Grazing Corn ?

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Lucky_P said:

Bin run corn for grazing

Anybody ever had any luck planting bin run corn, for grazing? I've got a few acres, I will burning down with glyphosate in the spring, and disturbing with a disc. What I really want to do on this field is encourage my native crabgrass. I had some pretty decent luck last year doing this. I...
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Bin run seems to be a thing of the past for diary corn grazers. They buy inexpensive BM corn by the pallet out of the NW. I think it is around $70 per bag.
 
RDFF said:
Flying on or high boy applied rye/cover crop seed in late summer corn is getting more and more popular around here... Andy Linder in Faribault County has two Hagie high boys dedicated just to application of cover crop seed. Has great potential I think, biggest issue is not enough sunlight in the narrow rows limiting growth. Cereal rye doesn't do well in "shaded conditions". Annual ryegrass and clovers seem to do the best. Lots of interest with the grazers though in 60 inch rows because that'll give you like 5 times more cover crop growth vs. 30's.

Here's a link to a Youtube vid of Andy. I think he's located at Kiester, but he's travelled quite a ways to do application... tries to get his jobs booked ahead of time, and then get a route to avoid too much road time. (35) Cattle Grazing on Cover Crops in Faribault County, MN - YouTube

I broadcast 70# of cereal rye into all of my beans this year Sept. 1, when I just saw the first signs of leaves starting to turn. Worked great, fields were green as soon as the combine went through. But when you cut the beans, you also cut the rye, right close to the ground. Not enough year and sunlight left to get you to a grazeable yield after that. WAY better than waiting till after harvest to plant though, and with rye, that early start will pay off big time come spring.

Where I'm planning to convert to pasture next year, I put red clover and hairy vetch in that Sept. 1 broadcast too. Then I came back in right behind the combine with the NT drill with another 45# of rye (plus a little more red clover/hairy vetch where I'll pasture). Looked really green and beautiful as we went into winter and snow. I'll frost seed the rest of the pasture mix in spring, with oats as a carrier. I'll be set up great for one or two good grazing passes before June this spring.

Just found this video of Andy and his High Boy seeder too: (35) High Clearance Cover Crop Seeder with Andy Linder - YouTube If you're up in his area, he's a great guy and a wonderful resource.
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Seeding rye on soybean fields by plane is common in South America. Most years are excellent. Winter rye for six months in the winter. It should work well in Southern States like Arkansas. More challenging in TTB north. It works better in soybean than other crops.
 
Stocker Steve said:
Hard core soil builders switch to short season grain crops (silage, small grains...) only to allow time for a second (cover) crop.
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I've gone to shorter season on both corn (95 day) and beans (.8's this year), to get a jump on the covers. Still a target that's out ahead of me... but spreading rye into soybeans Sept. 1 is a keeper.
 
Rydero said:
You said the economics worked good. I'm curious if that's with the wildlife damage or not. I'm in an area where the deer and elk are sure to take some sort of toll.
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No, not with the deer damage. That standing corn was a powerful draw in February when we had snow cover. There is a woods on the farm behind me, wasn't a kernel of corn left within 200 feet of that woods which is why I never tried it again. One thought, if I could reverse the grazing, start at the back and work towards the front, might work. Another factor was how bad the cows tore up that field before it froze up, I've worked hard to build topsoil on this place and watching it wash away was painful.
 
Lucky_P said:

Bin run corn for grazing

Anybody ever had any luck planting bin run corn, for grazing? I've got a few acres, I will burning down with glyphosate in the spring, and disturbing with a disc. What I really want to do on this field is encourage my native crabgrass. I had some pretty decent luck last year doing this. I...
www.cattletoday.com www.cattletoday.com
Click to expand...
Never tried bin run corn, but in my experience sorghum sudangrass will outyield corn on a forage basis and is relatively cheap to plant at 15 lbs per acre.
 
SS does not do so well in the north due to cool nights. Corn will consistently out yield it. U of MN has some multi year data out there comparing corn, SS, and pearl millet. SS is cheaper to plant, so you will want to run some $/lb DM utilized numbers.

A huuuge grazing issue is utilization - - which can range from 20% to 70% due to maturity and deer damage and stalk breakage.

A forage chain that works consistently here is to take one grazing or cutting off, burn down, then planting the warm season (mix), grazing it green dairy style during late August and Sept at about 50 to 70 days after planting, before deer get on it and while stockpiling perennial grasses. I don't think 365 grazing is practical most years in snow country.

