Forages & Pastures

Forages & Pastures

Improving forage quality, yield and longevity!

Get the most out of your pastures

Improved Forage Quality

Seed genetics focused on yield and nutrition, our pasture mixes ensure you get more forage per acre, maximizing your harvest and reducing feed costs.

Contact an Agronomist

Keep Your Pastures Weed Free

Our agronomy services include expert weed management strategies, ensuring your pastures remain free from invasive species and undesirable plants.

Better Forage Means Healthier Cattle

Nutrient-Rich Forage

Our seed mixes are carefully selected to include high-nutrient grasses and legumes, ensuring your livestock receive optimal nutrition for health and productivity.

A Seed Mix For Every Need

Not All Seeds Are The Same

Seed mixes selected for superior nutritional content, promoting healthier livestock and horses

Expert Agronomist Support

Custom Tailored Solutions

Our dedicated team of agronomists is available to provide tailored advice and recommendations, guiding you to make the best choices for your pastures.

At The Mill, we take great pride in providing our customers with high-quality forage and pasture seed mixes. Our team of agronomists is dedicated to helping you achieve success with your pastures, leading to improved hay production and livestock performance.

We are excited to carry varieties of orchard grass, festulolium, ryegrass, bluegrass, and several clovers with a focus is on finding seed genetics that increase forage quality, yield, and longevity. We stock multiple pasture mixes, each designed to withstand the grazing pressure of horses and livestock throughout the year.

Many of these species and varieties are sourced from DLF, the largest seed company in the world. With our commitment to providing high-quality seed mixes and expert advice, you can trust The Mill to meet your forage and pasture needs

Pasture Mixes

40% Fojtan Festulolium
30% Inavale Orchardgrass
25% Hostyn Festulolium
5% Balin Kentucky Bluegrass

The Supreme Pasture Mix combines our toughest and highest yielding Festulolium, Fojtan, with a terrific early spring Festulolium, Hostyn, and Inavale Orchardgrass. Balin Kentucky Bluegrass is added to aid in the improvement of sod quality and help with reducing weed pressure. Your livestock will have three super species of highly palatable grass to choose from when grazing.

40% Inavale Orchardgrass
40% Olathe Orchardgrass
15% Hostyn Festulolium
5% Balin Kentucky Bluegrass

Orchardgrass is a terrific source of high-quality forage. This mix combines an early maturing, high-yielding orchardgrass called Olathe and a mid-maturing orchardgrass called Inavale with excellent persistence and vigor. Hostyn Festulolium provides for fast establishment and will produce lots of early spring/fall high-quality forage. The Kentucky Bluegrass forage variety named Balin, helps to improve sod quality which will reduce weed pressure and is a great source of palatable forage.

75% Fojtan Festulolium
20% Hostyn Festulolium
  5% Balin Kentucky Bluegrass

Duragraze is a combination of two Festulolium varieties. Fojtan is a durable grass that is able to withstand the toughest environmental conditions. Fojtan will handle hot dry summers and continue to produce grass for grazing. Research from various University forage trials prove that Fojtan is a proven performer of high yielding high quality forage. The Hostyn Festulolium is in the mix to provide for early spring and early fall growth, and helps with fast establishment. The Balin Kentucky Bluegrass is added for the improvement of sod quality which helps to reduce weed pressure.

Orchardgrasses

A very late maturing, fine leaved, long lasting orchardgrass. Makes terrific and very palatable hay.

A late maturing, fine leaved, long lasting orchardgrass. Makes terrific and highly palatable hay.

An earlier Maturing orchardgrass that is long lasting. Matures 5 to 6 days before Echelon and Inavale.

Tall Fescue and Other Varieties

Festulolium is the name for a hybrid forage grass developed by crossing Meadow Fescue or Tall Fescue with perennial ryegrass or Italian ryegrass. This enables combining the best properties of the two types of grass. The fescues contribute qualities such as high dry matter yield, resistance to cold, drought tolerance and persistence, while ryegrass is characterized by rapid establishment, good spring growth, terrific digestibility, sugar content and palatability. The individual festulolium varieties contain various combinations of these qualities, but all are higher yielding than their parent lines. DLF has developed a substantial breeding program in hybrid festulolium that has produced a unique range of hybrid festulolium varieties. One can regard them as high yielding fescues with improved forage quality or as high yielding, more persistent ryegrasses.

