What's your best/favorite stay green winter stockpile species?

[RDFF]

I'm wanting to get a discussion going about different species you've tried and liked for winter grazing, that keeps its green really well into hard winter. Don't care if you're not in Minnesota like me... just looking for options to improve what we have available out there for grazing through the winter (yes, through snow, at least here where I am...)

I'll start it off by saying that I tried kale this past year, and that seemed to stay green pretty well after a hard freeze. Problem was I didn't get to carry it "well into winter", because the cattle liked it so well, every time I ran them in for a new break, they would strip every leaf off it, and then graze the other really high quality stuff like orchardgrass, clover, and alfalfa, etc. After hard frost, kale isn't going to recover, and it's an annual, so it frost kills, although it did seem to "survive" pretty well after a freeze... just didn't grow anymore much... it did shoot new sprouts of leaves though... but just sprouts... nothing like before a frost. It DID set a lot of seed though, and I'm hoping that I'll have plenty of volunteer plants out there next year. We'll see in a few months I guess. Anybody ever have any experience with spinach???

 

[JParrott]

We tried a variety of cold grazer rye from Nixa seed this year that grows in soil temps down to 40°. It did fairly well considering the lack of moisture we had from August through October. It stayed green and we just pulled them off of it about two weeks ago to start feeding hay.

Wasn't terribly impressed but I chalk that up to the lack of rain. Waiting to see what Spring brings.

 

[RDFF]

We tried a variety of cold grazer rye from Nixa seed this year that grows in soil temps down to 40°. It did fairly well considering the lack of moisture we had from August through October. It stayed green and we just pulled them off of it about two weeks ago to start feeding hay.

Wasn't terribly impressed but I chalk that up to the lack of rain. Waiting to see what Spring brings.

Was that "ryegrass", or winter cereal rye?

 

[RDFF]

Looked it up on Nixa's website... winter cereal rye that's cross-pollinated for "hybrid vigor" I assume. Heinz 57.

I'm planting winter rye every year, but unless you can get it started by Aug. up here, you won't have much to graze, but it'll come on like gangbusters come spring if you get it started early like that. Stay green is pretty decent into winter... but for us up here, mostly an "early spring grazing crop" I'd say for tonnage. Down there you probably can accomplish quite a bit more with it in the fall going into winter.

 

[ClinchValley86]

Whatd be an ideal annual to broadcast now? Onto beat up pasture. Pretty good soil. Tennessee.

 

[FungusProudKY31]

Take a look at Matua or Brome grasses that might work for you.

 

[BFE]

Whatd be an ideal annual to broadcast now? Onto beat up pasture. Pretty good soil. Tennessee.

This is the best time to seed red clover, especially if you have snow on the ground.

 

[ClinchValley86]

Any grain you'd throw down now? Too late for ryegrass? Was going to do red or crimson for sure.

 

[ClinchValley86]

This is the best time to seed red clover, especially if you have snow on the ground.

All we have is mud. Few overnight freezes here and there.

 

[Little Joe]

Any grain you'd throw down now? Too late for ryegrass? Was going to do red or crimson for sure.

If you plant ryegrass now it'll be a little later than usual before you can graze it,but it'll do fine.

 

[ClinchValley86]

If you plant ryegrass now it'll be a little later than usual before you can graze it,but it'll do fine.

Would ryegrass be preferable to oats or wheat? Only annual ive used is ruegrass but was in Fall.

Got a few acres beat up pretty bad. Gonna have to do something on them. Will pull animals off.

Has to be broadcast and drug or packed.

 

[Little Joe]

Would ryegrass be preferable to oats or wheat? Only annual ive used is ruegrass but was in Fall.

Got a few acres beat up pretty bad. Gonna have to do something on them. Will pull animals off.

Has to be broadcast and drug or packed.

Wheat usually starts to play out about early May here so you won't get much grazing out of it if you plant now but ryegrass will usually last into June as long as it don't get too dry early. As for oats, I've never planted any but most that I know that do plant in fall and graze in fall but they might be fine in the spring.

 

[RDFF]

Oats will do great in spring, spring wheat and barley too. But it's not a perennial, so you won't get a sturdy "turf" from it... Annual ryegrass has a much more prolific root structure. and then all the normal perennials like orchardgrass, brome grass, etc.... If you want grazing annuals, try some kale... man, the cattle absolutely LOVE that stuff. I guess if you plant it later in the summer for fall forage it won't go to seed on you either. Big leaves though, so it will shade out a lot of other plants.