Fastest growing forage crop?

[Granite Farmer]

I have a field that has had cattle out wintered on it. I would like to reseed it in the Autumn. So i would like something growing in there in the meantime that can be grazed.

TIA

James

 

[cquick]

Forage peas, sunflowers and sudangrass? Maybe throw some phacelia and berseem clover in as well.
You would probably have to graze it directly. But it ought to grow above 6ft by August and be great for the soil and the bees

 

[dinderleat]

Forage rape

 

[dinderleat]

Ready in 8 weeks

 

[Great In Grass]

Leafy Turnip can be grazed 4-6 weeks after sowing.

 

[Kevtherev]

As above leafy turnip or hybrid rape
Plenty of choice of varieties

 

[Kevtherev]

Forage peas, sunflowers and sudangrass? Maybe throw some phacelia and berseem clover in as well.
You would probably have to graze it directly. But it ought to grow above 6ft by August and be great for the soil and the bees

Pretty sure sudangrass is toxic to cattle??
I may be wrong though

 

[cquick]

Pretty sure sudangrass is toxic to cattle??
I may be wrong though

Seedlings and frosted crops can contain cyanide. Any mature foliage should be safe though

 

[neilo]

I’ve started using a bit of Appin leafy turnip recently. It grows like a triffid, regrows after grazing and seems quite frost hardy too. It produces masses of leaf but, if you want to graze it hard into the winter, it has some good sized bulbs too.

 

[nails]

I have a field that has had cattle out wintered on it. I would like to reseed it in the Autumn. So i would like something growing in there in the meantime that can be grazed.

TIA

James

Fat Hen or Redshank .

 

[Farmer Roy]

Pretty sure sudangrass is toxic to cattle??
I may be wrong though

used quite a bit here as a summer forage crop for cattle. sorghum ( very popular here ) is probably a higher risk, but generally only if the crop is under a lot of moisture stress

here is some info of prussic acid poisoning for anyone interested

https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/111190/prussic-acid-poisoning-in-livestock.pdf

 

[jamesy]

Hobson rape is what I’ve used last few years

 

[gwi1890]

Leafy Turnip can be grazed 4-6 weeks after sowing.

would that be varieties such as tyfon?

 

[Great In Grass]

I have a new variety this year called "Jupiter" I haven't sold Tyfon for donkeys years.

 

[Jerry]

Hybrid rape as break crop and then reseed with something like Barmix from @Great In Grass

Did the same last year and the new grass ley at moment is romping away.

That was a very very old perm pasture field that was doing no performance.

Limed it, DD,d redstart into it start of may. Weaned lambs onto it that grew like weeds. DD’d the grass into it in September.

Grazed it lightly with ewes and lambs in March, now shut up for a cut.

 

[Coximus]

Ive done just that last year - Forage rye, some peas and grass seed sweepings from the shed - sown mid april into chained grass that was weakly sprayed (I dont mind abit growing back the forage rye was through fast anyway).
Baled 14. heavy 4fts to the acre of hayledge type feed mid june, the regrowth was very strong and lambs rocketed on it - crashed and went thin by mid july and rolled black oats in, should of cut them in OCT but grazed them instead, huge volume and the soil worked lush for a good 5y resseed last month.

 

[Lowland1]

Pretty sure sudangrass is toxic to cattle??
I may be wrong though

In Sudan it's called 'abusabini' which I think means after 70 days. That means you can't graze it until it's 70 days old by then the toxins are either broken down or diluted by the bulk.