illinois/midwest people, winter wheat?

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herfn'it_2

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I was wondering if anyone seeds winter wheat for their spring calving cows to graze late fall and through winter? If so, can cows graze the wheat exclusively untill they are turned out to summer pasture around say april 1st? Any advise is appreciated.
 
herfn'it_2":2eqkac65 said:
If so, can cows graze the wheat exclusively untill they are turned out to summer pasture around say april 1st? Any advise is appreciated.
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Probably not, since winter wheat will go dormant with the first killing frost. I have no experience with it in any area except Wyoming, but by mid to late October it had all died back.
 
I drill rye in the fall for early spring grazing. Then tear it up and plant corn.
 
A friend of mine tried it this year here in Central Ill. He usually plants rye in the fall. This year he planted wheat, and was planning to take the cows off and still try to get a wheat crop. He ended up deciding to just graze it then plant corn. I havent asked him how it compared to rye, but the cows look good.
 
Seems to me like I've heard of people grazing the first flush growth of winter wheat in the spring, then pulling the cows and letting the wheat mature without a big hit on the crop. I always figured that the trampling from the cows would play heck with it.
 
I plant Triticale in the fall and graze retained heifers on it through the winter. In the spring I move my cows on it after they calve to flesh them up and give my dormant coastal grass pastures a chance to get ahead of the cows before I move them back. I haven't had any problems that I can see. This has worked for me the last 3 years, but what do I know. I do this part time, not my fulltime job. Or should I say not my day job.
 
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Although wheat goes dormant in the winter, it can be grazed during the fall and winter months. Whether or not it will last depends on how many acres you have and how many cows will be on it. People around here have also grazed turnips, ryegrass, and many others. Keep in mind though that the ground will be muddy at some point and therefore the cows will trample some forage into the ground.
 
I planted 20 acres of winter wheat last fall and was able to graze it once during winter and pulled the cows off after it was down to 4-5". Come late March it really took off and my cows have been grazing since.
 

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