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2007 Fall Forage Update1
A. R. Blount, R. D. Barnett, G. M. Prine, K. H. Quesenberry and Y.C. Newman2Introduction
Cool-season forages can supply excellent grazing for livestock. They are usually higher in total digestible nutrients and protein than our summer perennial grasses. Planting and growing these forage crops can involve considerable expense and labor. Because rainfall is often unpredictable during fall months, planting cool season legumes becomes risky at times. Winter forages may be grazed to supplement frosted perennial grass pastures or low quality hay, or harvested as a high quality hay or silage crop. Some livestock producers reserve winter forages for young livestock that need higher quality forages. Winter forages cannot be grown everywhere in the state and on every soil type. Some areas and some soils are too dry during the cool season to successfully grow plants. Therefore, the type of winter forage and the site where it is grown should be carefully selected. We provide annual updated information on variety recommendations for forages that have been adequately tested under Florida growing conditions.Recommended Cultivars (Varieties)
Grasses
Rye - Rye is the small grain most widely used for winter grazing. Rye is more cold tolerant than oats and generally produces more forage than either oats or wheat. If rye is planted very early in the season, it is often hurt by various seedling diseases. It is often best to wait until cool weather prevails (Table 1). Normally rye developed from northern states will produce little forage in late fall or early winter and will usually be severely damaged by leaf rust; therefore, plant only varieties recommended for the Southeastern U. S.Recommended varieties (by maturity):
Early: FL 401 (for early grazing or for use in blends), AGS 104.
Medium: Wrens 96, Wrens Abruzzi, , Pennington Wintergraze 70, and Early Graze.
Late: Bates, Oklon
Oat -Oat is very palatable forage but is susceptible to freeze injury. Oat may be planted and grazed earlier than rye. Maturity shown in parenthesis Horizon 321, Horizon 474, Horizon 270, and TAMO 406 are relatively new varieties that have improved crown rust resistance, winter hardiness, and good grain and forage production. In some years, some varieties, like NK-Coker 227, may be injured by Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV).
Recommended varieties (by maturity):
Medium: Horizon 270, Horizon 321, Horizon 474, SS76-40, and NK-Coker 227.
Late: TAMO 406
Wheat - Wheat is similar to oat in forage yield and palatability. Wheat is less susceptible to freeze injury than oat. Wheat should not be planted for grazing before October 15 and precaution to plant only Hessian-fly-resistant varieties for grazing should be taken.
Recommended varieties (by maturity): These varieties are all grain types that may be used for forage
Medium: AGS 2000 and Pioneer 26R61
Medium - late: USG 3592
Ryegrass - Ryegrass is a valuable winter and spring grazing crop for use on flatwoods soils or the heavier sandy loam soils in northwest Florida. Ryegrass may be seeded alone or with a small grain on a prepared seedbed or overseeded onto permanent grass pastures. Seeding ryegrass with a small grain crop lengthens the grazing season.
Recommended varieties (by maturity):
Late: Jumbo, Prine, Big Daddy, Passeral Plus
Mid to late: Florlina, Surrey II, Jackson, TAM 90
Other varieties: Ed, Brigadier, Fantastic, Graze-N-Gro, King, , Beefbuilder III, Thunder, Bruiser, Striker, Attain, and Big Boss. (Other new varieties may be suitable but have not been adequately tested in Florida.)
Tall Fescue - In general, fescue should not be planted in Florida. It does not persist as a perennial, and as a cool-season annual, small grains and ryegrass are more productive. A few producers have had limited success with Ga-5 when planted on low, wet, clay soils in northwestern Florida.
Recommended varieties: Max Q endophyte-friendly fescue where adapted.
Legumes
LEGUMESWhite Clover - White clover is usually a winter annual but may act as a perennial under optimum soil fertility and moisture conditions. It is adapted to moist soils throughout Florida. Production and persistence of white clover can be limited by nematodes and other pests.
Recommended varieties: Osceola (developed in Florida), Louisiana S-1, and Regal Ladino. Durana and Patriot are also well adapted but have a prostrate growth habit and lower initial forage yields.
Red Clover - This clover behaves as a winter annual under Florida conditions and usually does not reseed itself. It does not tolerate flooding, however it provides long-season forage production in north Florida.
