Fall-Grown Oat Forages: Cultivars, Planting Dates, and Expected Yields
For the dairy industry, the options for producing a late-summer emergency forage crop are limited, mostly because the growing season is relatively short. Traditionally, fall-grown cereal grains can fill this niche; however, most studies evaluating their use address specific management issues related to the backgrounding of stocker cattle, especially within the Southern High Plains. Generally, these efforts have emphasized the use of winter wheat as a fall forage, which then may be utilized as either a forage or grain crop the following spring. Unlike the Southern High Plains, dairy producers in Wisconsin are not bound by this production paradigm, and they largely desire to maximize yield, while maintaining forage quality suitable for either lactating dairy cows or dairy replacement heifers.
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