Crop Comments: Playing Nursemaid to Fall-Planted Grains

There are five days left of winter as I’m writing this column. Winter has been colder than normal for most of the Northeast, a fact reflected in our electric bill and fuel oil consumption. Utica’s official snowfall has been about a third higher than normal, a claim which our village of Hartwick (35 miles southeast of that city) fortunately doesn’t boast.

Fortunately, we’ve had enough snow to provide cover to winter forages planted last autumn. Up till 14 growing seasons ago, I’d never used (nor heard) the term “winter forage.” In 2012 (a seriously bad drought year), I visited Cornell’s Valatie Research Farm as a guest of Tom Kilcer, a Certified Crop Advisor. His first year as Cooperative Extension agent was 1977-78, and it overlapped with my last in that profession. When he showed me immature stands of wheat, rye and triticale during July 2012, I said, “Those must be your cover crops.” He responded, “No, I call them winter forages. I don’t call them cover crops – and neither should you!”

His March 2026 monthly newsletter was titled “Winter Forage: Harvesting for High Milk Production.” There, he advised growers not to harvest at boot stage. Quoting Kilcer, “This is about a week late and significantly decreases the digestibility and milk produced. It was okay in the 1980s when 60 lbs. of milk/cow/day was considered good. Today, 90 lbs./cow/day is considered normal, and the digestibility of the forage is critical both for supporting the healthier, more profitable, high forage diets and the amount of milk the cows are producing today. This earlier, on-time harvest will slightly decrease yield, but will significantly increase the amount of milk from every pound of forage fed.”

He also wrote that this could be a year when you can move rapidly, getting a jump on the season. Enormous amounts of spring growth on winter forages demand sufficient nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) to optimize yield and quality. Recommended rates can vary significantly. The most important factor determining such rates is when the crop was planted in the grower’s climatic region. If it goes into winter with three to four inches of autumn growth, and soil is visible between the rows, you can expect 1.75 to 2.25 tons of whole forage dry matter come spring. A target of 20% crude protein points to a topdress of 125 lbs. N plus 22 lbs. S.

If it’s smaller, with just individual spikes of green, he recommended, “Save your money and plant the next crop (in the rotation, come spring).” However, if you plant on time so that crops enter winter seven to 10 inches tall, with solid cover – no ground showing between rows – there are two major benefits. First, your spring yield potential could be 3.5 – 4 tons of forage dry matter/acre.

Secondly, Dr. Quirine Kettering’s research at Cornell, combined with Kilcer’s research at Valatie, found that autumn growth is 22% crude protein. That seven- to 10-inch height represents 1 – 1.5 tons of dry matter containing 65 – 105 lbs. of N.

This is because the excess manure applied the previous spring – before corn had sufficient organic matter to release N after harvest – was captured by timely planting (around Labor Day). This N kicked in as triticale approached winter.

In Northeast conditions without manure, spring yields increased, in keeping with greater amounts of autumn N that had been applied to on-time planted triticale. Spring yields increased when up to 60 lbs. N (plus 10 lbs. S) were applied at autumn planting. (Sulfur is the structural cornerstone for the amino acids methionine and cysteine, essential to ruminant diets.) Kilcer mentioned that for farmers farther south, higher autumn N application rates may be justified. He stressed, “Do not delay triticale planting to apply fall manure nitrogen – you lose more yield than you gain in applying nitrogen, based on my and Penn State research.”

Under these high yield conditions, 3.5 tons of spring yield at 20% crude protein contains 225 lbs. N. If 60 lbs. were applied and taken up in autumn, you would still need 165 lbs. N, plus 26 lbs. S applied in spring, to make N uptake very efficient. Four tons of dry matter spring yield, at 20% crude protein, contains 260 lbs. N. Autumn uptake may be closer to 100 lbs. of N/acre. (He’s assuming that protein is 16.25% N.)

With rye, all bets are off. When they applied N to support these high crude protein levels, most of the crop lodged. The above suggestions are for winter triti-

Keep in mind that most N applied, beyond what is needed for winter forages, will remain for the next crop to get off to a quick start. Such continuous cropping is a very efficient N utilization system.

The recommended fertilizer mix for cool season grasses, winter triticale forages and any other crop needing S is 500 lbs. of ammonium sulfate and 1,500 lbs. of urea with an anti-volatilization (safener) agent. The latter is critical as winter forages and grasses have an enzyme that rapidly splits the urea into volatilized ammonia gas. One hundred lbs. per acre of the above mix will provide 38 lbs. N and 6 lbs. S. Untreated urea lost 63% more than treated urea in side-by-side replicated trials. If applying liquid N, a significant portion is in the ammonia form and an anti-volatilization compound will still increase the return on the N investment. A minimum of one part S (in sulfate form) to 10 parts N is still suggested in the liquid fertilizer.

Kilcer pointed out that a week earlier planting in autumn gains three days earlier harvest in spring. South-facing, well-drained soils will be ready sooner than north-facing, poorer drained fields. Small grain growers further open harvest windows by planting an early maturing variety first and a later maturity variety later – a practice most corn growers have perfected.

by Paris Reidhead