Fall and Spring Forage Yield and Quality from Fall-Seeded Cereal Crops
John Gaska and Roger Borges
(Adaptation of a 1997 UWEX Agronomy Advice Bulletin)
Cereal crops such as oats, barley, triticale, wheat, and rye may be a source of emergency fall forage and/or a source of forage the following spring. The choice of which specie to plant depends on the importance or need for forage in the fall as opposed to forage in the spring.
Preliminary studies conducted in 1989 by UW agronomists compared 20 different combinations of spring oats, spring barley, spring triticale, winter triticale, winter wheat, and winter rye and are summarized in Table 1. Winter and spring specie were seeded alone and in combinations. All specie were seeded Aug. 16 at 3.0 bu/acre when seeded alone or at 1.5 bu/acre when seeded in combinations.
Table 1.
Forage yield and quality of small grains planted on Aug 16 at Arlington, WI and harvested in October.
|
Specie
|
Height
|
Fall forage yield
|
CP
|
ADF
|
NDF
|
RFV
|
|
Solo Specie
|
In.
|
t/a
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
|
|
S. oat
|
20
|
1.2
|
10.0
|
23.4
|
44.6
|
148
|
|
S. barley
|
19
|
1.2
|
10.5
|
27.3
|
53.5
|
118
|
|
S. triticale
|
17
|
0.9
|
13.3
|
25.1
|
48.0
|
135
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. wheat
|
10
|
0.6
|
12.7
|
21.2
|
43.1
|
156
|
|
W. rye
|
5
|
0.1
|
15.4
|
15.5
|
33.9
|
211
|
|
W. triticale
|
6
|
0.9
|
14.6
|
17.4
|
37.6
|
186
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Winter+spring
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. rye/S. oat
|
16
|
0.9
|
10.8
|
21.1
|
40.1
|
169
|
|
W. wheat/S. oat
|
16
|
0.9
|
10.4
|
21.3
|
41.0
|
164
|
In 1992 and 1993 these studies were expanded to include 32 different combinations of spring and winter-type cereals. Trials were planted at the Arlington and Marshfield Agricultural Research Stations on 18 Aug. and 19 Aug., 1992 and on 12 Aug. and 13 Aug., 1993, respectively, using seeding rates similar to the 1989 study, except when used in combination each component was seeded at 2.0 bu/acre. In all studies, fall forage was harvested in mid-October following killing frosts, and spring forage was harvested at late boot/early heading for each specie. Tables 2 and 3 summarize fall forage yield and quality, and spring forage yield and quality, respectively of these studies.
Results and Recommendations
Table 2.
Fall forage yield and quality of small grains seeded August 1992 and 1993. Arlington and Marshfield, WI.
|
|
Fall Forage Yield
|
|
|
|
|
Specie
|
Arlington
|
Marshfield
|
CP
|
ADF
|
NDF
|
|
|
t/a
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
|
Solo Specie
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. oat
|
1.6
|
0.6
|
9.4
|
23.4
|
42.9
|
|
S. barley
|
1.4
|
0.7
|
10.8
|
22.5
|
40.8
|
|
S. triticale
|
1.1
|
0.5
|
12.3
|
24.8
|
41.2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. rye
|
0.4
|
0.3
|
18.3
|
17.5
|
32.2
|
|
W. wheat
|
0.6
|
0.4
|
18.6
|
19.0
|
34.3
|
|
W. triticale
|
0.3
|
0.2
|
20.2
|
15.7
|
32.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Winter+spring
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rye+oat
|
1.2
|
0.6
|
13.4
|
22.6
|
40.4
|
|
Rye+barley
|
1.1
|
0.6
|
14.1
|
22.1
|
42.7
|
|
Rye+triticale
|
0.9
|
0.5
|
15.2
|
22.1
|
39.5
|
|
Mean
|
1.1
|
0.6
|
14.2
|
22.3
|
40.9
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wheat+oat
|
1.2
|
0.5
|
13.9
|
22.3
|
40.5
|
|
Wheat+barley
|
1.2
|
0.7
|
14.8
|
22.7
|
41.7
|
|
Wheat+triticale
|
0.8
|
0.5
|
16.7
|
23.3
|
42.0
|
|
Mean
|
1.1
|
0.6
|
15.1
|
22.8
|
41.4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Triticale+oat
|
0.9
|
0.5
|
12.0
|
21.8
|
39.8
|
|
Tritical+barley
|
1.0
|
0.7
|
13.6
|
21.8
|
40.7
|
|
Triticale+triticale
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
15.6
|
21.9
|
39.3
|
|
Mean
|
0.8
|
0.6
|
13.7
|
21.8
|
39.9
|
Which small grain cereal provided the best overall fall forage?
