Forage rye silage

[cotswoldcs]

I have a 9ha field of forage rye & (not very much) vetch that I want to make into big bale silage for our sheep. How long should I leave it to wilt after cutting with a mower conditioner? Thinking about cutting tomorrow or Wednesday. Anyone with any experience of growing forage rye? How good a feed is it and do you cut before it heads or not?

 

[Sid]

We have planted forage rye or rye corn before.

Our experience is to graze it with the dairy cows 3 times and then let it run on. When it start to ear thats when we cut it and bale it for dry cow feed.
It ensiles fine as a drier crop.

 

[Ballygreenan]

I made forage rye wholecrop pit silage last year. Almost finished feeding it now it's mighty stuff. We harvested direct with a combine header on the self-propelled.

Be careful of bales as rats may find them tempting!

 

[cotswoldcs]

Last year we cut ours in 23 may when rye had headed. This year we're planting fodder beet after rye so keen to get rye off so we can plant fodder beet. Any idea what quality silage we might get from leafy rye that hasn't headed? Or is the value in the seed? Silage will be fed to ewes so don't want it too "stemmy".

 

[Dog Bowl]

I cut some forage rye for big bales a couple of years ago. I cut it when there were no grains set, it was lovely leafy and green. It fed out fantastically and the dry cows really loved it. I cut, wilted for a day and then baled the following day. Came out at about 40%DM.

 

[Wishful Thinker]

I made forage rye wholecrop pit silage last year. Almost finished feeding it now it's mighty stuff. We harvested direct with a combine header on the self-propelled.

Be careful of bales as rats may find them tempting!

Explain more please I was interested in trying it this year but anyone I asked knew nothing about it. Your and my weather will be similar. When did you sow and cut it? Did you undersow?

 

[Ballygreenan]

Drilled on its own in October '16. Harvested at mature stage in early August '17. We had to set the header at its highest setting (8"+ stubble height) to get the harvester to take it! Standing crop was 6' high, yielded a serious crop with high grain ratio. Clamped on its own with side sheets, cling seal and heavy top cover. Set rat bait traps for about the first two months after cutting. Really impressive crop.

 

[Dog Bowl]

Drilled on its own in October '16. Harvested at mature stage in early August '17. We had to set the header at its highest setting (8"+ stubble height) to get the harvester to take it! Standing crop was 6' high, yielded a serious crop with high grain ratio. Clamped on its own with side sheets, cling seal and heavy top cover. Set rat bait traps for about the first two months after cutting. Really impressive crop.

Don’t suppose you’ve got an analysis?

 

[Ballygreenan]

DM 41% cp 8% D Value 66% ME 10.3% Starch 26.2%

 

[William26]

Would you know what sort of tonne per acre can you harvest?

 

[michael N123]

Can you plant it in spring and harvest it in summer ? Or does it need a bit longer

 

[Landrover]

We sow it early September and then chop start of may, normally put fodder beet or kale in then late sown wheat November, on light ground tho

 

[som farmer]

there is a difference between forage rye, ie humbolt, and hybrid rye, which has been bred for the digester market as a higher energy crop you can grow between 2 maize crops, as some do with IRG, we are experimenting with it, we have not found a spring variety, but we planted in late sept after rape, and cut 23 april, we estimated it was well over 15 tonnes acre. due to unforeseen problems,(breakdown), it was baled ,rather than pitted. we haven't had an analsys done yet, but have fed some bales, looked nice, smelt nice, and the cattle liked it. we intend to grow 30 ish acres this autumn, and cut later in may, when it should be more like w/crop, and follow it with forage rape. seed is expensive, but your other imputs are low, weed control, it just outgrows them and smothers them

 

[jonnyjon]

DM 41% cp 8% D Value 66% ME 10.3% Starch 26.2%

Interesting, I plan on cutting hybrid rye this year for wholecrop silage and feed it to beef cattle, wondering if it will be any good

 

[Al R]

Interesting, I plan on cutting hybrid rye this year for wholecrop silage and feed it to beef cattle, wondering if it will be any good

Excellent feed if cut at the cheesy stage just like normal wholecrop but when I grew 120 acre of it it yielded over 17t/acre average over a weighbridge, 1 day a jag 900 did 20acre, the next day a 900 from another contractor did 45acre.

 

[Dog Bowl]

Excellent feed if cut at the cheesy stage just like normal wholecrop but when I grew 120 acre of it it yielded over 17t/acre average over a weighbridge, 1 day a jag 900 did 20acre, the next day a 900 from another contractor did 45acre.

