Are you planning to plant a summer annual grass, maybe in hopes of overcoming drought? Which one will you plant? It can be confusing because there are five different types of summer annual forage grasses; sudangrass, sorghum-sudan hybrids, forage sorghum (which we often call cane or sorgo), foxtail millet, and pearl millet. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. So base your choice primarily on how you plan to use it.

For example, do you want pasture? Then use sudangrass or pearl millet. They are leafy, they regrow rapidly, and they contain less danger from prussic acid poisoning than other annual grasses.

What if you want hay or green chop? Then select sorghum-sudan hybrids or pearl millet because they yield well and they have good feed value when cut two or three times. On sandy soils, though, foxtail millet may be a better choice for a summer hay crop. It dries fast, doesn't regrow after cutting, and it handles dry soils well. Cane hay also is grown in many areas and produces high tonnage, but it is lower in feed value and it dries more slowly after cutting than the hybrids or millets.

Maybe you plan to chop silage. Then choose the forage sorghums, especially hybrids with high grain production. They can't be beat for tonnage or for feed value.

It's not so confusing after all. Simply select the one that is best adapted to the way you plan to use it.