• Spring oat or spring barley produced the highest forage yields in the fall at 0.6 to 1.6 ton/acre depending on location (Table 2). Early maturing varieties like Dane and Webster oat or Chilton barley gave the highest yields. Of the spring-type small grain species, spring triticale had the lowest fall forage yields at both locations.
• Fall forage yields of spring cereals were 3 to 5 times more than that of fall cereals (Table 2).
How will seeding mixtures of spring and winter cereals affect fall yields?
• Seeding mixtures of spring and winter cereals resulted in lower fall forage yields compared to solo-seeded spring cereals, but higher yields than solo-seeded winter cereals (Table 2).
• Early maturing spring cereal varieties like Dane oat or Chilton barley produced higher fall forage yields when seeded with winter rye, wheat or triticale than did later maturing varieties.
How will seeding mixture affect spring and total forage yields?
• Seeding mixtures of spring and winter cereals provided slightly less total forage yield than solo-seeded winter rye or winter wheat, but equal to yields of winter triticale seeded alone (Table 3). This practice provides the advantage of 0.5 to 1.2 t/acre of fall forage plus an additional 1.2 to 2.3 t/acre of spring forage depending on location.
How would a producer maximize total forage yields?
• Winter rye or winter wheat has the highest total forage yield at 2.1 to 3.7 t/acre depending on location (Table 3). Of this 80 to 90% of the total yield is from a spring harvest.
• Winter rye has the advantage of more winter hardiness and earlier harvest in the spring.
• Winter wheat has the advantage of being grown for grain in the spring and marketed as a cash grain (2-year winter wheat grain yield in our study averaged 37 bu/acre at Arlington and 27 bu/acre at Marshfield).
• Seeding a spring cereal with the winter cereal in the fall reduces overall forage yields slightly, but this practice provides the advantage of both a fall and spring forage.
Table 3.
Spring and total (fall+spring) forage yield and quality of small grains seeded August 1992 and 1993. ARLington and MARshfield, WI.
