I'm having a hard time finding information on Coastal hay yields per acre. Specifically, I need the following information on both irrigated and non-irrigated pastures:
1. yields per acre per cutting
2. number of cuttings per year
3. yields per acre annually (if I can find the above two types of information, I can easily calculate this last one)

Two days of internet searching has left me more confused than previously. Can anyone direct me to that information? I realize yields are dependent on so many factors ~ rainfall, amount of fertilization, etc. But aren't there atleast any basic guesstimates anywhere?

I have approximately 30 acres of former cotton fields in Central Texas that I am planning on sprigging, organically fertilizing (hopefully) and irrigating (also hopefully). It is beautiful sandy loam, terraced for crop production since it's on a slight slope, and previously had coastal on half of it (I'm hoping some of that is still there after thirty years of neglect). I have a hand dug well at the northern edge of the pastures (18 feet deep with 8 feet of water in it) and two spring fed creeks that run on the northern and western edges of the property. There are numerous 500+-year-old cypress trees along those creeks that say they won't go dry any time soon. I hope to put some of that water to good use via irrigation.

Before I spend a massive chunk of money on an irrigation system ($15K on just the wheeled irrigation machine alone), I'd like to know about how long it'll take me to recoup the investment for the system. In order to do this, I need figures on yields per cutting since I would be able to get more cuttings if I irrigate. Yields per year of both irrigated and non-irrigated pasture would also work just fine for me.

Thank you in advance.

Linda - I too have searched the internet looking for this kind of information but there are simply too many variables to give you any kind of number that would make sense. If I were in your shoes, I would go to the nearest County Extension agent and see if you can get any useful information out of him/her on what grass grows the best for your particular needs and for your particular soil. Another option is simply to drive around your property, within about a 5 mile radius, and see what others are growing for grass. Then look up that grass on the net and learn what you can about growing it. If it's Tifton 85 bermuda you want then Dr. Redmon has a step by step method of getting it established on his website http://forages.tamu.edu/PDF/Tifton%2085.pdf What will it produce? Flip a coin. But, many say IF you manage it properly, getting 6 large round bales (or convert the rounds to squares)per acre is very possible. . Another option is to get the grass growing via rainfall, see how things go and then based on production, decide on investing in an irrigation system.

Thanks for the information, Mike! I think I should have explained my plans a bit more, but didn't want my opening post to be extremely long. I definitely plan to irrigate (tired of dealing with repercussions of drought and I've got the water, so why not, know what I mean?), but how big of a system to get right away is the question I'm trying to answer for myself. I have two choices. One ~ going ahead and getting the big, $15K machine and big pumping system I'll need once I have *all* my pastures in hay production (this would allow me to sprig the eastern half next spring). Two ~ irrigating only the western half (that's mostly cleared already and good amount of mixed grass present) with a smaller $8K machine and smaller pumping system, go slower with my sprigging plans and then have to upgrade my machine and system in a couple or three years. Knowing even a ballpark figure on how much more yield I can expect with irrigation would be a tremendous help in making that decision.

I've already picked out my grass though ~ have firmly settled on Coastal. The extra yields from Tifton sounded good at first, but what with having thicker stems, especially if you don't bale it at *just* the right time, I figured I'd pass ~ don't want to mess with the increased chance of colic in my horses and it's no fun sweating out whether my hay man can get it baled at peak time, then doing that again six weeks later, and again... The vast majority of people around here grow Coastal. There are two smallish fields of Haygrazer, but I'd really rather have a perennial grass. So Coastal is the best for me.

I'd also kicked around the idea of getting the Coastal growing good first THEN irrigating, as you mentioned. I decided against that one mainly because the past few years without enough moisture my pastures were toast ~ they just don't produce enough to give me much standing hay at all, much less keep my animals fed during the warm months at the stocking rate I had (I've reduced the stocking rate due to the drought of course and hate having to do that every time there's a drought). If I prepared a seed bed, then sprigged and didn't get the rain, I'd be in a heckuva fix ~ much worse situation than I am now. And with sprigs going for fifty bucks a bushel, that's a scary thought.

But if I irrigate and don't sprig anything, I'll at least get *something* since there is some grass out there. Regardless, I definitely plan to cross fence better for rotational grazing, shred, fert, aerate, etc., so what's there now will atleast spread and be healthy.

It sounds like your serious about this! Coastal is a good choice too. If moisure is a persistant problem, go with the big irrigation system now. The cost of that same system a few years down the road will cost more just due to inflation. You could start land preparation now, setup your irrigation system, fertilize and then sprig in September.
I would still follow the same planting instructions by Dr.Redmon and just substitute Coastal. With growing season irrigation, you could easily have enough hay to sell to pay for the system over time given the rising hay prices.

Shop around for those sprigs. $50 a bushel sounds almost like a scam when you can buy Jiggs for $4 a bushel. Talk to people in your area that have Coastal. Where did they buy it? Find someone with A Bermuda King planter to rent or rent their services. A fella out of Damon will plant Jiggs for $90 an acre and that includes the Jiggs sprigs.