'Texas Sue' making a name for itself in Central Texas hay and grass fields

By JULIET BRISKIN | Central Texas Edition

June 20, 2002 -- Spend an afternoon with Charles Lancaster and it becomes clear that he truly loves his Texas Sue Eastern gammagrass. He was first introduced to this variety of grass when he discovered a native stand on his ranch just outside Lampasas.

From that native stand Lancaster and his wife Sue transplanted three plants to their garden. After a few years the transplanted grass began producing seed. "When the seeds fell on to the ground I just put some dirt on them and they just came up nice and thick," explained Lancaster. "We just kept growing from there."

According to Lancaster it was his wife's hard work in the garden, all done by hand, that inspired him to name their variety after her. "Sue spent many days and hours weeding and working with the Eastern gammagrass," explained Lancaster. "We didn't know what to put on it, what we could use to kill weeds or anything so we just hand did everything; pulled weeds, hoeing and so on."

In the past Lancaster has grown and sold the Texas Sue Eastern gammagrass seed from his property in limited amounts. After running out of room to plant on his property he formed a partnership with Errol Williams of the Little Bear Ranch where they are growing Texas Sue on 67 acres. "In the next couple of weeks we will start to combine the seed, then it needs to be dried," stated Lancaster. "After it is dried it is cleaned and then sent to the seed lab in Giddings. At the lab they determine that it is pure live seed; that is the only way you can sell it."

According to Lancaster various varieties of Eastern gammagrass can be found in almost every county in Texas as long as it has been protected from grazing cattle. "This grass is high producing and the cattle love it," stated Lancaster. "It's called the ice cream of all the grasses."

In addition to its palatability the Texas Sue Eastern gammagrass is extremely hearty. Lancaster explained that the plants he began with 12 years ago are just as healthy today as they were when he began. The grass can withstand drought and has a hollow root system that allows it to survive and prosper in standing water. "This is just an amazing grass," stated Lancaster.

Over the past three years Lancaster, in conjunction with the Texas Cooperative Extension Service, has run tests to determine how much hay can be produced by the grass. "We clipped 30 square feet, five times a year and it produced between 20,000 and 23,000 pounds of dry forage per acre each year," he explained. According to Lancaster the first year is the critical year and preparation is the key to success. The land needs to be prepared six to eight months before planting, which should ideally be done in January. Lancaster and Williams plowed the 67-acre field six different times during the summer and early fall of 2000 in preparation for planting in the winter of 2001. They then applied and disked in 100 pounds of 18-46-0.

Lancaster explained that plowing the land is vital. "You have to get all the competition out of your field," he stated. "Then you need to put Roundup on it. If you do it at the right time you can kill all the winter annuals out then later on I like to put Accent on the field."

Once the Eastern gammagrass is established nothing can compete with it according to Lancaster. "When those plants get to be two or three years old there is no way anything else will survive," he said. "The gammagrass just smothers out the competition."

In April 2001, after planting the 67-acre plot in February 2001 (heavy rains in January postponed the planting), Lancaster and Williams reported plants that were 6-10 inches tall. They cultivated and applied Accent to kill the grasses and weeds that had emerged and in June applied 150 pounds of liquid ammonium nitrate. In October the plants were cut for hay to a height of approximately eight inches. According to Lancaster this initial planting produced 119 large round bales of 12 percent crude protein hay.

Lancaster has high hopes for the future and he and Williams are currently in the process of applying for exclusive rights to the name 'Texas Sue.' For more information on Texas Sue Eastern gammagrass contact Charles Lancaster at 512-556-2085.