Rye grass justification ?

[arkcowman]

I have 10 black angus cows on about 54 acres. I have a
seperate side pasture of about 4-6 acres. I was thinking
of putting some rye grass on the side pasture to get the
cows some grass earlier while waiting on the bermuda to
kick in when its hot.

Is this worth my time, effort and money ? Some here say
that its an unneccessary waste and I'm just spoiling the
girls.

 

[MikeC]

I have 10 black angus cows on about 54 acres. I have a
seperate side pasture of about 4-6 acres. I was thinking
of putting some rye grass on the side pasture to get the
cows some grass earlier while waiting on the bermuda to
kick in when its hot.

Is this worth my time, effort and money ? Some here say
that its an unneccessary waste and I'm just spoiling the
girls.

If you have the equipment and time, why not?

Spoiling your girls is not necessarily a bad thing if it helps them with weaning gain and milk production.

I have found that it doesn't pay if it's not fertilized properly and/or grazed properly.

 

[houstoncutter]

This is a subject that i have wrestled with in the past.... In my area we usually always have enough moisture, sometimes too much as well... If its too wet you cant let graze, and you cant apply anymore fertilizer... I uesd to plant a prepared seedbed or at least drag a disk to cut the sod before I planted. Many times I have had a good planting and the weather just didnt work for me....
The change that I have made and it seems more cost effective is this. I seed and fertilize with a low nitrogen my pastures that will be used. Then I mow these pastures , this puts a cover over the seed and the fertilizer. Very seldom will I get any grazing before January, but I always get a good stand for late winter grazing. This might not work for you in your part of the country, but it is a nice low cost way planting ryegrass and mowing those pastures at the same time.

As for if its worth it. The rate of extra gain for your calves on their dams is hard to beat.

 

[Beefy]

Is this worth my time, effort and money ? Some here say
that its an unneccessary waste and I'm just spoiling the
girls.

i think so.

 

[la4angus]

Februrary 5 is a little late to be planting ryegrass.

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome arkcowman.

 

[wen]

Februrary 5 is a little late to be planting ryegrass.

But the first rain in nearly 4 months was last week!!! Right now I have no winter grass and was looking at putting out some rye this late.

 

[la4angus]

Februrary 5 is a little late to be planting ryegrass.

But the first rain in nearly 4 months was last week!!! Right now I have no winter grass and was looking at putting out some rye this late.

I'm not saying not to do it. It'll be ready to graze by mid Mar.
You could have grazing from mid Mar thru possibly end of May. or be able to make hay in May if you don't need the grazing.
I've been told that ryegrass makes some of the best hay you can find. Maybe others that have baled it and fed it would elaborate.

 

[Angus Guy]

I don't know that much about your area but would spring wheat be a better choice?

 

[la4angus]

I don't know that much about your area but would spring wheat be a better choice?

I have had no experience with spring wheat. IMO it very well could be if there wouldn't be a rust problem.

 

[Texan]

No way would I waste my money seeding ryegrass in February. If we have warm/wet weather conducive to you getting a good stand, it will also be conducive to you getting early grazing from your Bermuda---as long as your ryegrass isn't in the way. Tough it out now and save your ryegrass money for next Fall.

 

[Beefy]

that is a good point, it is late to be sowing it. we planted 7 acres last week but that was just leftover seed we didnt want to waste. last year wheat did excellent for us, this year the rye is growing much better than the wheat, so far. Neither has been fertilized yet though, and its too wet here to do it for a while.

 

[ranchmgr]

If we have warm/wet weather conducive to you getting a good stand, it will also be conducive to you getting early grazing from your Bermuda---

The million dollar two letter word-If- If the nights are cool the rye will do better than the bermuda, have had rye save my bacon when days were warm and nights cool, and If you know what the weather will be I think everyone hear will have alot of other questions for you. 4-6 acres is little risk for the potential return.

 

[houstoncutter]

Rye grass makes fantastic hay, but your are looking at a couple of problems. It has a lot of moisture in it, so it takes a while to dry after cutting.......think about spring showers that you might be getting at bailing time. Bales, whether round or square do not stand up to rain very well. You will have to store em. I have only been able to bale my grass 3 times in the last 25 years, but when I was able, I had hay that would rival high quality alfalfa... I know some of the producers in cental Texas bale it on a regular basis as their weather patterns in the spring are more conducieve to it.... maybe they can offer some tips . Good luck

 

[J-CCCC]

Arkcowman,

I really don't know how to relate the following to Missippi, my comments are taken from a University of Missouri booklet, A Guide to the Common Forages and Weeds of Pastures. It states that small grains, primarily wheat and cereal rye are used extensively in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas for winter pasture. It says that if planted around 1 Sept. it will produce enough forage for grazing in November. It says that they continue to grow through the winter although they grow slowly during cold spells. Also states that the cereal rye produces 30 to 60 percent more forage than wheat. That wheat and rye remain in a vegetative state until mid-to late March. Rye matures four weeks earlier than wheat thus is hard to manage for high-quality feed after March.

Grazing height is given as 8 inches, lowest cutting /grazing height is given as 4 inches. Seventy percent of growth is from Feb. 1 to May 1.

What I assume from this is that planting in Texas after October 1 would be less than productive. Dry matter availability peaks in late Feb. thru March and drops off fast during April. I sure wouldn't plant in February something I expect to provide forage in March.

Obviouisly your local extension agent would be the best source of advice on planting dates.

Jay

 

[The Rogue]

I plant my rye grass with fescue in the ground by the middle of October and I don't take my first cutting until memorial day weekend. It works pretty good for me and it makes good cattle feed for the first cutting, then I irrigate after that and I usually get at least 2 more cuttings. The horse people like the second and third cuttings. Here in Oregon we have a saying "Only a fool cuts hay before Memorial Day". You can almost bet the first cutting will get wet. As far as getting it off the field we need four days of good weather. If we catch a little rain we will tether it again. Good Luck.

 

[cypressfarms]

Cost of ryegrass seed per acre ...~$20/acre 5 acres $100
Cost of fertilizer to put once you get ryegrass stand ~$25 per acre 5 acres $125

I don't think you could expect to be grazing in 6 weeks. Just my opinion, though. I think that you would be lucky to be grazing by April 1st. If you use April 1, then you may get 2 months grazing out of it. Once the temps start getting to 90 degrees ryegrass will start to die out quick. June 1 is, IMO, a good date to expect that for the gulf coast.

8 weeks of grazing for $225. Possibly worth it.

Dun posted this in a previous ryegrass thread that I started:

If you go by the above chart, it's not worth it as in April the production drops like a rock. I believe this was from a study in Missourri, so the temps would likely be warmer later than in Mississippi.