These families stress the need to learn from friends, neighbors and relatives already in the business. Using Cool Season Cereals to Extend the Grazing Season Cool season cereal grains can provide excellent quality forage that can meet or exceed grazing animal requirements. Benefits can include reduced supplemental feed costs, a chance to rest cool season perennial grass pastures, and earlier spring grazing. Using such forages can extend the grazing season and in some cases offer a cash crop as well. These vary considerably in winter hardiness and palatability.
Rye is the most aggressive and winter hardy followed by wheat, barley and oats.
If oats are sown in the fall they will establish quickly and provide abundant forage, but will die out after a few frosts. Oats are also the most palatable of these forages, followed by wheat, barley and rye. Planting dates for cereals should be determined by the primary purpose of the crop. If the goal is grain production, planting dates should remain at the traditional planting time. For forage production plus a grain crop, planting should be two to three weeks earlier than normal.