Research Promising For Sunn Hemp As Forage Crop

Six years of research into sunn hemp at the University of Missouri’s Forage Systems Research Center outside Linneus have yielded promising results for livestock producers. Extension agronomy specialist Valerie Tate…

The research team led by forage physiologist Doctor Harley Naumann found that the plant increases protein intake by 25 percent and cattle gain per acre by 17 percent. As a legume, sunn hemp also fixes significant amounts of nitrogen. Tate says researchers drilled their test plots inside established rotational grazing fields.

MU Extension agronomy specialist Valerie Tate notes that sunn hemp won’t germinate until soil temperature is at least 70 degrees, but can grow up to nine feet. She says because northern Missouri summers don’t last long enough for the plant to seed, it would need to be sown annually.