Declining groundwater supplies are among the most pressing issues facing the dairy industry today. The water needed for forage production represents the great majority of total water use on most dairy farms, posing a major challenge in the pursuit of improved drought resilience. The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of variety and cutting date on the nutritive values and digestibility of teff grass (Eragrostis tef), a warm-season annual grass native to Ethiopia that is well adapted to drought conditions. Eighty pots were blocked by location in a greenhouse and randomly assigned to 4 teff varieties (Tiffany, Moxie, Corvallis, and Dessie) and to 5 cutting dates (40, 45, 50, 55, or 60 d after planting [DAP]). Harvested samples were dried, weighed, and analyzed for CP, NDF, and 24 h in vitro NDF digestibility (IVNDFD). It was found that seed variety had no effect (P > 0.10) on dry matter (DM) yield, CP, NDF, or IVNDFD. Yield of DM increased linearly (P < 0.001) from 4.1 to 26.4 ± 0.45 g/pot as harvest date increased from 40 to 60 DAP. Similarly, NDF concentration increased linearly (P < 0.001) from 51.7 to 63.5 ± 0.81% of DM with increasing harvest date. Concentration of CP decreased linearly (P < 0.001) from 28.7 to 11.2 ± 0.49% of DM and IVNDFD decreased linearly (P < 0.001) from 60.8 to 41.2 ± 1.0% as harvest date increased from 40 to 60 DAP. To assess carryover effects of cutting date on nutritive values, 2 additional cuttings were taken from each pot. It was found that increasing the first-cutting harvest date from 40 to 60 DAP decreased (P < 0.001) CP concentration in both the second and third cuttings. Additionally, increasing DAP reduced (P < 0.001) DM yield in the subsequent cuttings. Across all seed varieties and harvest dates, concentration of CP decreased (P < 0.001) and concentration of NDF increased (P < 0.001) linearly with each additional cutting. Results indicate that, under greenhouse conditions, the first cutting of teff grass should be taken between 40 and 50 DAP to optimize forage quality and digestibility in that cutting and any additional cuttings.