Spring Planted Forages

Amy Timmerman - Extension Educator Author

02/23/2023 Added

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It is hard to start thinking about planting season around the corner with all the snow piled up and calves hitting the cold, muddy ground. But this is the time to start planning and thinking about any spring forages that you may plant to help offset feed needs for next winter.

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[00:00:00.443]This is Amy Timmerman with this weeks Extension Ag Update.
[00:00:04.243]It is hard to start thinking about planting season around the corner
[00:00:07.493]with all the snow piled up and calves hitting the cold, muddy ground.
[00:00:11.457]But this is the time to start planning and thinking about any spring forages
[00:00:15.037]that you may plant to help offset feed needs for next spring.
[00:00:19.037]Spring-planted small grain cereals
[00:00:21.387]are the first things we will consider planting this spring.
[00:00:24.208]These annual forages can be planted when soil temperatures
[00:00:27.298]are in the 42-45 degree Fahrenheit range
[00:00:30.483]which typically occurs late March to early April.
[00:00:33.508]As of February 12th, the weekly average
[00:00:36.113]4-inch temperature of bare soil ranged from
[00:00:38.718]32-35 degree Fahrenheit according to the
[00:00:42.093]Nebraska State Climate Office in this area.
[00:00:45.468]Careful monitoring of your soil temperatures to optimize
[00:00:48.638]germination and overall yield of the crop is critical.
[00:00:51.812]Depending on weather, planting dates can either be pushed up or pushed back.
[00:00:56.454]So please refer to the Nebraska State Climate Office or collect
[00:00:59.614]your own soil temperatures to optimize that planting date.
[00:01:04.046]Oats are the most common cool-season annual foraged planted.
[00:01:07.377]When planting oats as a forage, planting rates of 2 to 3 bushels or
[00:01:12.047]76 to 114 pounds per acre is commonly suggested.
[00:01:16.208]Research data from UNL has shown that planting at rates greater than
[00:01:20.233]25 pounds per acre did not significantly increase total forage yield thus
[00:01:24.897]determining that seeding rate did not influence forage quality.
[00:01:30.017]Spring triticale and spring barley are two other small grain options
[00:01:34.017]that have been found to perform similar to oats in terms of forage yield and quality.
[00:01:40.355]Also days to maturity are very similar to oats.
[00:01:43.464]Seeding rates for spring barley are 2 to 2½ bushels or 96 to 120 pounds per acre.
[00:01:49.654]With Spring triticale at 2 bushel or about 116 pounds per acre.
[00:01:55.039]When determining varieties for small grain cereals make sure if
[00:01:58.379]forage is primary goal that those particular varieties are selected.
[00:02:02.711]These varieties have characteristics very specific regarding plant height,
[00:02:07.314]leaf width, day to maturity and overall forage yield and quality.
[00:02:12.165]Before planting the small grains, check to make sure there isn’t
[00:02:15.841]any potential of herbicide carryover from the previous year.
[00:02:19.841]Some products have a very long residual and the weather
[00:02:23.183]conditions can have major impacts on the longevity of these products.
[00:02:26.713]If there is concern, perform your own soil-bioassay prior to planting.
[00:02:31.107]Collect enough soil to fill a 20 ounce cup.
[00:02:33.907]Plant your small grain of choice and observe.
[00:02:36.717]If the plants emerge without showing signs of herbicide damage such as curling,
[00:02:41.522]yellowing or white blotches most likely there isn’t any
[00:02:44.976]herbicide carry-over to be concerned about.
[00:02:47.330]If your primary goal is to have something for grazing prior to going to pasture,
[00:02:51.260]consider including Italian ryegrass to the small grain cereal to
[00:02:54.890]increase the grazing period.
[00:02:57.070]Italian ryegrass grows well following grazing and will
[00:03:00.060]continue to grow into the summer when supplied with adequate moisture.
[00:03:04.060]An oats-Italian ryegrass mixture, the seeding rate would be about
[00:03:08.000]60 to 80 lbs oats/acre and 15 to 20 lbs ryegrass/acre.
[00:03:14.505]Another option to consider is field peas which have enhanced
[00:03:18.335]forage quality and provide some nitrogen fixation.
[00:03:21.635]Field peas have been shown to grow exceptionally well
[00:03:24.445]in Nebraska and are a great alternative option.
[00:03:27.289]Research from an irrigated trial at North Platte found that a mixture
[00:03:31.378]of 52 pounds/acre oats and 17 pound/acre field peas
[00:03:36.457]resulted in a forage crude protein content of
[00:03:40.547]14% compared to 8% crude protein of oats alone.
[00:03:44.998]In the oat-pea mixture, the peas accounted for 25% of the total forage.
[00:03:50.308]Remember to fertilizer the annual forages to maximize yield potential.
[00:03:55.550]Nitrogen applications should be done according to soil test recommendations.
[00:03:59.550]Generally, nitrogen is the limiting factor for spring planted small grains.
[00:04:03.975]For irrigated fields, 50 to 70 pounds of nitrogen
[00:04:07.575]per acre can be applied at planting or within the first month.
[00:04:11.206]For dryland fields, nitrogen rates can be similar if there is adequate precipitation.
[00:04:16.705]However, make sure to check the soil test to actually
[00:04:19.735]determine how much nitrogen is needs to be applied.
[00:04:23.475]Additional questions about planting early season spring forages,
[00:04:27.525]please contact your local extension office.
[00:04:30.034]This has been Amy Timmerman with Nebraska Extension.

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