March 16, 2007

With little hay carryover, hay fields thinned by drought and ice, and pastures weakened by several years of drought, growing extra forage this spring might be wise.

I recommend oats for several reasons. It grows during cool spring weather when we are most likely to receive some rain and when soil moisture is used most efficiently to produce forage. Also, risk is low, seed is relatively cheap and it 's versatile.

Oat hay is ideal for young livestock if cut when oats just begin to head out. To increase yield by about one-third and provide an excellent stock for cows, cut oats in the early milk stage. Also, oats in the milk to early dough stage makes excellent silage. If other hay fields yield enough so neither oat hay or silage is needed, you still can cut oats for grain and straw. Oats planted under irrigation can be cut for hay early enough to permit double cropping to soybeans or a summer annual forage crop or even to corn for silage.

To thicken existing hay fields, drill about one to two bushels per acre as soon as possible directly into the existing crop. Drill three to four bushels into new fields for hay. With good soil moisture and 60 to 80 pounds of nitrogen, oats will produce two to three tons of hay for harvest in June.

Bruce Anderson
Extension Forage Specialist