Grazing Annuals

[WiltonRanch]

Did lots of this years ago. Don’t seed the oats too heavy. You need to graze the oats often enough that they don’t start to make stems. You want the oats to carry you till the rye or winter wheat get big enough. Because they won’t make stems easy you can rest the rye/winter wheat longer once the oats starts to fade.

Legumes don’t do much in the mix. Duration is too short to get much establishment or benefit from the rhizobia.

Takes more fertilizer than you think.

It’s a moisture hog, if moisture is at a premium then kill it as soon as you don’t need it any more or next years crop will be poor. This is not perennial pasture, you want to graze this stuff hard and often.

I have clay soil and had too much foot rot problems in wet years and eventually went back to perennial pasture.

Great info.