Wheat pasture considerations  - 2009-10-26

Producers who want wheat for pasture for their livestock this fall have some decisions to make that will affect both the forage production and ultimate grain yield potential of the wheat, according to Kansas State University agronomist Jim Shroyer.

Cattle should not go onto wheat pasture until crown root development is anchoring the plants, said Shroyer, who is a wheat specialist with K-State Research and Extension.

“Don’t just look at top growth and assume that if the wheat is tillered, crown roots have developed. Sometimes that’s not the case,” he said. “Actually check some plants to make sure there is good root development.”

The general rule is, wheat should have about 6-12 inches of top growth before pasturing the crop, the agronomist said. But, the true test of wheat readiness is crown roots that have developed enough that cattle will find it hard to pull plants out of the ground as they graze.

“Producers should plan to use extra nitrogen on wheat that’s pastured,” Shroyer added. “Cattle remove N that’s in the wheat forage. So, seeing N deficiencies in the crop after the cattle have moved elsewhere is fairly common.”

To maintain grain yields, producers should apply another 40 pounds of N per acre for every 100 pounds of animal gain per acre, he advised. A good approach for this is a split application, with part of the N going on in early fall and part being applied as soon as the cattle are pulled off in late winter or early spring.

“In addition, producers should have a dry area available to move the cattle onto when the fields get wet. That will help limit soil compaction problems,” Shroyer said.