Recommended varieties: Cherokee, Southern Belle, Kenland, and Redland III. Cherokee and Southern Belle (nematode resistant) were developed in Florida and both are non-dormant (earlier forage production) types that produce greater total-season forage yields than dormant varieties.
Alfalfa - Alfalfa is usually grown as a winter short-term perennial in Florida. Alfalfa is used for haylage, green chopping or hay. Alfalfa requires good management and high soil fertility. It is not tolerant of flooding or high water tables. Acreage is low in Florida because of the cost of production and management requirements.
Recommended varieties: Florida 99, Bulldog 805, and Amerigraze 702.
Crimson Clover - This clover is a reseeding annual that is adapted to fertile well-drained soils. It has a relatively short grazing season. Crimson clover may be grown in combination with ryegrass or a small grain crop.
Recommended varieties: Dixie, Flame, and AU-Robin. Also, Chief and Tibbee but their seed may be limited.
Arrowleaf Clover - Arrowleaf clover is an annual that is similar to crimson clover in soil adaptation, management and fertility requirements. It is mainly grown on heavier soils in northwestern Florida. Arrowleaf clover makes more growth in late spring than crimson clover.
Recommended varieties: Apache. It has improved virus resistance compared to Yuchi
Lupine - Lupine is an annual plant adapted to well-drained soils in northern and western Florida. It is an excellent cover crop. In recent years seed supply has been low, and forage production has been limited by diseases and insects. Only sweet lupine varieties are suitable for forage.
Recommended varieties: Tifblue, Tifwhite, and Frost.
Sweetclover - Sweetclover grows on slightly drier soils than white clover. It will not tolerate flooding. Sweetclover has an earlier but shorter grazing season than white clover. It should be reseeded each year.
Recommended varieties: Hubam and Floranna (seed may be limited).
Austrian Winter Peas - (Common). This annual legume is best suited to well-drained soils with high clay content.
Recommended varieties: Common
Vetch - Vetch grows best on well-drained, fertile, loamy soils. It has not generally been highly productive in Florida.
Recommended varieties: Americus, AU-Early Cover, Cahaba White, and Nova II.
Remember the following:
- Planting cool-season forages on a clean-tilled seedbed will result in earlier and more total production compared to overseeding on a grass sod. If overseeding bahiagrass, the sod should be disked or chopped for 30 to 50 percent disturbance. For overseeding bermudagrass, a pasture drill or no-till drill can be used alone. Excess warm-season forage should always be removed as hay or by grazing before planting the cool-season forage. Recent experience suggests that planting of cool-season annual grasses on bahia should be delayed until mid-November or later.
- Success of winter pastures depends on rainfall. This is especially true when overseeding.
- In central and south peninsular Florida sod seeding (overseeding) of cool-season annuals into a established grass sod often fails due to insufficient soil moisture and this is generally not recommended unless irrigation is available.
- Look for opportunities to plant on a clean-till seedbed, such as following vegetables or a row crop, after lifting sod, or in a pasture renovation program where the sod is plowed or turned under.
- In south central Florida, small grains and ryegrass have been successfully grown on flatwoods in a pasture renovation program. If the sod is turned with a moldboard plow (late October-early November), the soil harrowed, planted, and packed the same day, there will usually be enough moisture conserved to establish the new planting. If equipment and labor does not allow for such a rapid progression of work, then it may be best to turn the sod and then disk in early- to mid-October and wait (hope) for a good rain before planting.
- Winter legumes are more dependable on the heavier clay soils of northwestern Florida or on sandy soils that are underlain by a clay layer compared to deep upland sands or sandy flatwoods. However, white clover and ryegrass overseeded can also be grown successfully on certain flatwoods areas in northeast Florida and south central Florida where the soil remains moist throughout the growing season. Do not forget to add the correct inoculant (nitrogen fixing bacteria) to the legume seed before planting.
