Grains
Small Grains for Silage
Many dairy and beef producers
in Mississippi plant small grains such as wheat, oats, or rye for winter
grazing. These crops offer an opportunity for production of good quality
silage at a time of year when feed supplies may be short.
Wheat and rye may
be grown throughout the state. Oats are suggested only for south Mississippi,
because they do not tolerate cold. Barley is suggested only for extreme
north Mississippi, because it does not produce high yields in central
and south Mississippi.
Wheat usually produces
better quality silage than oats or rye, because the grain yield is usually
higher. When harvested at the proper stage, silage quality is about the
same as corn. Yields are generally lower than corn or sorghum, but small
grains can produce a reasonably good crop every year. You can expect yields
from 50 percent to 65 percent of corn yields.
Crop Management
Most farmers growing
small grain for silage will probably want to graze the crop during the fall
and winter, so seeding rates should be 120 pounds per acre. Fertilize according
to a soil test for grazing.
Varieties
Variety trials with wheat
and oats are conducted every year by the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry
Experiment Station (MAFES). The results, along with information about variety
tests in other states, are distributed by the Cooperative Extension Service.
This information is available from your county agent or other Extension
representatives.
Seed Treatment
Proper seed treatment
will reduce the number of disease-causing organisms on the surface of the
seed and reduce loss due to seedling diseases. Check with your county Extension
agent about recommended seed treatments.
Weed Control
The most serious weed
problem in small grains is wild garlic and wild onions. Complete elimination
of these through herbicides is impossible. Extension Publication 1344, Weed
Control in Small Grain Crops, and Extension Publication 1532, Weed
Control Guidelines in Mississippi, give detailed information on
weed control for small grains. Herbicides should be applied after plants
have begun to tiller and before stem elongation begins.
Manage small grains
for silage the same as you would for grain production. The crops may be
grazed up to March 1 to 15. Then you should remove cattle and top-dress
the crop with 80 to 100 pounds of actual nitrogen per acre.
Stage of Crop Maturity for
Harvest
Small grains, with the
exception of rye, must be harvested when the grain is in the soft dough
stage. At this stage of maturity the materials are highly digestible, and
yields of energy and protein are greatest. This is illustrated with barley
in the following table.
| Changes
in barley silage with maturity |
|
Dry
matter |
Protein |
T.D.N. |
| Stage |
% |
Ton/a |
% |
lb/a |
lb/a |
| Bloom |
22 |
2.4 |
10.4 |
574 |
3,578 |
| Milk |
36 |
3.1 |
9.7 |
673 |
3,659 |
| Soft dough |
47 |
3.2 |
10.7 |
789 |
4.494 |
| Mature |
87 |
3.3 |
9.8 |
721 |
4,452 |
After Starling
V.P.I.
At this stage of
development leaves and stems have not become fibrous. Also, at this stage
of development the quality of silage is comparable to corn.
| Composition
of barley, wheat, and corn silage |
| Silage type |
Stage of maturity |
As fed T.D.N. |
Basis % E.N.E. |
(adj.
35% DM) |
|
|
|
|
C.P. |
D.P. |
| Corn |
Hard dough |
23.2 |
18.6 |
2.8 |
1.5 |
| Barley |
Soft dough |
23.3 |
18.8 |
3.3 |
1.8 |
| Wheat |
Soft dough |
23.6 |
18.9 |
3.5 |
1.9 |
After Murley et al.,
V.P.I.
Rye harvest in the
soft dough stage does not make as high quality as when it is harvested
in the boot stage and wilted before putting in the silo.
Harvesting
Small grains harvested
in the soft dough stage can be direct-cut without wilting. Time is much
more important in making high-quality silage from small grains than from
corn, because small grains mature much faster than corn. They remain in
the optimum stage of maturity for only 3 to 6 days. During hot, dry weather,
maturity is much more rapid than in cool, damp weather.
Harvesting will require
changes in conventional silage-harvesting equipment in order to direct-cut.
Storing
Small-grain silage can
be stored in any type silo used for corn silage. Small grains harvested
for silage allow use of silos for a longer time.
Animal Performance
Research showed milk
production was 10 percent less on wheat silage and cottonseed meal than
on corn silage and cottonseed meal. Early weaned calves gained 1.96 pounds/day
on corn silage and cottonseed meal, as compared to 1.60 pounds/day on wheat
silage and cottonseed meal.
In feeding trials
at the Delta Branch Station in Mississippi, 7,000-pound steers gained
1.93 pounds/day on oat-wheat silage and 1.97 pounds/day on high-energy
corn silage.
Distributed by Dr.
Lamar Kimbrough, Extension Agronomist
Mississippi
State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color,
religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or veteran status.
Information Sheet
1084
Extension Service of Mississippi State University, cooperating with U.S.
Department of Agriculture. Published in furtherance of Acts of Congress,
May 8 and June 30, 1914. Ronald A. Brown, Director
Copyright by
Mississippi State University. All rights reserved.
This document may be copied and distributed for nonprofit educational
purposes provided that credit is given to the Mississippi State University
Extension Service.
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