Released: February 18, 2003

Now’s the Time For Spring Cereal Crops

MANHATTAN, Kan. – For Kansas farmers eager to put last year behind them and start fresh, Jim Shroyer has some good news. Now’s the time to plant spring cereal crops – oats, barley or spring wheat.

"People are chomping at the bit to get out there," said Shroyer, a Kansas State University Research and Extension crop production specialist. "Oats, barley and spring wheat can fit right into one of several rotations or if you need some forage before your pastures are ready for grazing. They can also be sold for grain if you have a market for them, or they can be hayed or ensiled."

The prospect of additional forage may be especially attractive to livestock producers coming off of last year’s drought that tightened feed and forage supplies.

"Spring cereals may also be of interest to those wheat growers who are looking at a potential wreck," Shroyer said, referring to areas where wheat was hit hard by the drought or stand problems.

Wheat producers who have a poor enough stand that they’re considering abandoning it, might consider inter-seeding oats or barley no-till into the wheat field, he said. If the producer already applied a full dose of nitrogen for the wheat, the field likely will not need more. If that’s not the case, it is possible to get the full benefit of the spring cereal crop by applying 40 to 60 pounds of nitrogen per acre.

"That will buy you a month or two of forage either as grazing for your animals, or as hay or silage," he said.

If spring wheat is inter-seeded into a wheat field, however, that’s mixing wheat classes, so when it’s harvested it should be fed on-farm or sold to a feedlot. It should stay out of normal wheat marketing channels.

Spring cereals also fit well into a rotation between last fall’s row crop and ahead of winter wheat or alfalfa later this year, Shroyer said.

Because of forage shortages, spring cereal crops such as oats will also fit in this spring to be cut as hay or silage. Then a producer "can turn right around and plant a no-till summer crop into it, such as sorghum or soybeans," he said. "If you know you’re planting spring cereals as forage, you might go ahead and bump up the seeding rates to the higher end of recommended rates.

"If they can no-till the spring cereals into the row crop residue that would be ideal."

Southeast Kansas growers should plant spring cereals in the period Feb. 20-March 10 and producers in the southwest and northeast should plant from late February-March15. Because of the higher elevations and colder weather later into the spring, northwest Kansas farmers should plant in the March 1-25 time period.

All of them – barley, oats and spring wheat – like cool, late spring weather, Shroyer said.

He suggests the following guidelines for planting rate and depth:

* Spring barley in eastern Kansas and in irrigated fields should be planted at 96 pounds per acre and in central Kansas at 60 to 96 pounds per acre. Western Kansas growers should plant at 48 to 60 pounds per acre. Planting depth should be 3/4 to 1-1/2 inch. Deeper planting may result in poor or delayed emergence. Barley seed should always be treated with a fungicide prior to planting.

"Nitrogen is the one thing most often lacking for optimum spring barley production," he said. "Nitrogen rates should be based on yield goal, potential precipitation, cropping system and soil texture. A lot of farmers apply 1 pound of nitrogen per bushel of yield for barley, but I wouldn’t want to go much over 40-60 lbs of nitrogen per acre, because barley and other spring cereals have a tendency to lodge."

* Spring oats in the eastern one-third of the state should be drilled at 64 to 80 pounds per acre – if conditions are favorable, Shroyer said. Central Kansas growers should seed at 48 to 64 pounds an acre and in western Kansas, 64 to 80 pounds per acre. Optimal planting depth is 3/4 to 1-1/2 inch.

Although it’s a common practice, he does not recommend broadcast seeding.

As with barley, nitrogen is the element most frequently missing for optimum spring oat production, he said. The rate should be the same, 1 pound of nitrogen per bushel of yield.

Growers should keep in mind, however, that nitrogen can come from several sources – residual nitrogen in the soil, legume rotations, manures and fertilizer.

* Spring wheat presents a bit more of a challenge in Kansas – partly because it’s less consistent to grow than other spring cereal crops and partly because there’s not typically a ready market for it if a producer wants to sell it, Shroyer said.

"Spring wheat needs a cool, wet spring. Some farmers have had good luck with it, but if they don’t get a cool, wet spring, they’ll see lower yields and test weights," he said. "I’ve seen producers get 40-plus bushels of production and I’ve seen zero.

"If a producer has made arrangements with flour mills to sell the spring wheat, it can be done. I’m not excited about spring wheat as forage, however. If you’re looking at spring cereals for forage, I’d go with barley or oats," he said.

For more information on planting spring cereal crops, interested persons can visit their county Extension office.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Mary Lou Peter, Communications Specialist
mlpeter@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News