Emergency Forage for Livestock Farms

 

    Many producers will be faced with lower than normal forage supplies this fall. What options still exist for some quality forage this fall? If you have some ground that was not planted to corn and is fallow…

Some research from New York, done by Tom Kilcer suggests that planting oats now can yield some high quality forage in late September. Oats planted at 4 bu/acre (160-170 pounds per acre) on well manured fields may yield up to 4 tons of dry matter per acre by the end of September or early October. They had samples test as high as .74 Nel.

Some tips and warnings…

· Use whole feed oats instead of seed oats to save some money.

· Go heavy on the seeding rate.

· Use a grain drill for planting if possible.

· The forage may be lush and will require some drying before chopping or wrapping for silage.

· Realize that if by some chance we head into a drought, the oats will probably not do as well described above!

Source: August 5, 2009 email from Rick Kersbergen, Extension Professor, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, 207-342-5971  1-800-287-1426 (in Maine) richardk@umext.maine.edu