April 2007 - Volume 68, Issue 4
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Queen of the Kingdom of Callaway
Eastern gamagrass returns to a central Missouri farm.
An extraordinary event is occurring just north of I-70 between Kingdom City and Columbia. An ancient queen is returning to the Kingdom of Callaway. And, true to her noble nature, she’s rewarding those who serve her with health and prosperity.
An ancestor of hybrid field corn, the queen is Eastern gamagrass, a tallgrass prairie species. Before settlement, deep-rooted Eastern gama grew in Missouri’s bottomlands and wet prairies, where it soaked up water and provided habitat for wildlife, especially grassland birds.
When settlers came, they replaced Eastern gamagrass with more familiar Old World crop and forage species. Unfortunately, these aren’t nearly as good as native plants at controlling stormwater, supporting wildlife or feeding livestock during late summer months and periodic drought years.
Today, land managers are rediscovering Eastern gamagrass and its many virtues. Farmers especially appreciate the species’ lush, warmweather productivity and drought-resistant qualities, and some stock growers have even been inspired to call it the queen of forage grasses.
Clifford Borgelt is among Eastern gamagrass’s many devotees.
“In the hot months,” he said, “Eastern gama really puts the pounds on the cattle.”
One June morning, his Eastern gamagrass leaves were thigh-high and the tassel-like seedheads nodded in the cool morning air. Across the lane, his herd of stocker steers was busy cleaning up a paddock of Eastern gama and red clover, Clifford’s favorite forage legume. He planned to turn them into the new paddock the next day.
About This Article
Author
BONNIE CHASTEEN wears many hats in the Department’s Outreach and Education Division. She coordinates communications for the Web site, writes for the Conservationist and edits print publications. When she’s not writing about conservation, she’s cooking, painting or traveling to visit family and friends.
Photographer
CLIFF WHITE is a life-long Missouri resident. After nearly 10 years as a staff photographer for the Missouri Department of Conservation, Cliff recently took on management duties as Art Director. Now he supervises on an unruly gang of super-creative folks. In his spare time Cliff likes to play old-time folk and bluegrass music, float fish and chase the occasional turkey.
