cover crops

[max]

Just wondering if anyone has done multispecies crops for grazing or bale production.

[smcgrath76]

We use a combination of oats/barley/fall rye/winter triticale and this year added vetch. Next year the plan is to add some tillage radish, possibly some forage kale and we are looking at overseeding vetch into corn.
For us, adding the winter cereal into the spring seeded crop greatly improves protein levels and grazing the following spring. Also seems to help reduce crop disease.

[grassfarmer]

We will be growing some next year - not decided on the species yet. A bit of caution is needed when it comes to seed I think as some guys selling the mixes are cashing in on it being the "in thing"
We are looking for something to give a high quality silage or greenfeed crop in July with substantial regrowth for fall grazing.
Grew a sweet clover/italian ryegrass mix this year and it did very well.

[max]

So when do you seed it? I was thinking in the end of may for summer grazing. Also was going to try some winter cereals along with radish and vetch maybe turnip in August after we are done our bale silage. Hoping to use that senerio for fall grazing.

[max]

So when do you seed it? I was thinking in the end of may for summer grazing. Also was going to try some winter cereals along with radish and vetch maybe turnip in August after we are done our bale silage. Hoping to use that senerio for fall grazing.

[max]

So when do you seed it? I was thinking in the end of may for summer grazing. Also was going to try some winter cereals along with radish and vetch maybe turnip in August after we are done our bale silage. Hoping to use that senerio for fall grazing.

[max]

Sorry about the multiple post

[smcgrath76]

We usually seed late June or early July. Corn goes in as early as possible. We are going to try something a little different. Looking at seeding spring cereal mix with vetch in May (Grain farmer seeding time), cutting it in August and then putting in a winter wheat/triticale/Fall rye mix in early September. The next year we would target haying that mix in early July and then July seeding a spring cereal crop for fall grazing. The idea would be that we could take 3 crops every 2 years and compete with corn production for way less cost. If I knew about grain farming a bit more I might try forage peas in every 4th row in the corn planter.

[max]

What kind of grazing days do you get with your corn. Thinking we may try some of that compared to traditional cereal swath grazing. Snow hasn't been a factor the last few years but about 5 years ago our entire field was covered with 3 to 4 feet of snow. didn't get very good utilization of the swaths that year.

[WiltonRanch]

Sean I like your idea. Corn is fine but the cost is up there and consistency of quality is far less than a cereal crop. I wonder if a guy threw in a cocktail of spring cereal, winter cereal, sweet and red clover, and canola. It provides the cereals, legumes, and crucifer and is probably cheaper and more readily available than all these high priced cocktails. Aside from the clovers and canola the cereals can be seeded together with no need to seed after a silage harvest. Done it myself with rye with no troubles. Broadcast the legumes and canola after with the drill. Heck God forbid grab a couple lbs bin run canola for your seed. Tillage radish looks neat but why put those dollars out there when canola can root deep too. I'm cheap just looking for different options.

[perfecho]

Have started baling my swath grazing, but not putting twine on....just in case we get the 3-4 ft of snow.....I can then use a hot wire or just grapple and move into a section of the field. I let them in later to clean up any left behind feed.

[WiltonRanch]

Changing topics here but anyone using a whole buncher and is that guy still building them? Can't seem to find any contact info.

[grassfarmer]

We were trying for that 3 crops in two years Sean - sweetclover to silage first summer, the Italian/clover regrowth for fall grazing, silage the sweetclover in June of the 2nd year followed by seeding millet right away.
I think moisture will usually be the challenge with this though. Then you have seeding costs, hence my use of a biennial so that I only need to seed twice in 2 years versus 3 times. I want to zero till and doing that custom is not cheap!
Seed cost is another factor as WR says and that affects my growing choices.

It is a factor with corn too and maybe what you guys are talking about with the high cost of growing corn? We have seed ordered for next year - open pollinated variety at $27 acre versus RR hybrids at close to $90. Will yield less but at substantially less cost and with higher digestability and hence should be way less wastage. Don't see the point in growing extra tons if its all in the stalks and they have the feed value of dead trees.
At least we are in a real good corn growing area now where yields on hybrid corns should be 250 days/acre. I reckon I could potentially get 200 days/acre at a $100/acre less cost

WR try thewholebuncher.com

[smcgrath76]

GF - a large part of our seeding costs are fertilizer. One downside as well is the need for weed control. Seed cost is right around $85 per acre. Our grain crops are not all that high, depending on the mix. Oats are about $4.50, Barley about $5.50, and fall rye has been around $3.25 an acre for a total cost of 13.25 to as high as $20 when grain prices were soaring. The vetch has added another couple of dollars.
I do like corn for breaking the disease cycle of C3 plants, but have not really seen the fertility benefit or OM benefit many others claim. I guess it depends on your starting point.
This year might be our best corn yet, and we are thinking it should run 200 AUGD or maybe more. Still too expensive per day. The difference here is that some of the grain guys are paying amazingly high rents and it makes the land cost out of reach for gaining more acres (I have heard over $100 and up to $140 an acre rents north of town). So far the cost of corn has been too high per AUGD, but the experiment has taught me lots.