hay its supposed to be left 6" tall. I didn't notice the stubble of the variety I planted being tough on tires. There just wasn't much in the patch for having paid $10 a pound for pure live seed.

Switchgrass seed needs to be soaked and frozen before it will come up. Called stratifying. I tried planting switchgrass once without stratifying, and about the same time tried a germination sample, 100 seed or so between damp paper towels in a zip lock bag. Maybe 10 sprouted with normal seed starting. I tossed the germ sample in the freezer for a month or two (I didn't remember then how long) and when I took it out and warmed it up on a sunny window sill, the rest sprouted. Its like that in the field. Unfortunately, many extension bulletins don't know that and just say it takes several years to come up. I think it was NC extension that said it needed to be frozen and they are right. It also needs to be in the ground early in the spring. Cracking the outer coat helps it soak in water better too. It needs to be barely covered, but late spring and summer that's often dry so it takes years to get soaked enough to sprout.

Spilling seed with a fertilizer spreader makes the seed into good bird feed and disking it to cover probably puts it too deep. Though the hard seed that passes through the bird's crop only scratched but not crushed and then passed through the bird coming out pelletized grows well, like the seed from mulberry and that's how prairie grass seeds of all types get planted in nature.

Programs like CRP and the original CSP seem to be rife with changing targets and occasional lack of funding but when they forget to pay, they don't forget to make you keep to your side of the contract even though it costs you more than they pay to meet their changed rules.

Gerald J.

They have cut the pay in the original CSP program some years, the one was based on watersheds. I couldn't meet their application requirements for annual soil tests or for provable being on the farm for the life of the contract.

Gerald J.

The less you can have to do with the GOV. the better.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

58 is sooooo right!

jiminnd wrote: I think every county in the country has different rules.

The rules are the same from everyone, the difference is local interpretation and resources to inspect and advise land owners. I have had great success with the local NRCS, recived my payments in a timely manner and had pretty good advice on keeping everything going.

SHAMELESS wrote: 58 is sooooo right!

Agreed