When the wheat plant matures from the early vegetative stage to the late head stage, both the protein and energy values will be reduced by one half. I know of no other forage that reduces in nutritional value as rapidly as wheat. The optimum time to harvest wheat is between the boot and early head stage of plant development. This period lasts only about one week. Harvesting between these stages of plant development helps ensure nutritional quality.
Wheat provides excellent forage for both fall and spring pastures.
Many producers utilize this crop for early grazing and then plant other crops. Harvesting as balage is one method that has been successfully used by several producers. Harvesting as balage also removes some of the risk from inclement weather conditions. Harvesting at a 35 to 50 percent dry matter condition is much easier to achieve compared to15 to 18 percent dry matter content for baling as hay. This method also provides the opportunity for double cropping with soybeans.