# Triticale Question



## thefonzo (Sep 10, 2012)

Anyone on here have any experience with growing triticale for forage?

Up here in central Wisconsin, my father and I are looking to seed some winter triticale to try to get a boost in forage, mainly for heifers and a bit to milk cows. Our plan was to seed some corn fields after we harvest the silage. Next spring we'll harvest the triticale and then plant corn for silage once again.

Now earlier tonight, I was trying to do some research, and there were several mentions in articles of no-tilling winter triticale into existing alfalfa fields. The idea was to seed the triticale into an alfalfa field that is going to be taken out of rotation. After a May harvest, the field can be converted to corn silage.

So, has anyone else heard of this practice? I would like more opinions than simply what I've read. If the interseeding works, that would be great, because the alfalfa fields we plan on converting to corn are all real close, which would make the May harvest much easier. On the other hand, the corn fields we had originally planned to use are not real close and would be more time consuming to harvest.

In any case, we want to give it a try to get more forage to help recover from this year. So what should it be,


----------



## farmer2 (Aug 6, 2010)

thefonzo said:


> Anyone on here have any experience with growing triticale for forage?
> 
> Up here in central Wisconsin, my father and I are looking to seed some winter triticale to try to get a boost in forage, mainly for heifers and a bit to milk cows. Our plan was to seed some corn fields after we harvest the silage. Next spring we'll harvest the triticale and then plant corn for silage once again.
> 
> ...


thefonzo,
I have little to no experience with crop rotation, so I can't help you much there. However, we have used winter triticale off and on for years to boost yields in our lower producing alfalfa fields. In fact, I just finished 50 acres last week. Things that I know from experience are:
1. It makes excellent cattle feed. Nutritionally it is excellent and our cattle really like it.
2. It is very hardy. It can withstand early/over grazing and very tough winters.
3. It is easy to establish a stand. We have planted it several different ways. We have drilled it in with no other ground prep with great success. However, our best success has been lightly discing followed by the drill. We have got it down where there is no alfalfa damage. Obviously if you have access to a no-till that would be the way to go.
4. It will really yield. It will take a 1-ton/ acre (first cutting) field and produce 3-tons/acre with only 50#s of seed planted /acre.

good luck

farmer2


----------



## haystax (Jul 24, 2010)

We use winter triticale just as you intend to do. No-till into existing older alfalfa stands in the early fall or late summer (Labor Day) and sometimes even graze in November and again in April plus take a decent cutting of hay. I will usually spray out the alfalfa in the fall once the triticale is established and 2,4D again in spring to catch any broadleafs and alfalfa that survived and then we will usually roatate right back into alfalfa following some deep tillage.


----------

