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unifarmor

Posted 5/18/2008 23:53 (#380705)
Subject: Triticale for hay or silage or seed

Western Oregon

I've got a field of triticale that I was going to take for hay. Just looked at it today and can see lots of seed heads.
It was in triticale last year and we had some serious combine misadventures. I guess we could say we reseeded it. Actually a lot of it went down or the heads broke off. Anyway, it came back with a fair amount of annual ryegrass.
Our neighboring dairy is out of feed and is out of spring silage. I'd like to help him out as we have worked with him for years.
On the other hand I could sell the hay in a heartbeat. Looks like a good three ton, might make four ton to the acre. But, yesterday was 85 and now they are calling for showers next week.
But then again I could combine it... Price is good for triticale grain.
Origional plan was to through a little N on it take it for hay or silage (determined by weather forecast) and plant grass seed.
How do you figure the yield of silage as opposed to hay? I once had that information but can't remember. Lost my 1966 farmer's hand book that has all that useful information.
Any opinions would be welcome.

Ed Winkle

Posted 5/19/2008 06:04 (#380758 - in reply to #380705)
Subject: Re: Triticale for hay or silage or seed

Martinsville, Ohio

Saw Some Saturday, it was in head too.

If it was mine I would chop it and move on to the next crop if you can do it without tearing up the field.

If all else fails, you can try to improve your combine experience from last year!

Curious to see what the experts say on this one...

Ed Winkle

Tim in WI

Posted 5/19/2008 08:11 (#380807 - in reply to #380705)
Subject: Not an expert

Embarrass WI

If it was mine, I would cut it and chop it for silage. If you have a good relationship with your neighbor, he will probably give you just as much as it would as it would bring for hay. You can figure it out by Dry Matter-hay would be 15%(85% DM) moisture or so, and silage would ideally be 65% moisture(35% DM).

4T hay x .85=3.4 T DM. Then, 3.4T DM/.35=9.7 T of silage.

By making silage, you sidestep most of the weather risk, and your neighbor gets better feed. It also gets the material off your ground a few days sooner and would allow you to plant whatever that much sooner.

If you left it for combining, you would have to deal with the ryegrass in the combine, and have poorer straw(if you sell that).

If the seed heads are out, prime time for cutting for dairy feed was a couple days ago. You would need to act fast if you go that route.

unifarmor

Posted 5/19/2008 09:09 (#380834 - in reply to #380807)
Subject: Re: Triticale for hay or silage or seed

Western Oregon

We went from cold wet weather to the 90 in two days. That triticale just exploded in growth. I haven't been watching it as close as I should have as we are in a big rush to plant corn. Usually chop silage before planting corn but the cold weather delayed everything.
I thought perhaps if I cut the stuff in April it would grow back. This is only the second year we have grown triticale. It does not combine as easy as the seed salesman said.
We ended up combining really late in the summer due to combine problems. By that time it had rained a little. The tops of the seed heads became really brittle and some actually broke off. So, it pretty much reseeded itself. Which strangely enough, did better than what I planted!
I'm leaning towards chopping the stuff tomorrow. It will be gone. Dairy guy will be happy. Fellow who wants it for hay for his cows will not be. But then he is a little hard to plaease anyway...

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