March 9, 2007

Hay is in short supply after last summer's drought and this winter's early snow cover has continued to deplete limited hay supplies. Now is a good time to plan the planting of spring cereal crops that can be grazed, hayed or harvested as silage to replenish feed supplies.

Oats, spring triticale and barley are annual cereals that can be planted from late March to early April to produce forage that can be grazed beginning in mid to late May or harvested for hay or silage in late June or early July. Growth of these cereal crops is rapid in late May and early June, requiring good grazing management and the proper stocking rate to efficiently harvest the forage. Forage peas are a legume that can be mixed in with spring cereals to reduce nitrogen fertilizer needed while maintaining or improving protein levels of the harvested crop.

When selecting a spring cereal, consider varieties selected for forage production. If the crop is going to be harvested as hay, select hooded or awnless varieties of barley The amount of forage spring cereal crops will produce will range from 0.5 to 3 tons of dry matter per acre depending upon growing conditions and soil fertility.

The quality of the forage produced from spring cereals will depend on the stage of maturity at harvest. As maturity increases, quality declines rapidly. The optimum compromise between quality and yield generally occurs shortly after boot to early heading stages. Yield in terms of dry matter produced per acre generally increases 10-20% from the boot to early heading stages. Triticale should be harvested for hay in the boot stage, while oats and barley can be harvested for hay at the milk to soft dough stage and maintain acceptable quality.

With hay in short supply and a tight supply projected for the upcoming year, spring cereals can be a good option to help meet this forage need.

Aaron Berger
Extension Educator
Kimball-Banner Counties, Panhandle REC
Jerry Volesky
Range Specialist
West Central REC