  • Fojtan – high yielding, persistency of tall fescue with the quality of ryegrass
  • Hostyn – high yielding, early spring/fall forage, quick establishment

Tall fescues are high yielding and the most persistent of all grass forages, tall fescues are drought tolerant, heat resistant, and insect tolerant. Tall fescue is not as palatable as other forages and it is necessary to plant varieties that will not cause fescue toxicosis.

  • Martin II Protek – as all tall fescues, Martin II Protek is high yielding with a high level of persistency. The difference between Martin II Protek and other tall fescues is that it possesses a non-toxic novel endophyte.
  • Brustus – durable high yielding endophyte free tall fescue. Brustus will not have the persistency of Martin II Protek.

Martin 2 Protek®

  • Combines genetics of Martin 2 forage tall fescue with the enhancement of the Protek® endophyte.
    – Martin 2 is an early-medium forage tall fescue selected for the transition zone
    – Protek® is a novel endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum) that does not produce detectable levels of harmful ergot alkaloids such as the toxin ergovaline
  • Tall fescue plants inoculated with Protek® endophyte show increased forage productivity compared to the non-inoculated plants of the same variety
  • Protek® endophyte will defend the inoculated tall fescue plants against insects feeding on the tillers and leaves, resulting in reduced stress from insect damage

Kentucky Bluegrass produces high quality, highly palatable forage and a tightly meshed sod that reduces weed competition. Kentucky Bluegrass does not produce the yield of festulolium, tall fescue and orchardgrass and goes into a summer dormancy.

Balin Kentucky Bluegrass – broadly adapted, good seedling vigor.

Zenyatta – Zenyatta is a top yielding variety of timothy. Maturity is earlier than Climax and similar to Clair yet will outyield both varieties. In the high value horse hay market, Zenyatta outpaces the competition. Zenyatta’s consistent dark green color, minimal brown leaf problems, good standability and long seed head contributes a high visual score. Excellent regrowth facilitates a profitable second cut.

Winnetou – Is an intermediate maturing timothy that can be grazed and still maintain a suitable ground cover. Winnetou will produce high quality forage of acceptable yields.

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Super T Intermediate Ryegrass

Zoro Italian Ryegrass

Chuck Wagon Forage Annual Ryegrass

Clair Timothy – early maturing

Climax Timothy – late maturing

Winnetou Timothy – grazing variety

Chieftain Reed Canarygrass

Persister Smooth Bromegrass

Jumbo II White Clover – improved Ladino type

Ladino Clover

Medium Red Clover

Ruby Red Clover

Crimson Clover

January - April
May - July
August - October

January - April

  • January Preparation: Plan and prepare for the upcoming season by considering your grazing strategy, assessing potential weed issues, and planning necessary pasture renovations.
  • February Considerations: Monitor weather and soil conditions. If conditions allow, consider frost seeding legumes or other forage species to improve pasture quality.
  • March and April Soil Sampling: Take a soil sample to understand soil fertility and pH levels. From there, make informed decisions on fertilizer applications and other pasture management practices. Additional nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium may be needed for healthy forage growth.

May - July

  • May: Monitor grass height and grazing intensity to prevent overgrazing. Consider rotational grazing for maximum forage utilization. Focus on weed control through mowing or clipping to prevent seeding and manage weeds for easier control later in the season.
  • June: Watch for increased pest pressure, such as flies and ticks, and implement control measures if necessary.
  • July: Assess early-season weed control efforts. Make necessary adjustments to ensure productive pastures throughout the season.

August - October

  • Fall Herbicide Application: Apply selective herbicides to target hard-to-control weeds, taking advantage of their active growth and susceptibility.
  • Fall Fertilizer: Consider fall fertilizer applications to strengthen existing grass and promote new growth. This prepares your pastures for winter by adding essential nutrients like phosphorus, potash, and nitrogen, ensuring a faster green-up in the spring.
  • Overseeding: If pastures are relatively weed-free and looking bare, consider overseeding to rejuvenate pastures and maintain productivity. Always check labels of herbicide applications before overseeding.

Drone Pasture Overseeding

Our drone overseeding service offers a solution for when fields are too wet to access with traditional equipment or when time is limited. We apply a coating of slow-release fertilizer to the seed, making it heavier and stick better for improved seed-to-soil contact. This innovative approach ensures efficient seeding and promotes healthy growth!

Take advantage of other Mill services!

The Mill also has fertilizer, weed control, lime and more available for your pasture or hay field. Remember, late summer and early fall are the perfect time to renovate pastures and plant forage producing crops. If you are not sure where to start, set up a free consultation with one of our agronomists. For information about these services or any of our products please stop in one of our 7 locations or contact us at 800-993-3300.