1. MANAGEMENT of Forage Sorghum Types on 2011 Drought Acres by Gary Strickland Extension Educator Agriculture/4H/CED Jackson County

3. Production Management Topics Sorghum Types (pluses and minuses) Possible Uses for sorghums on failed Cotton Acres Crop Concerns Utilization with Livestock

4. Forage Sorghum Types Sorgo Sorghums PPS Sorghums BMR Sorghums Multi Purposes

5. Possible Uses for Sorghums on Failed Cotton Acres Cover Crop Haying Grazing Concerns (NO 3 Toxicity and HCN Poisoning)

6. Cover Crop When to terminate this crop Understanding C/N Ratio’s and N-Use (C/N = 60-80:1) Type of Sorghum and ease of decomposition in a dry year

7. Haying What growth stage, time of day, and cutting height is best when haying Quality of Sorghum (depends on harvest time, inputs and harvest time but in general: CP – 12%; TDN – 65%; ADF – 28% Concerns associated with Sorghum’s (NO 3 Toxicity and HCN Poisoning)

8. Grazing When is the best time to turn cattle into a sorghum field from a plant perspective Good hay source Any compaction issues Toxicity Concerns: (NO 3 Toxicity and HCN Poisoning)

9. Nitrate Toxicity The technical answer NO 3 →→ (reduced) to NO 2 NO 2 is absorbed into the blood stream where it oxidizes the ferrous iron (Fe++)in the hemoglobin molecule to ferric iron (Fe+++) which now becomes a methemoglobin molecule Methemoglobin is incapable of transporting oxygen in the blood stream The animal dies from asphyxiation (blood is a chocolate brown color due to lack of O 2 )

10. How NO3 Toxicity Happens Heme GroupMetheme Group Easy Answer – kills the animal by oxygen starvation

11. How HCN Poisoning Works - Technical Electron Transport System Two step enzymatic process Easy Answer – kills the animal by oxygen starvation

12. Plant Management Factors Plant Species and sub-species differ in their accumulation potential of HCN and NO 3 Younger plants have a greater potential for problems than older plants Dryland will generally be worse in accumulation potential than irrigated NO 3 accumulates more in the stems HCN accumulates more in the leaves

13. Plant Management Factors (cont’d.) Imbalance of nitrogen and phosphorus can increase both toxicity issues High rates of N, regardless of P level, can lead to a problem Sun curing of hay can help with HCN but not with NO3 Allow anywhere from 4 – 10 days after a drought ending rain (depends on whether HCN or NO3 is the problem) Be aware of when frost’s happen Myth buster: The wax (white powder) on the sorghum plant means it has problems – not true.

14. Any Questions Now it’s time for our Livestock Specialist