Utilizing tillable acres to provide feed for cattle while still harvesting a cash crop is becoming a popular goal for farmers. In the Midwest, the most popular choices are cereal rye, triticale and wheat.
Cereal rye has high forage yield potential. It’s aggressive, and early growth results in consistent tonnage. However, the harvest window for cereal rye is narrow. It matures quickly, resulting in a loss in forage quality, palatability and feed value.
Cereal rye is the easiest to establish under stressful conditions. It is the best option for early spring grazing. Early turnout onto cereal rye can have several advantages. Feeding less hay, spreading less manure, improved calving environment over drylots and allowing permanent pastures to fully establish themselves prior to grazing are all obvious benefits.
The downside to grazing cereal rye is that wet weather can dampen success. Poor field conditions or mismanagement of the grazing animals can result in soil compaction, loss of valuable forage to trampling and potentially delays getting the cash crop in the ground.
Triticale has grown in popularity for those looking to mechanically harvest small grains. Unlike cereal rye, triticale will mature less rapidly, subsequently allowing more time to harvest a high-quality forage. Planting a few more acres can adjust for slightly lower yields when compared to cereal rye. Triticale offers good forage yield with reliable forage quality.
If you get in a spot where an exit strategy is needed, triticale is easy to control. It does not volunteer like cereal rye, thus there are fewer issues as a weed in other crops.
Wheat for spring forage is popular in the southern Plains where a more moderate winter climate allows some growth to continue at the end and start of the year. In the Midwest, where winter wheat goes dormant, the forage yields are poor, the grazing window is short, and grazing often minimizes grain yield.
If harvested at flag leaf stage, feed quality can be good. If harvest is not timely, quality will be poor. Wheat allows an appealing exit strategy, as it can be easily harvested for grain and the straw baled.
Have a conversation with your agronomist. Allelopathy, nutrient tie-up, soil health goals and herbicide residuals are important to discuss. Cover crops can provide a green bridge for plant pathogens and a habitat for pests. Slugs, voles and plant disease may need management in these systems. Monoculture small grains may be the most popular for harvested forage; however, consider cover crop blends including small grains, brassicas, legumes and forbs to garner more benefits than just forage yield from your off-season crop. Consult your local extension specialist for seeding rate and planting dates. Overall, using cover crops for additional forage production is an option to consider to combat short hay supplies.
