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NWIL | I do this, but for bales and not grazing.
My experiences with SS are that for best production out of it, you'll want the ground as bare as possible at seeding. I mow the triticale and bale it off, then notill the SS back into it the day after. For best results I likely should till up the stubble, but don't. I can tell in the areas where the mower may miss, or the stubble is a bit higher due to terrain that the SS will sprout and grow, but will be shorter all the way until I mow it for bales 45 days later, then the field evens up nicely for the second cut I take.
While I choose an area to do this in an area more for logistics of hauling the bales to where they will be best placed for winter feeding (and just so happens to be what I consider one of the lower PI farms I have), I've given thought to how it would work for grazing. My conclusion kind of comes to the same place as what dad experienced when he tried ten acres of it for grazing before I was born, it'd be real difficult to forward plan to the proper number of cows to turn out on it. As quick as SS grows, especially in a year with a great rainfall pattern, you'd need a lot of cows on it and move them very often (maybe even twice a day) to keep up with it before it gets too tall and they knock it down or it gets so big stemmed they will reject it. I don't have the manpower/hours available to keep up with that, a 24 blitz to mow/bale/wrap works in much better a couple times over the summer. Likewise, as I experienced in 2023, when the rainfall patterns are pretty sparse it just doesn't put out nearly the same production, and carrying capacity would be way down. I aim to mow my trit in the last third of May, give or take a few days depending on forecast. With putting in SS right after and I get a rain that night, the cows better be out there in twenty days, on a year where I haven't gotten a good germinating rain (has happened several times) I haven't even had the majority sprout until after July 4, so it would be well into July on towards August when it would be ready for grazing. Again, a crap shoot that is tough to plan for, but every year I've been able to get my two cuttings, just at far different times. Sometimes the second week in August, two years ago I had to shut the combine down for a day in mid September.
As for grazing the rye in the spring, here on April 1 I still wouldn't say my triticale that I put in last fall and got a great growth heading into winter would be at a point to turn cows out on for a week/two yet. It just started waking up earlier last week. The cover crop rye fields that I've seen in the area are at the same point.
Every area is different in best feed practices, and within that area is operation is different in how they are set of for facilities and available pasture/high quality/low quality ground. For myself, even though it is more expensive to make balage and feed it then to let it be grazed, it does minimize how much of this 130-145PI ground that I dedicate to cow feed, for me it only amounts to 15 acres for a 55 head herd whereas for grazing it I'd need more, and in areas where its much more suited for row crop. Corn silage would be cheaper per ton, but with my locations and how everything is set up, balage works way better, have tried it. YMMMV.
Long post since it appears we are in generally the same area.
Edited by j.p 4/1/2025 09:47
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Alternative to Rowcrop on Small Fields - Rye/Sudangrass
