The Cattlemen’s Experiment Collection

Description

Native Forages for Productive Pastures and Resilient Grazing Systems

The Cattlemen’s Experiment Collection is a practical, field-tested bundle for graziers, cattle producers, and land stewards in quantities to do a very small experiment. The collection pairs the trusted book Native Grass Forages for the Eastern U.S. by Patrick Keyser with six native seed packets (each covers 5 sq. ft) chosen for being the work horses of a Diverse Native Grassland.

Patrick Keyser’s book is a go-to resource for understanding how native grasses function in eastern grazing systems. It is grounded in research and on-farm experience. The book explains how native forages perform under grazing, how they fit into livestock and hay operations, and how they improve soil health, drought resilience, and input efficiency. Clear and producer-focused, it bridges the gap between research plots and working pastures.

The included seed packets feature a diverse mix of warm and cool-season native species chosen for their proven forage value:

• Big Bluestem – a cornerstone warm-season grass with high productivity
• Cup Plant – high-protein forage with outstanding wildlife and pollinator benefits
• Eastern Gama Grass – exceptional forage quality and regrowth potential
• Indiangrass – palatable, drought-tolerant, and grazing-adapted
• Switchgrass – deep-rooted, resilient, and adaptable across soils
• Virginia Wild Rye – a cool-season native that fills spring and fall gaps

Together, these species create a balanced grazing system—one that spreads forage production across seasons, improves soil structure, and supports livestock performance without relying on heavy fertilizer or inputs. This is a taste of some of the components of a Diverse Native Grassland.

Whether you’re experimenting with native grasses for the first time or wanting to compare multiple species of Natives on your land, the Cattlemen’s Experiment Collection offers a hands-on way to learn, plant, and observe how native forages perform in real-world cattle operations, on an experimental scale.

Interested in buying the book by itself? CLICK THIS LINK

Interested in our other curated packet collections? CLICK THIS LINK