Forage Yield, Nutritive Value, and Elemental Composition of Ten Native Prairie Plant Species

Native prairie plants have the potential to provide nutritious summer forage in grazing systems. Ten native prairie species (five perennial grasses, three legumes, and two forbs) were grown for three years and harvested annually in August to measure the herbage mass, nutritive value, and elemental composition of each species. Black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta L.) yielded the most biomass in 2008 (2.9 tons/acre), but by 2010 native, warm-season grasses and oxeye sunflower [Heliopsis helianthoides (L.) Sweet] were the highest yielding (3.8 tons/acre). While neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentrations of some prairie grasses exceeded 65%, potentially limiting available energy, crude protein levels in all ten species were high enough to maintain nonlactating cows. Concentrations of eleven elements were also adequate for nonlactating cows, with only sodium levels below minimum livestock requirements. Yield, nutritive value, and nutrient analyses suggest that many native prairie plants with minimal management can provide a high quantity of forage with reasonable quality during peak summer months when an abundance of cool-season forage may be lacking.