# annual cereal rye when to bale for hay



## fatdog (May 3, 2013)

I live in Southwest Missouri and have been no tilling winter wheat in my bermuda hay ground and have learned when to bale the wheat to get optimum protein/tonnage. This year I tried what I believe is a cereal rye. It is definitely not perennial ryegrass, that much I am sure. I have been looking but cant find anyone to tell me at what stage the protein starts dropping suddenly after it has headed out. I know that it needs baled before the seed is viable but is there a stage as the seed is forming that is best? I would like to have baled it before now but the weather is not agreeable to it right now or for the next week. I am ok with 10% protein since I will be feeding it to cows who are used 8-9% fescue hay anyway. It has been headed out for over a week now but no seed has started to form in the head. I have read about ergot in the seed head causing abortions in cattle but at what stage does it start to grow? I usually get my wheat baled about the second week of may but last year I baled it at the end of april. This year due to the recent cold snaps its not even in the boot yet but just about there. The cool weather didn't seem to set the rye back at all. If I am too late to bale it for hay I am thinking of turning the calves I have just weaned in on it and make them eat it down but is there any drawbacks to that? I am just looking for options and if anyone has more experience with rye I would greatly appreciate it if they took the time to fill me in.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I am guessing that them ideal time to bale has past since the heads have emerged and the hay will have the beards in it which would reduce the palatability of the hay. This is just my opinion and I might be wrong on this, maybe someone with more experience with rye will know.


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## brandenburgcattle42 (Sep 6, 2012)

My problem with cereal rye is how big do you let it get and still be able to cure in the unpredictable spring weather. We plan on baling at 18% and hope to bale it @ 12%. I think there is a fine line of getting greedy for tons and cutting it short enought to get to cure fast. We plant bean after ours and that is more important than the hay. I would always cut before heads come out would be like lettjng you alfalfa go to full bloom then cut.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

For any grain crop overseeded into bermudagrass, cut it just as soon as the bermudagrass first starts to grow. * You do not want the winter annual to shade out the bermudagrass!*.

Traditionally people like to cut any annual grass after the plant has set a seed head. Worst time Ever.

When an annual grass starts to shift gears and go to seed it puts every thing into the seed head.

So the ideal time to cut an annual grass hay crop is two days before it starts to develop a seed head.

Unless of course you plan to sell the hay to Texas and then let go to seed and get rank,, as Texans will buy anything with a string around it.  * * * *

Code * denotes sarcasm.

Have a Grand & Glorious Season


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## fatdog (May 3, 2013)

Thanks for all of the info. I would love to have cut it before it headed out but this year that is not an option so I got a bunch of weaned calves trying to eat it and they would rather jump the fence and eat the wheat on the other side thats not as far along. Needless to say I am not planting the rye again because its just too hard to find a window to get it baled here at the right stage of growth. Its going to be hard to get the wheat baled on time as it is. I usually wait till the wheat kernel is in the water stage to get the optimum tonnage vs. protein and it has made good hay in the past. Mother nature is always throwing curve balls but that is just farming.


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## mncattle (Jul 23, 2010)

You want to cut winter rye well before it starts heading out. It tends to get pretty stemmy when it reaches that point. We will also get higher protien when cut before the heads emerge.


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