Forage Options Following Winter Wheat
If your forage inventories are running low heading into fall and winter, consider seeding forage crops in late summer. These options not only boost forage production but also provide valuable cover crop benefits for your soil.
SOIL FIRST® COVER CROP MIXTURES
- Planting a Soil First® cover crop mix after wheat harvest is a great way to increase wet forage storage heading into winter
- Provides an opportunity to graze livestock in the fall, depending on your needs
- The best Soil First® cover crop mixtures to use after wheat harvest are below.
ANNUAL/ITALIAN RYEGRASS
- Known for high feed quality, palatability, and ease of establishment
- An excellent option for high-quality fermented forage, including baleage or haylage
- With an early wheat harvest there is potential for more than one cut this fall and possibly another in the spring, provided winterkill is not an issue
RYEGRASS-TYPE FESTULOLIUM
- Cross between Meadow Fescue and Italian Ryegrass
- Generally has higher yields, drought tolerance, and better persistence than ryegrass alone
- Excellent emergency forage option and offers short-term yields comparable to Italian ryegrass, with better winter survival and the potential for extended growth into spring
CEREAL CROPS
- Oats, cereal rye and winter triticale are excellent forage options after wheat, offering strong strong yields and high feed quality. Any one of these options will provide high yielding, single cut harvest in the fall.
When seeding forages following wheat, it is important to get the crop seeded as soon as possible after wheat harvest to allow for the greatest amount of growth before frost. Controlling volunteer wheat is also essential to minimize competition with newly seeded forage.