Some swine producers use winter annuals for grazing, and these forages also make excellent feed for horses and other livestock. Wheat, oats, and rye are the major small grains used for winter grazing. In extreme south Mississippi, wheat often is damaged by the heat when planted around September 1. For very early plantings, oats usually grow better below Highway 84. This is an important consideration where the quickest grazing possible is needed.
Oats are the least cold-tolerant of the small grains.
Wheat and rye have good cold tolerance and grow best with marginal soil temperatures. Rye is recommended for cold, wet, clay soils. Rye provides the least spring grazing as it often matures by early to mid-April. The most important winter annual grazing crop in the Southeast, ryegrass is also the backbone of any winter grazing program in Mississippi. Small grain grown in combination with ryegrass gives earlier fall grazing and increases the total grazing days on a given field.