Small grains for fall and spring forage

The livestock industries in the North Central States have historically depended on perennial legumes as the major source of forage. However, fluctuation in yield associated with winter kill or unfavorable summer growing conditions often requires supplementation with alternative forages. The objective of this research was to determine the potential for fall sown spring and winter grains to be used as a source of fall or spring forage. Small grains were sown alone or in spring-winter grain mixtures in August and harvested in October and, in the case of winter grain treatments, again in the following spring. Field studies were conducted for 3 yr (1992 to 1994) near Arlington and Marshfield, WI, on Piano (fine-silty, mixed, mesic Typic Argiudoll) and Withee (fine-loamy, mixed, frigid; Aquic Glossoboralf) silt loam soils, respectively. Monoculture spring grains (oat, Avena sativa L.; barley, Hordeum vulgare L.; and spring triticale Triticum x Secale) averaged 1.7 tons/acre fall forage yield, which was more than four times greater than the average 0.4 tons/acre fall forage yield of the monoculture winter grains (wheat, Triticum aestivum L.; rye, Secale cereale L.; and triticale, Triticum x Secale). Monoculture oat and barley performed best as a fall forage. Mixtures of spring and winter grains averaged 10 to 20% less fall forage than spring grain treatments. Spring forage yields of either monoculture winter grains or winter grains planted with spring grains were 50 to 70% more than their fall forage yields. Monoculture winter grains, rye or wheat or triticale, averaged 31 to 36% greater spring forage yields than their mixed-planted counterparts. Monoculture winter grains achieved greatest forage yields in the spring. Across all comparisons, total (fall + spring) forage yields reached as high as 4.5 tons/acre. Overall, winter grains combined with a spring grain provided slightly less total forage yield than monoculture winter grains, but they provided this yield in the fall and spring, which may be more useful to a producer. Results of this study provide evidence that small grains can provide a fall and/or spring forage source. Depending on when forage is most needed, a producer could seed oat or barley for maximum fall forage yields, seed winter wheat or rye for maximum spring yields, or seed oat or barley with winter wheat or rye for both fall and spring needs.