|
|
Spring Forage Yield
|
Total Fall+Spring Forage
|
Arlington
|
|
Specie
|
ARL
|
MAR
|
ARL
|
MAR
|
CP
|
ADF
|
NDF
|
|
|
t/a
|
t/a
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
|
Solo Specie
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. oat
|
--
|
--
|
1.6
|
0.6
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
|
S. barley
|
--
|
--
|
1.4
|
0.7
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
|
S. triticale
|
--
|
--
|
1.1
|
0.5
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. rye
|
3.4
|
1.8
|
3.7
|
2.1
|
10.2
|
38.3
|
66.8
|
|
W. wheat
|
3.1
|
2.0
|
3.7
|
2.4
|
9.5
|
31.1
|
58.4
|
|
W. triticale
|
2.8
|
2.0
|
3.1
|
2.2
|
10.1
|
33.2
|
61.4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Winter+spring
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rye+oat
|
2.3
|
1.2
|
3.5
|
1.8
|
11.5
|
35.9
|
63.4
|
|
Rye+barley
|
2.0
|
1.2
|
3.2
|
1.8
|
12.4
|
35.0
|
62.3
|
|
Rye+triticale
|
2.3
|
1.2
|
3.2
|
1.7
|
11.6
|
36.0
|
63.4
|
|
Mean
|
2.2
|
1.2
|
3.3
|
1.8
|
11.8
|
35.6
|
63.1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wheat+oat
|
1.9
|
1.5
|
3.1
|
2.0
|
9.9
|
30.8
|
58.4
|
|
Wheat+barley
|
1.8
|
1.2
|
3.0
|
1.8
|
10.8
|
30.0
|
57.8
|
|
Wheat+triticale
|
2.3
|
1.5
|
3.1
|
2.0
|
9.7
|
31.9
|
60.0
|
|
Mean
|
2.0
|
1.4
|
3.1
|
2.0
|
10.1
|
30.9
|
58.7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Triticale+oat
|
1.9
|
1.2
|
2.8
|
1.8
|
10.5
|
32.8
|
60.1
|
|
Tritical+barley
|
1.7
|
1.2
|
2.7
|
1.9
|
11.6
|
32.0
|
59.7
|
|
Triticale+triticale
|
2.2
|
1.2
|
2.8
|
1.8
|
9.8
|
33.6
|
62.0
|
|
Mean
|
1.9
|
1.2
|
2.7
|
1.8
|
10.6
|
32.8
|
60.6
|
What quality of forage can producers anticipate from fall-seeded cereals?
• Solo-seeded spring oat, barley, and triticale or when planted in combination with a winter cereal had lower CP, but higher ADF and NDF values than winter cereals seeded alone at the fall harvest (Table 2).
• Crude protein values for winter cereals harvested in the spring ranged from 9.5 to 12.4% (Table 3).
• ADF and NDF values were much higher in the spring forage (Table 3) compared to fall forage (Table 2). Overall, fall forage provided the highest quality forage.
How do small grain cereals compare to others forages?
• Relative feed value or RFV is a unitless number that can be used to compare the forage quality of different forages. Dairy producers with high producing cows often look for alfalfa with a RFV of 124 or greater. Fall forage solo-seeded winter rye, wheat and triticale averaged 215. Solo-seeded oat, barley and triticale for fall forage averaged 26% lower. Mixed-seeded winter and spring cereals averaged 165 for fall forage. The following spring, the solo-seeded winter cereal forages averaged only 95, similar to mixed-planted winter cereal forages.
How will these quality measurements relate to milk yield?
• Solo-seeded winter cereal forage produced more milk per ton of forage than solo-seeded spring cereals, but because solo-seeded spring cereal forage yields were much higher, milk yield per acre was 2-3 times greater for spring cereals, especially for oat and barley.
• Mixed-seeded winter and spring cereal forage produced fall milk yields twice that of solo-seeded winter cereals, but were less than solo-seeded spring cereals.
• Spring milk yield per ton of forage and yield of milk per acre was highest for wheat then triticale, and lowest for rye.
• Mixed-seeded cereals had less spring milk yield per acre than solo-seeded wheat or triticale, but higher yields than rye.
• Comparing the mixed-seeded wheat, rye, or triticale with spring cereals, mixed-seeded winter wheat with either oat, barley or triticale would be expected to yield the highest total milk yield per acre followed by rye and then triticale.
• Overall total milk yield per acre were highest for solo-seeded winter wheat and winter wheat planted with either oat, barley or triticale.
Summary
• To maximize fall forage and milk yield per acre, fall planting a spring oat or spring barley would be recommended.
• To maximize spring forage yield, fall planting a winter rye or winter wheat would be recommended. However, to maximize spring milk yield per acre a winter wheat or winter triticale would be recommended.
• To maximize both fall and spring forage and milk yield per acre, the practice of planting a mixture of an early maturing spring oat or spring barley with winter wheat would be recommended for Wisconsin producers.