Conserved Forage
In early August, estimate the quantity of hay that will be needed for the coming cool season. If additional hay is needed, fertilize perennial grasses in order to harvest extra hay in the fall or make arrangements to purchase extra hay.Since both the supply and quality of hay may be low in some areas, this might be a good time to try hay ammoniation. The quality of old rank bahiagrass and bermudagrass hay often harvested in mid-to-late summer could be improved by treatment with anhydrous ammonia. Because of the possibility of toxicity symptoms (and death) in nursing calves, it is recommended that ammoniated hay not be fed to lactating cows, or to cows just prior to calving. Brown and Kunkle (1997) recommend that 'ammoniated hay should be reserved for feeding to developing heifers, herd bulls or cull cows that are held over the winter to obtain a greater price in the spring market'. See EDIS Bulletin 888, Improving the Feeding Value of Hay by Anhydrous Ammonia Treatment (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AA203).
Hay should be analyzed for protein and total digestible nutrients (TDN). Some hays may supply the nutritional needs of animals without any additional protein or energy supplements. Contact your county agricultural extension agent for information about forage testing.
Stockpiled or standing hay crop--Floralta and Bigalta Limpograss--may be fertilized from mid August through October in order to accumulate growth that can be grazed during the late fall - early winter period. This accumulated growth can supply the energy needs of a mature cow but the protein content of the grass will be low and a protein supplement must be fed in order to obtain expected animal performance.
References
Table 1. Planting dates, seeding rates, planting depths, and grazing parameters for certain cool-season forage crops.
- Brown, W.F. and W.E. Kunkle. 1997. Improving the Feeding Value of Hay by Anhydrous Ammonia Treatment. UF/IFAS Bulletin 888. Retrieved August 6, 2004 at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AA203.
Seed-Propagated Crops1
Planting Dates2
Seeding Rates
(lb/A Broadcast)
Seeding Depth
(inch)
Grazing height (in.)
Rest Period
Begin
End
Alfalfa
Oct. 1 - Nov. 15
12 - 20
1/4 - ½
10-16
3-4
Hay 35-40 Grazing 15-30
Clover, Arrowleaf
Oct. 1 - Nov. 15
8 - 10
0 - ½
8-10
3-5
10-20
Clover, Berseem
Oct. 1 - Nov. 15
16 - 20
1/4 - ½
8-10
3-5
10-20
Clover, Crimson
Oct. 1 - Nov. 15
20 - 26
1/4 - ½
8-10
3-5
10-20
Clover, Red
Oct. 1 - Nov. 15
6 - 12
1/4 - ½
8-10
3-5
10-20
Clover, Subterranean
Oct. 1 - Nov. 15
18 - 22
1/4 - ½
6-8
1-3
7-15
Clover, White
Oct. 1 - Nov. 15
3 - 4
0 - 1/4
6-8
1-3
7-15
Fescue, Tall
Nov. 1 - Dec. 15
16 - 20
1/4 - ½
4-8
2-3
15-30
Oats for forage
Sept. 15 - Nov. 15
96 - 128 (3-4 bu)
1 - 2
8-12
3-4
7-15
Pea, Austrian Winter
Oct. 1 - Nov. 15
45 - 60
½ - 1
Poor grazing, tolerance. Better suited as a hay or silage crop.
Rye for forage
Oct. 15 - Nov. 15
84 - 112 (1.5 - 2 bu)
1 - 2
8-12
3-4
7-15
Ryegrass, Italian (annual)
Oct. 1 - Nov. 15
20 - 30
0 - ½
6-12
3-4
7-15
Sweetclover
Oct. 1 - Nov. 15
12 - 15
1/4 - ½
8-10
3-5
10-20
Turnips
Oct. 1 - Nov. 15
5 - 6
1/4 - ½
6-8
2-3
varies
Wheat for forage
Oct. 15 - Nov. 15
90 - 120 (1.5 - 2 bu)
1 - 2
8-12
3-4
7-15
1 Always check seed quality. Seed germination should be 80% or higher for best results. 2 Planting date range: in general, cool-season forage crops in northern Florida can be planted in the early part of the planting date range and in southern Florida, in the latter part of the planting date range.
Footnotes
1. This document is SS-AGR-84, one of a series of the Agronomy Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Revised October 2007. Please visit the EDIS Website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.2. A. R. Blount, associate professor, Agronomy Department, North Florida Research and Education Center--Marianna, FL; R.D. Barnett, professor, Agronomy Department, North Florida Research and Eduction Center--Quincy, FL; G. M. Prine, Professor Emeritus, Agronomy Department; K. H. Quesenberry, professor, Agronomy Department; Y.C. Newman, assistant professor, Agronomy Department; Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
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