Fall plantings tend to produce little forage in the seeding year. We would not recommend late summer seeding alfalfa under the small grains. The cover crop will slow down development of alfalfa and increase risk of winterkill. Small grain-field pea mixtures have gained popularity as an emergency crop. Peas may be mixed with oats, triticale, or barley.
Barley tends to be ready to harvest earlier than the other two species.
Small grain-pea mixtures have wider harvest window. However, diminishing returns and cost of peas suggest that the optimum seeding rate is 50 lb peas per acre. Corn should be harvested for silage at beginning at half milk line. Forage sorghum should be harvested for silage at milk stage. Harvesting at later maturity may increase yield but will result in very low forage quality.