Grasses and cover crops seeded in September can provide valuable forage next spring — especially if you’re facing a potential forage inventory shortfall due to this summer’s dry weather. Take a look at the yields and quality Penn State University researchers have been getting with grasses and cover crops planted in September.

In many parts of the Northeast, alfalfa and grass seeded in April and early May resulted in very poor stands due to spring’s prolonged cold spell, says William Boone, forage variety testing manager at Penn State University. Then came the dry spell and very warm temperatures, further reducing potential forage yields.

What to do now

NOW’S THE TIME: The earlier you can drill ryegrass, triticale or cover crops, the more feedstuffs you’ll harvest next spring.

If you’re hoping to get an extra boost next spring, cool-season forage crops may offer a critical boost to your forage needs. Penn State’s forage variety trials program has been conducting a short-lived grass and cover crops trial for several years. The window for planting is following corn silage harvest — mid-September in central Pennsylvania.

The trial consists of many varieties of annual ryegrass, triticale and some cover crop mixes. “We’ve consistently seen excellent yields and very good quality in this trial,” notes Boone.

The ryegrass is managed using a single or multicut system. Varieties in the multicut system are cut three times. The first cutting is when the plants reach approximately 20 inches or the flag leaf stage, typically around May 1. That first harvest average is about 2.6 tons of dry matter per acre. Subsequent cuts are made every three weeks. This spring, the combined average yield for the three cuts was 5.2 tons DM per acre.

Ryegrass managed using the single-cut system is cut only once at the early- to mid-boot stage, before seed head emergence. That’s about May 11 to May 16. The average yield this season was 4 tons DM per acre, he says.

The triticale-rye mix also performed consistently well. This season’s average was 3.5 tons per acre with average harvest dates between April 29 and May 11.

The value-added benefits of cover crops and cover crop mixes — soil enrichment and protection plus increased biodiversity — are important to many growers. This can be achieved along with a high-quality yield, adds the research agronomist. To see how the latest varieties stacked up, check out extension.psu.edu/plants/crops/forages/species/forage-variety.