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12 • Western Farm, Ranch and Dairy
Rocky Mountain/Heartland
he dry summer and fall of last year and the bitter cold this winter have combined to make hay a valuable commodity. This has made many consider putting cropland to a temporary hay crop, such as sorghum-sudangrass or teff. At the same time, the explosion in China soybean purchases has made raising soybeans a very attractive proposition as well. It is nice for a change to be faced with actual profitable choices! But when faced with two attractive choices, why not choose both? One thing the cover crop movement has taught us is that growing crops in rapid sequence does not exhaust soil, rather it feeds the soil microbes that increase soil productivity. It is entirely possible to plant a crop of oats, peas or spring triticale (or a mix of all three) in March and have a hay crop made by May, in plenty of time to plant soybeans. Not only can the hay crop make as much revenue as we typically expect from a bean crop alone but growing the hay can create a nice stubble to control soil erosion and improve water infiltration and rooting depth and may offer weed control benefits as well. Spring triticale is an unfamiliar crop to a lot of people, but it is a real rising star in the forage and cover crop world. A cross between rye and spring wheat, it has hybrid vigor compared to either parent. Compared to spring oats, it can yield much higher, and is more competitive against weeds. The quality drops after heading relative to oats, but most people prefer to bale in boot stage to leave as much growing season for the following crop as they can. Peas add both additional yield and additional protein to the mix. Or maybe you would prefer to focus on hay and forgo the beans altogether. In that case, why not grow two hay crops rather than one? You can raise the oat/pea/spring triticale, then follow with a summer forage crop as well. For maximum tonnage you www.farmranchdairy.com
