Smooth bromegrass is an earlier, more aggresive grass than timothy. Better drought tolerance results in more regrowth in second cut. It spreads by rhizomes, and the stand can thicken over time. Smooth bromegrass is palatable and tends to retain its nutritional value with increasing maturity better than most grasses. Its major drawback tends to be its large fluffy seed, whch makes it difficult to seed through the small seed box of drills. It does not estabglish well if it is either surface seeded or seeded deeper than 5 cm.

Meadow bromegrass is useful as a pasture species because of its early spring growth and faster recovery rates after grazing. It is best used in rotational grazing.