Great Falls, Montana, USA
September 7, 2018
Growers across the northern plains on down through the Rocky Mountain Front are discovering that planting winter triticale as forage has some major advantages over spring crops like hay barley as well as winter wheat.
TriCal Flex 719
Winter triticale is an attractive option in this region because planting in the fall means the root systems develop faster to better take advantage of spring and fall moisture, according to Dr. Emily Meccage, forage extension specialist and professor at Montana State University. And because varieties like TriCal Flex 719 mature earlier, the yield potential is higher and there’s less risk of nitrates than most spring crops. Winter triticale has the edge in competing with warm-season annual weeds, though Meccage notes that in recent years there’s been a slight bump in cheat grass, which can be more problematic for cereal grains.
Meccage has studied TriCal Flex 719 and says it’s performed very well in comparison with Willow Creek winter wheat. “Overall, we see (Flex 719) outcompeting Willow Creek in terms of production and holding its own for quality,” said Meccage. In the 2017 MSU winter forage trials, Flex 719 outperformed Willow Creek across all five locations: Havre (dryland), Conrad (irrigated), Corvallis (irrigated), Bozeman (irrigated), and Moccasin (dryland). The average dry matter yield across all five locations was 5.06 tons per acre, while Willow Creek’s stands at 3.88. Flex 719 headed out anywhere from five to 17 days before Willow Creek.
TriCal Flex 719
“At my site in Bozeman, we did not have any significant differences between any of the winter triticale or winter wheat varieties in ADF, CP, or TDN when all varieties were harvested at milk.” Meccage also notes, “After years like 2017 where we really need to get as much hay in the stacks as possible, I think that winter triticale can fit well and help maximize your production per acre.”
Wade Keller, farmer and rancher with Hibbard Creek Angus about 50 miles east of Billings, is doing just that. Their cow-calf operation planted winter wheat and peas for years. Faced with the rising cost of hay and the reality that winter wheat wasn’t penciling out with current commodity prices, they made the switch to Flex 719 for graze-out this fall. “We’re trying to be self-sufficient and get input costs down on the cattle,” said Keller. “The longer you can keep your cows off the feed bill and make them work for themselves, the better your bottom line is.”
TriCal Surge
So far, the results are impressive. Keller likes how well it’s suited to the area’s shorter growing season and appreciates the versatility: It can be grazed in the fall and early spring and still allow time to mature to a hay crop and as well as green cut for silage. Forage analysis puts the protein value at 15.1, optimal for cattle, so no need to supplement feed. Keller harvested when the head was about ready to pop out of the boot, and the cattle had no edibility issues. With no winterkill and a regrowth rate of half a ton per acre, it’s an experiment he’s definitely willing to try again.
The grazing side of winter triticale is the “X-factor” for Keller because you can save money in the long run. “If you get a half a ton to the acre on 1,000 acres, you’ve got basically 500 tons of hay. Five hundred tons of hay at 100 bucks a ton is $50,000-$60,000 worth of feed,” said Keller. Additionally, he’s saving money on fertilizer costs, with wheat costing about $50 per acre and triticale about $35 per acre.
With rapidly growing interest in triticale, Northern Seed’s Forage Specialist Mitch Ereaux cautions producers to be aware of VNS varieties (variety not specified). “Because there’s a wide spectrum of quality among winter triticales, you want to know what you’re planting,” said Ereaux. “You don’t want to buy seed and not know what you’re getting.
Topics
Species
