Cereal Grains and cover crops

[dbltree]

I'd say negative on that. I think you want as clean as seed bed as possible, which I think would best be accomplished by spraying w/ Roundup and 2,4-D right after the first frost. In a perfect world, even hit it with that same combo before then --- like now --- so chances of any weeds/grasses slipping through are minimized. Anything/everything you can do to minimize competition for your NWSG's next Spring needs to be your goal for this season. Those are my thoughts. ---but I am far from an expert. Although I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express when I was in Ottumwa!!

I agree! On top of that rye has some strong allelopathic chemicals that can inhibit small seeds from germinating and that includes NWSG!

Just nuke your NWSG area this fall (planting RR soybeans is a great option) with gly, probably in early September and again inearly October.

Add 2 ounces of Oust XP and one quart of crop oil and you'll smoke everything ! :way:

 

[dbltree]

Couple pics of rye and triticale in late June...both these planted literally on deer runways in a tree planting and recieved heavy spring grazing along with severe "trampling" so height is not normal but otherwise the seed heads and "straw" are....

Winter Rye 6-19

Winter Triticale 6-19

Gives landowners with standing cereals an idea what they look like and how quickly they mature and turn straw like and at that point are much much easier to mow or dsic down....

 

[dbltree]

Planting clover with winter rye in the fall is a perfect fit but it can create a few minor concerns for those with small equipment, unless....you allow the rye to mature before attempting to mow it.

I mowed some winter rye about 10 days ago when the rye was just starting to turn, at that point the rye has done it's job and it's no longer green and wirey and doesn't wrap in mower blades.

The white clover is some I am testing for Sucraseed/Grassland Oregon and it looks great!

A seperate test area with a different test white clover (all for Surcaseed) but despite the heavy rains, one clipping and no herbicides...it's clean!

In another spot I mowed a strip along one side and then left the rye standing in the rest of it for comparison.

There is no difference at all between the clover in the mowed and unmowed areas

The test strip goes up hill into some very poor soil but the lower part is fertile and the rye is thick and tall in that area.

Underneath however the clover thrives getting plenty of sunlight through the now dried down rye.

Deer are lapping up the clover both in the mowed areas

and in the uncut standing rye areas

The winter rye is fast drying down but the thick clover will insure that the rye will not re-grow when the seed ends up on the ground and in the mean time it provides great cover for a plethora of wildlife.

If you have grown weary of fighting wet spring weather and then dealing with a weedy mess from spring planting clovers, switch to fall planting with winter rye. You'll have a lush highly attractive fall food plot and the next spring a beautiful stand of clover minus the weeds!

 

[dbltree]

Early July followup on white clovers planted with winter rye last September where I have allowed the rye to remain standing into summer.

The white clovers continue to thrive with no weeds, no spraying or clipping up to this point and deer have made runways through it feeding on the lush clover.

The winter rye continues to break down slowly tipping over as the straw weakens

While the white clover grows oblivious to it's silent protector

I poked the camera into the standing rye to show that deer have been feeding on the clover despite the standing rye and in fact I think they enjoy the safety of the cover it provides.

Some folks have time and budget constraints that allow them to plant only one plot and yet hope for year around food sources from that plot.

A fall planting of winter rye, oats, peas, forage radish and either white or red clovers is one of the very few combination plantings that will literally feed and attract whitetails year around from only one planting.

The rye, oats, peas and radish will have deer flocking to your plot by late September and the winter rye will continue to feed deer right thru the winter as deer dig down thru the snow to get to it. Rye will be the first to green up in the spring and the clovers will be right behind it and will provide high quality forage all summer until you till it all under and repeat the same planting.

Normally I rotate this planting to brassicas but for those who cannot do that, this combination will fill the bill and it can be safely grown year after year, using no herbicides and little or no fertilizers (after intial P&K and PH needs are met)

Oats and peas are not the greatest to overseed but rye, radishes and clovers can be overseeded into a gly killed area where tilling may not be possible and worth a try for those out of the way spots. Spray the grasses with gly, broadcast the seeds and walk away...if you get timely rains it will work fairly well...if not your only out a little seed....

 

[waylonb19]

My hunting partner is wanting to plant 1.5 acres to field peas and winter rye. My question is the peas need to be planted here soon mid July. And Rye not planted till around Sept? My question is would he be ok to plant his Rye now with the Peas? If not, do you just broadcast the rye on top of the peas come Sept?

 

[dbltree]

My hunting partner is wanting to plant 1.5 acres to field peas and winter rye. My question is the peas need to be planted here soon mid July. And Rye not planted till around Sept? My question is would he be ok to plant his Rye now with the Peas? If not, do you just broadcast the rye on top of the peas come Sept?

