Klein Grass, Panicum Coloratum, is a warm season perennial bunchgrass that is planted in the southwestern portion of the United States for hay production and grazing. Klein Grass is a native grass of Africa and was first introduced into the United States in the 1950’s.
Klein Grass is grown primarily as a pasture grass but in recent years it has been farmed to make hay in the Imperial Valley area of California. Klein Grass can grow up to 1 meter tall and is a fine stemmed leafy plant. Klein Grass is palatable and nutritious for cattle. When Klein Grass is grown for hay it is typically harvested at a younger stage of growth. Harvesting at a younger stage helps to produce a fine stem, soft and leafy grass hay that is very palatable and nutritious for many types of animals.
Grading for Klein Grass Hay is based on visual inspection where we evaluate the color, leafiness, texture and purity. BVT has three grades of Klein Grass: Premium, #1, and #2.
|Premium||Bright green color with minimal bleach,leafy and soft texturefree of any other grasses or weeds|
|#1||Good green color with 10% bleach maximum,leafy with good texture and free of any grasses or weeds|
|#2||Fair to good color with up to 25% windrow bleach. Can have a harder texture and small amounts of other grass mix.|