Forage Adaptation & Comparison Guide

Crop	Forage	Use	Longevity	Winter Hardiness	Drought	Flooding	Salinity	Preferred Climate and Growing Conditions
	LEGUMES
Legumes	Alfalfa	Hay & Pasture	Long	Good	Good	Low	Low to Moderate	Widely adapted to most Manitoba soils but will not tolerate areas that have periodic flooding.
Legumes	Alsike Clover	Hay & Pasture	Short	Fair	Poor	Moderate	Low	Low-lying moist areas.
Legumes	Birdsfoot Trefoil	Pasture	Long	Good	Moderate	High	Low to Moderate	Moist areas.
Legumes	Cicer Milkvetch	Pasture	Long	Good	Moderate to High	Low	Moderate	Widely adapted but exhibits its habit best on more coarse textured soils.
Legumes	Kura Clover	Pasture	Long	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Unknown	Tolerates low fertility and soil acidity, wet soils and some flooding.
Legumes	Red Clover	Hay & Pasture	Short	Poor	Low	High	Low	Best suited to humid areas with moderate temperatures.
Legumes	Sainfoin	Pasture	Long	Fair	High	Low	Low	Best on brown and dark brown soil areas. In very dry areas it yields poorly. Does well on thin gravelly soils.
Legumes	Sweet Clover	Hay & Pasture	Short to Long	Good	Poor	Low to Moderate	Low	Prefers well drained silt loams to clay soils that have a consistent supply of moisture.
Legumes	White Clover	Hay & Pasture	2-years	Fair	Moderate to High	Low	Moderate	Especially productive on fertile soils.
	TAME GRASSES
Tame Grasses	Altai Wild Ryegrass	Pasture	Long	Excellent	High	Low	Very High	Loam and clay soils best, but grows on a wide range of soils. DoesnÕt appear adapted to Manitoba conditions.
Tame Grasses	Annual (Italian) Ryegrass	Hay & Pasture	Short Annual 1 year	Poor	Low	High	Low	Produces best on soils of medium to high fertility and grows best with adequate moisture.
Tame Grasses	Creeping Foxtail	Pasture	Long	Good	Low	High	Moderate	Adapted to areas where reed canarygrass grows well and soil moisture is continually available.
Tame Grasses	Creeping Red Fescue	Pasture Lawn	Long	Excellent	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Does best in high rainfall areas. Will grow in wide range of soil types.
Tame Grasses	Crested Wheatgrass	Hay & Pasture	Long	Excellent	Moderate to High	Low	Low to Moderate	Adapted to dry areas with good soils but will also establish on lighter soils.
Tame Grasses	Dahurian Wild Ryegrass	Pasture	Short	Good	Moderate	Low	High	Adapted to all soil zones.
Tame Grasses	Intermediate Wheatgrass	Hay & Pasture	Short to Medium	Good	Moderate to High	Low	Low	Well drained soils with ample moisture
Tame Grasses	Kentucky Blue Grass	Pasture Lawn	Long	Excellent	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Prefers cool and humid. Grows on most soils.
Tame Grasses	Meadow Bromegrass	Hay & Pasture	Long	Good	High	Low	Low	Grows well on most soils where Smooth Brome does well.
Tame Grasses	Meadow Fescue	Pasture	Short - Medium	Good	Moderate	High	Low to Moderate	Prefers soil with good moisture and good drainage.
Tame Grasses	Meadow Foxtail	Pasture	Long	Good	Low	High	Low	Prefers cool moist conditions. High water table.
Tame Grasses	Orchard grass	Hay & Pasture	Short	Fair	Moderate	Low to Moderate	Low	Prefers moist conditions. Sandy soils are too dry for good growth unless in high rainfall area.
Tame Grasses	Perennial Ryegrass	Hay & Pasture	Short	Poor	Low	Low	Low	Needs high precipitation and fertility for high yields. Adapted to a wide range of soils.
Tame Grasses	Pubescent Wheatgrass	Hay & Pasture	Medium	Good	Moderate to High	Low	Low to Moderate	Widely adaptable with respect to precipitation, temperature, elevation, and low fertility soil.
Tame Grasses	Russian Wild Ryegrass	Pasture	Long	Excellent	Very High	Low	Very High	Can be grown on a wide range of soils. Most productive on fertile loams.
Tame Grasses	Smooth Bromegrass	Hay & Pasture	Long	Excellent	Moderate	Moderate	Low to Moderate	Well adapted to all soils in Manitoba.
Tame Grasses	Tall Fescue	Pasture	Medium	Good	Moderate	Moderate to High	High	Variety of soils. Does well on wet, poorly drained soils.
Tame Grasses	Tall Wheatgrass	Hay & Pasture	Medium	Excellent	Low	High	High	Adapted to saline and imperfectly drained alkali soils.
Tame Grasses	Timothy	Hay & Pasture	Medium	Good	Low	High	Low	Cool moist areas with good drainage.
	NATIVE GRASSES
Native Grasses	Awned Wheatgrass	Hay & Pasture	Medium	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Low to Moderate	Prefers moderately sandy to loam soils with good moisture and drainage. Found in moist flats, meadows and low growing bushes
Native Grasses	Big Bluestem	Pasture	Long	Good	Low to Moderate	Moderate	Low to Moderate	Grows under a wide range of conditions.
Native Grasses	Green Needlegrass	Pasture	Long	Good	High	Moderate	Low to Moderate	Performs best on medium to heavy textured soils. Prefers moist sites with good drainage.
Native Grasses	Little Bluestem	Pasture	Long	Good	High	Low	Moderate	Sandy, gravelly soils with shallow water table or where snow accumulates. Common on Prairie upland.
Native Grasses	Northern Wheatgrass	Pasture	Long	Good	Very High	Moderate	Moderate	Prefers medium to coarse textured soil.
Native Grasses	Prairie Cord Grass	Hay & Riperian	Long	Good	Low to Moderate	High	Low to Moderate	Wide range of soils (sand to clay) - does best on seasonally dry areas, marsh edges, wet meadows, drainageways.
Native Grasses	Reed Canarygrass	Hay & Pasture	Long	Good	Moderate	Very High	Low	Moist cool climate. Poorly drained areas subject to temporary flooding.
Native Grasses	Side Oats Grama	Hay & Pasture	Long	Good	Moderate to High	Low	Low to Moderate	Adapted to a range of soils. Performs best on fine textured soils. Found on rocky ridges, open grasslands and hillsides.
Native Grasses	Slender Wheatgrass	Hay & Pasture	Medium	Good	Moderate	Moderate	High	Widely adapted - prefers sandy loams.
Native Grasses	Switch grass	Pasture	Medium	Fair	Low	Moderate	Moderate	It has potential for good summer pasture when enough moisture. Grows best on loam and sandy loams.
Native Grasses	Western Wheatgrass	Hay & Pasture	Long	Excellent	High	Moderate to High	High	Widely adapted - prefers heavy moderately aklaline soil. Tolerates periodic flooding.

Source: Manitoba Agriculture – Forage Adaptation & Comparison Guide