What's the sort of agronomy required for a decent hybrid rye crop?

 

[Al R]

Similar to WW, drop an N application though and add in a growth regulator and straw stiffener, slight change to chemistry for the fungicides as it’s more susceptible to diseases which WW isn’t, that’s to take it though to combining though, for wholecrop you could probably get away with a lot less growth regulator and fungicides etc but at the same time you don’t want mould on the heads.

 

[whatnow]

Resurrecting this thread to see if anyone has any more experience to share?
I’ve got ten acres planted last autumn with an initial plan to mow end of April and bale (no clamp here). It’s for sucklers next year.
if I stick to the above plan what experience have people had? Will I struggle to wilt it sufficiently?
Or should I risk leaving it a while longer to let a seed head develop a little making the fodder drier as it becomes more straw like? Would I loose anything gained from the ear as the leaf becomes more stemmy. And the rat problem as well

 

[som farmer]

Resurrecting this thread to see if anyone has any more experience to share?
I’ve got ten acres planted last autumn with an initial plan to mow end of April and bale (no clamp here). It’s for sucklers next year.
if I stick to the above plan what experience have people had? Will I struggle to wilt it sufficiently?
Or should I risk leaving it a while longer to let a seed head develop a little making the fodder drier as it becomes more straw like? Would I loose anything gained from the ear as the leaf becomes more stemmy. And the rat problem as well

it was a long time ago.
we have grown it for the 3rd year running.
depends if you have forage rye, or hybrid rye, the latter is meant to have a higher feed value.
The first year, cut and wrapped, worked out about 20ton/acre, heavy bales.
2nd, wrapped half before maize, and cut the other, when headed, feed value fine for both.
last year, we put vetches with it, about 15 t/ac. Feed value, on analysis, terrible, nowhere near the previous 2. However, that is not what the milkers are telling us, they are milking very well, and y/s, we just give them that, and they are fat. We are waiting for a 'full wet and dry' analysis to come back.
We have been double cropping with maize, giving us 30/ton/ac in 2 cuts. Last aut, maize wasn't fit early enough, to get the rye in, so w wheat, to be followed, by h/rye and vetch, or westerwold and vetch, seed is £700+ per ton, but undecided as yet.

However you look at it, you get a serious bulk out of it. When we did as w/crop, we put kale in after. If our milkers are doing well, with 30% of ration that, and y/s getting fat, we are pretty certain its a lot better than analysis !
Bulk feed for sucklers, would imagine would be fine, other than seed and ground work, its dead cheap to grow, and getting yields of 15t/a cheap to silage.

Hope that's helped, we are dairy, different to sucklers, perhaps a bit to much for native breeds, for cont, l would think perfect. We would grow it again, just thinking w/wold/vetch, might be a cheaper/better option. The chap that drove the forager, has ordered s/rye +vetch, based on what he cut here.

 

[DanM]

it was a long time ago.
we have grown it for the 3rd year running.
depends if you have forage rye, or hybrid rye, the latter is meant to have a higher feed value.
The first year, cut and wrapped, worked out about 20ton/acre, heavy bales.
2nd, wrapped half before maize, and cut the other, when headed, feed value fine for both.
last year, we put vetches with it, about 15 t/ac. Feed value, on analysis, terrible, nowhere near the previous 2. However, that is not what the milkers are telling us, they are milking very well, and y/s, we just give them that, and they are fat. We are waiting for a 'full wet and dry' analysis to come back.
We have been double cropping with maize, giving us 30/ton/ac in 2 cuts. Last aut, maize wasn't fit early enough, to get the rye in, so w wheat, to be followed, by h/rye and vetch, or westerwold and vetch, seed is £700+ per ton, but undecided as yet.

However you look at it, you get a serious bulk out of it. When we did as w/crop, we put kale in after. If our milkers are doing well, with 30% of ration that, and y/s getting fat, we are pretty certain its a lot better than analysis !
Bulk feed for sucklers, would imagine would be fine, other than seed and ground work, its dead cheap to grow, and getting yields of 15t/a cheap to silage.

Hope that's helped, we are dairy, different to sucklers, perhaps a bit to much for native breeds, for cont, l would think perfect. We would grow it again, just thinking w/wold/vetch, might be a cheaper/better option. The chap that drove the forager, has ordered s/rye +vetch, based on what he cut here.

Will you wholecrop the winter wheat or take it through to combining?