Drought, stressed pastures make for seed shortage

— Last summer’s drought left plenty of bare pastureland and it also is resulting in an anticipated shortage of forage seed.

Arkansas agriculture officials said Monday that cattle producers should make their purchases early of sorghum, sudangrass, millet and crabgrass.

Officials say much of the sorghum, millet, and crabgrass seed is produced in Kansas, Oklahoma, and parts of the Southwest, where drought has been severe the past two years.

As a result, seed production is down.

For Arkansas ranchers who saw their pastures and hay meadows cut down by drought in 2011 and 2012, summer annual forages are good renovation crops to prepare damaged fields for replanting other perennial forages.

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