For those who like to plant, the forage chain above positions you well for:
seeding rye in late September, or
seeding a grain crop, or reseeding perennials, early the following spring.
 
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rnh2, what's your goal with this? I planted some soybeans in with my corn a few years ago. It grew well, but didn't set seed much... too much shade I expect. It got about 24" tall though, and was a "reasonable" cover crop to help hold back weeds. Don't think it contributed much as far as nitro, at least not noticeable.

I'm of the opinion that for a high N user, highly competitive crop like corn, you need to grow your N credits in the growing season BEFORE the corn... too much competition for light otherwise, and the cover just can't do what it needs to then.
 
Droughts tend to be prolonged... Even if we get rain the subsoil will still be tapped out next year.

Early planted corn has produced the most forage per acre this year. Alfalfa was one and done. SS and millet did not get started soon enough to find moisture.

What am I missing?
 
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Stocker Steve said:
Droughts tend to be prolonged... Even if we get rain the subsoil will still be tapped out next year.

Early planted corn has produced the most forage per acre this year. Alfalfa was one and done. SS and millet did not get started soon enough to find moisture.

What am I missing?
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Triticale/winter cereals. will also make good use of the spring moisture in a case where you get moisture in the fall, followed by another dry year. (Here the last 2 years)

Corn does seem to produce the most forage overall....Input cost per ton of forage produced will tell you if it's worth it.
 
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Rydero said:
Triticale/winter cereals. will also make good use of the spring moisture in a case where you get moisture in the fall, followed by another dry year. (Here the last 2 years)
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I plan to plant more as soon as we get some rain. Either fall oats mix or winter cereals.

Yes, corn is very expensive to grow, and the US crop insurance system encourages it. I think all of the corn here will be chopped in August. Early planted corn is 5-7' and late planted corn is 2 - 3'.
 
Rydero said:
Triticale/winter cereals. will also make good use of the spring moisture in a case where you get moisture in the fall, followed by another dry year. (Here the last 2 years)

Corn does seem to produce the most forage overall....Input cost per ton of forage produced will tell you if it's worth it.
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Most hay per acre I ever made was triticale. Nearly 7 5x6 bales per acre on a 20 acre field of marginal soil. Good Deere 569 baler, good tight bales.

If I were in that drought situation, I'd be planting triticale or cereal rye as soon as the cash crop was off. If it's that dry, it'll sit there until a rain comes to germinate, and every dry day goes by is one day closer to an eventual rain.
 
Stocker Steve said:
Hard core soil builders switch to short season grain crops (silage, small grains...) only to allow time for a second (cover) crop.
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We can plant mid to late group 4 soybeans. I'm trying 3.6 beans this year, planted 4-16 to allow time to get wheat/crimson clover on early to get some fall growth. Using wheat because it was treated that I got for free from the fertilizer plant, they had to get rid of it somewhere.

Got a early application mix of annual rye, radish, and rapeseed on a cornfield next to a pasture for grazing, hopefully. According to Albert Lea seeds, those are the most shade tolerant for early (knee to waist high corn) interseeding. Been a wet year, so hopefully it won't be a waste of money like last year.
 
BFE said:
Most hay per acre I ever made was triticale. Nearly 7 5x6 bales per acre on a 20 acre field of marginal soil. Good Deere 569 baler, good tight bales.

If I were in that drought situation, I'd be planting triticale or cereal rye as soon as the cash crop was off. If it's that dry, it'll sit there until a rain comes to germinate, and every dry day goes by is one day closer to an eventual rain.
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In a normal year we get some fall rain after 8/15...

Do you plant anything with the triticale ?
 
BFE said:
We can plant mid to late group 4 soybeans. I'm trying 3.6 beans this year, planted 4-16 to allow time to get wheat/crimson clover on early to get some fall growth. Using wheat because it was treated that I got for free from the fertilizer plant, they had to get rid of it somewhere.

Got a early application mix of annual rye, radish, and rapeseed on a cornfield next to a pasture for grazing, hopefully. According to Albert Lea seeds, those are the most shade tolerant for early (knee to waist high corn) interseeding. Been a wet year, so hopefully it won't be a waste of money like last year.
Click to expand...
Interseeding can be a little tricky. First year I did it I planted to early and had too many turnips in the mix.

Not a big radish fan but a few are OK in the mix.
 

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