If you want hay instead of silage, plant sorghum-sudan hybrids, pearl millet or foxtail millet when chinch bugs aren't a problem. A hay crop exceeding one and one-half ton per acre still can be grown if planted soon and rain is timely. Another hay or silage alternative is solid-seeded soybeans. A couple tons of good forage can be grown from taller, full season varieties planted after wheat. Another option would be to plant oats in early August. Yields over two tons are possible if moisture is good, fertility is high, and our hard freeze comes a little late.
If you have good germination and a drill that can handle the kernals, the cheapest option might be to drill bin-run corn for a thick stand.
Definitely consider turnips, as well as oats, for fall pasture planted into wheat stubble in late July or early August. With a few timely rains in August and September, both oats and turnips produce a lot of quality feed in a short time. Turnips also are cheap to plant.
Don't automatically let your wheat ground sit idle the rest of the year, especially if you could use more forage. When moisture is available, considering using one of many forage options.
Bruce Anderson
Extension Forage Specialist
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