Plant the peas with the winter rye in late August/early September for forage...the July planted peas are for "pea production" more like soybeans where deer would eat the dried peas in the fall.

Unless you fence the July planted peas deer will scarf them up long before fall so I reccomend planting them right with the rye so that they will young and tender and very attractive right during hunting season...:way:

 

[dbltree]

I really would not have had to mow this winter rye and white clover yet but a third of this field will be planted here in mid July to brassicas and a third will be planted back to winter rye and clover in late August. Clipping the clover will insure that it keeps fixing nitrogen for the next crop and much of it has bloomed already. When clover blooms it goes to seed and thinking it's work is done, quites working so hard to continue fixing nitogen...clipping the tops off keeps it working for us.

The clover is healthy and robust even though this field has not been touched since being planted last fall.

One field did have a little ragweed appearing where the rye was thin, due in part to our cool wet weather that has continued for 2 1/2 months now.

Clipping it once or twice this summer will allow the clover to dominate and the few broadleaf's will not return. I would also add that while the clover in this pic is good looking clover...it is not Alice white clover which tends to be more dominate and more likely to suffucate weeds on it's own.

Some folks with smaller equipment have troubles mowing rye when it is green and wirey in late May and early June but once the rye matures the straw shreds easily and I flew thru this field with ease. Whats' left of the straw will disinegrate on it's own and what I till under will only add to the soil organic matter further building the soils...

 

[dbltree]

Weather permitting, I hope to plant brassicas in the next few days so I am plowing under the rye and clover.

It's not necessary to use a plow of course if you have a good tiller or a heavy disc but in my case it's easier to incorporate the clover and rye stubble via plowing and easier to fit down with my old tiller.

Last falls planting of winter rye and clover has now come to fruition and the beautiful (to a farmer) mix of clover and rye straw can add a ton or more biomass to our soils along with upwards of 200#'s of nitrogen per acre.

While it's true that continues plowing can cause hardpan problems, so can discing or tilling at the same depth repeatedly so using crops like winter rye and tillage radish can help to reduce compaction problems and increase soil tilth. No till drills are another option in which case the clover could have been killed with a gly and 2-4D cocktail.

In this field I tilled a third of it for brassicas, leaving a 1/3 in white clover and the remaining third will go back to winter rye, peas and more clover. That combination allows us to have food sources year around, something that is crucial in our habitat program if we hope to hold whitetails on our property.

Having the plot divided also allows for easy crop rotation to keep disease and pest problems to a minimum and build up our soils at the same time....

 

[letemgrow]

I expect to see a plot where you till/plow/disc half and just use tillage radishes on the other to see if there is a difference over a few years. I am sure going to try it!!

 

[DH1]

I’m new to plotting, looking for any thoughts on some of these type of plots and the 2 questions further below, planning to plant late summer in U.P., MI each would be between a half to 1 acre:
- Clover - Kura
- grazing alfalfa
- haying alfalfa with Falcata Alf
- HSR (from SucraSeed) with some <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com

Alice</st1:City>, Kopu II and grazing alfalfa

I’ve reviewed prior post on similar plots and was planning to include some rye, forage radishes and maybe some oats and peas to provide some added attraction for this fall until the primary seed becomes established. But other sites from MI and WI universities are recommending to skip the nurse crop, because it will compete too much with the legumes for water. They never seem to take into consideration that the nurse crop provides browse cover for the legumes though. So if I wanted to put in the extra seed at a lighter rate what would make sense for that? Based on the location I was looking at planting around August 7<SUP>th</SUP>. Would it be better to put in the legumes and HSR first and comes back in mid to late September and drop the rye or oats and peas? (planning to put the radishes in August)
I’m limited on when I can get to the area since it’s about 300 miles from home, so I could work in a few trips over the time period. But if I try to plan around a rain forecast and go and it doesn’t rain, then I can’t put it off for another week until another cloud bank comes through, so I’d be dropping the seed rain or shine.

 

[dbltree]

I always plant them together in late August but if you have sandy soils then earlier would be better.

You could try overseeding the cereals later but it would depend on how much soil surface is exposed at that time if it would be successful or not?

You add the forage radish with your legume seed in August, just keep the rate to no more then 5#'s per acre...

 

[dbltree]

Winter rye and clover...I can't stress enough, the importance of adding clovers to your fall cereal grain planting! The clovers won't do a doggone thing to attract deer in the fall BUT...come spring they certainly will and will carry the load from very early spring until fall planting again.

On top of the "deer" part of this combination is the added free nitrogen and organic matter we gain from tilling under the clovers. Now Dad always told me there was no such thing as a free lunch and that much is true but for 20 bucks worth of clover seed per acre you can you feed deer all summer AND get up to 60 bucks worth of nitrogen to boot!

