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Silage sorghum irrigation

By Dr. Brent Bean, United Sorghum Checkoff Program agronomy Director

Silage production plays a critical role in the feedyard and dairy feed supply. Over the last few years there has been a steady increase in the acres planted to silage sorghum on the High Plains. The driving force behind this increase is the decrease in available irrigation water, along with increased daily temperatures and inconsistent rainfall. The amount of water required by silage sorghum will be dependent on the climatic conditions present that drive water demand (evapotranspiration) and the length of maturity of the hybrid.

The maturity length of the silage sorghum is critical in determining total water used during its growing season. The number of days it takes hybrids to reach harvest can vary by 20 days or more. In the 2022, Texas A&M AgriLife Bushland Forage Sorghum Silage Trial, 76 hybrids were compared ranging from 106 to 126 days to harvest. Using a conservative 0.25 inches of daily water use, this equals a difference of 5 inches of water used by the hybrids!

Earlier maturing hybrids do sacrifice some yield, but not as much as might be expected. In the 2022 trial, hybrids that were harvested after 106 days, yielded an average of 26.1 ton per acre compared to the hybrids harvested after 126 days that yielded 30.6 ton per acre of silage.

One of silage sorghum’s strengths is its ability to withstand an extended period of drought. This was evident during the drought of 2022 when, in late July, there were fields of silage sorghum in the Texas Panhandle that appeared almost dead but fortunately, rainfall began to occur and by midSeptember the sorghum had made a remarkable recovery.

An often asked question is how much water is needed to produce one ton of silage sorghum? Although more research is needed to answer this question under different environments, a good rule of thumb is to expect one ton of silage (65% moisture) for every inch of water available to the sorghum. When irrigation water is limited and must be rationed, it is better to stress the sorghum late in the season rather than during establishment or midseason when it is rapidly growing and adding biomass.

Considering the increasing concerns about water scarcity, sorghum silage is a favorable option for regions with limited water resources.

USDA announced investment

CONTINUED FROM PAGE C10 gives producers the tools and support to help integrate wildlife habitat and wildlife-friendly practices into the agricultural landscape,” said FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux. “We’re excited to partner with our sister agency and offer CRP’s signup options as part of this broader, strategic effort to support long-term wildlife conservation.”

“Working Lands for Wildlife is living proof that we can do better work when we work with our partners,” said NRCS Chief Terry Cosby. “Partnerships have been the building blocks of success over the years, and we look forward to our continued work with partners to help grow and shape voluntary conservation on private lands.”

About USDA’s Working Lands for Wildlife needs a generator. $17,500

WLFW is USDA’s premier approach for conserving American working lands to benefit people, wildlife and rural communities. While NRCS and FSA work every day at all levels to assist producers, states, tribes and other conservation partners with their conservation priorities, WLFW steps in to facilitate their work on cross-cutting, national priorities that can only be addressed through coordination at an ecosystem scale.

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Maintainer service crane, 6000 lb $6000 (11) 20-ton 24-ft. tilt bed trailers $7500 - $12,500 1999 Haulin 31-ft. flatbed (expands to 34-ft.), telescopic hitch and air brakes. Good for round bales $10,000

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Established in 2010, WLFW has teamed up with leading scientists and conservation partners as well as more than 8,400 producers to conserve or restore nearly 12 million acres of working lands, with tremendous benefits. WLFW has helped many sensitive species in their recovery, including the greater sage-grouse in the West, New England cottontail in the Northeast, golden-winged warbler in Appalachia and gopher tortoise in the Southeast. In large part because of the voluntary conservation efforts on private lands though WLFW, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has in some cases determined that species listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was no longer warranted thanks to recoveries made possible by these WLFW efforts.

Through WLFW, NRCS also partners with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to provide participants with regulatory predictability under ESA. Similar to an insurance policy, predictability provides participating landowners with peace of mind that no matter the future legal status of a species, they can keep their working lands working with an approved conservation plan in place.