Is your inventory of quality forages lacking due to too much rain in spring and early summer? Or maybe you are looking at seeding cover crops after harvesting corn silage and soybeans?

Either way, September and October are an excellent time to boost your forage inventory, says Jerry Clark, University of Wisconsin Extension regional agriculture educator for Chippewa, Dunn and Eau Claire counties.

“The whole cover crop push is to keep something living on the land,” Clark says. “Winter rye and triticale are great to plant in the fall and then harvest for feed in May.”

Farmers in need of more forages can plant rye and triticale in September or early October and chop forage in the spring, Clark says.

“It helps dairy and beef producers get extra forage off before they plant corn silage the end of May,” he explains. “Annual ryegrass and meadow fescue are other options.”

Clark says the goal is to optimize forages and tonnage. “Getting as much tonnage per acre as possible is key,” he says.

Due to a wet spring, the corn silage harvest in many areas will begin the first week of September and likely will continue through mid-October.

“A lot of places throughout the upper Midwest, including the northern half of Wisconsin, had a lot of rain in May and the first half of June,” Clark explains. “As a result, much of that corn won’t be harvested until mid-October, which will prevent some farmers from seeding cover crops.

Related:Short on forages? Try an alternative feed

If the weather cooperates, he says some will still be able to plant cereal winter rye from mid-September through October.

“As long as it germinates, it will come up in spring,” he says.

If farmers can seed winter rye or triticale by early October, they may see yields high enough to chop in mid-May for feed.

“But mid-May is a busy time,” Clark notes. “Farmers are just finishing up planting corn and soybeans and are getting ready to harvest the first cutting of alfalfa. There’s a lot that is competing for your attention in mid-May.”

He adds that ryelage and triticale need to be chopped in the boot stage to get quality feed.

Test soil, forages

Meanwhile, Clark reminds farmers that fall is a great time to soil test. “Farmers should soil test their fields once every four years and then order their fertilizer,” he says.

Fall is also a great time to haul and spread manure.

“And this year, don’t forget to test your forages,” Clark says. “A lot of places it rained every other day from mid-May through June, and there wasn’t a lot of opportunities to harvest hay in a timely manner. Be sure to test your forages so you know what you have got.”

Related:Develop a game plan for dealing with forages this fall