Anyone with a lick a sense can soon see why adding clovers to your fall winter rye/oat/pea/radish planting is a no brainer!

My friend dgallow has studied all of this extensively and often sends me great links like these two:

Managing Cover crops

Back to Basics

The question that is oft asked is "How much N will I get from my clover and how much additonal N might I need??" The following is a way to actually determine that answer if you wish.

How Much N?
To find out if you might need more N than your green manure will supply, you need to estimate the amount of N in your cover crop.To do this, assess the total yield of the greenmanure and the percentage of N in the plants just before they die.

To estimate yield, take cuttings from several areas in the field, dry and weigh them.Use a yardstick or metal frame of known dimensions (1 ft. x 2 ft.,which equals 2 ft2 works well) and clip the plants at ground level within the known area.Dry them out in the sun for a few consecutive days, or use an oven at about 140° F for 24 to 48 hours until they are “crunchy dry.”Use the following equation to determine per-acre yield of dry matter:Yield (lb.)/Acre = Total weight of dried samples (lb.)X 43,560 sq. ft.
# square feet you sampled 1 Acre. While actually sampling is more accurate,you can estimate your yield from the height of your green manure crop and its percent groundcover.Use these estimators:

At 100 percent groundcover and 6-inch height*,most nonwoody legumes will contain roughly 2,000 lb./A of dry matter. For each
additional inch, add 150 lb. So, a legume that is 18 inches tall and 100 percent groundcover will weigh roughly:

Inches >6: 18 in.–6 in. = 12 in. x 150 lb./in.: 12 in. x 150 lb./in. = 1,800 lb. Add 2,000 lb.: 2,000 lb. + 1,800 lb. = 3,800 lb.
If the stand has less than 100 percent groundcover,multiply by (the percent ground cover / 100). In this example, for 60 percent
groundcover, you would obtain:3,800 x (60/100) = 2,280 lb.

Keep in mind that these are rough estimates to give you a quick guide for the productivity of your green manure.To know the exact percent N in your plant tissue, you would have to send it to a lab for analysis. Even with a delay for processing, the results could be helpful for the crop if you use split applications of N.Testing is always a good idea, as it can help you refine your N estimates for subsequent growing seasons.

The following rules of thumb may help here:

• Annual legumes typically have between 3.5 and 4 percent N in their aboveground parts prior to flowering (for young material,
use the higher end of the range), and 3 to 3.5 percent at flowering.After flowering,N in the leaves decreases quickly as it accumulates in the growing seeds.

Materials with a high carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio, such as mature grass cover crops, straw or any fibrous,woody residue,have a low N content. They can “tie up” soil N, keeping it immobilized (and unavailable) to crops until the carbon “fuel supply” starts depleting.Tie-up may last for several weeks in the early part of the growing season, and crop plants may show the yellowing characteristic of N deficiencies. That is why it often makes sense to wait one to three weeks after killing a low-N cover before planting the next crop, or to supplement with a more readily available N source when a delay is not practical.

* For cereal rye, the height relationship is a bit different.Cereal rye
weighs approximately 2,000 lb./A of dry matter at an 8-inch height
and 100 percent groundcover. For each additional inch, add 150
lb., as before, and multiply by (percent groundcover/100). For most
small grains and other annual grasses, start with 2,000 lb./A at 6
inches and 100 percent ground cover.Add 300 lb. for each
additional inch and multiply by (percent groundcover/100).

In the end there is no one across the board answer and actual available N could vary from 40-200#'s per acre so I play it safe and apply at least 1/2 of a crops N needs using 46-0-0 urea and feel fairly confident that the killed legumes will provide the rest as they decompose.

A winter rye/clover rotation with brassicas is perfect because the clover can grow long enough to fix substantial N whereas a crop of corn would be better off following a clover or alfalfa plot that has been growing for at least a year or more.

I just finished planting my brassicas and ALL of it was planted into plowed down alfalfa or clovers and there are some interesting differences between the two.

Alfalfa can send down deep tap roots 10 feet or more which allows them to survive dry summer weather that withers clovers and it also is able to pull up subsoil nutrients at the same time.

This alfalfa is three years old

when I plowed it under

a look at the turned over soil reveals the roots

The white clover was planted last fall with rye

and turns over easily

Far less roots then the alfalfa however as clover is a much shallower rooted plant

Each has it's pros and cons but both alfalfa and clover have huge benefits to both whitetails and our soils and one or both of them can fit into every landowners habitat program with the exception of those in very arid or extreme southern areas.

As you plan for your fall plantings of cereal grains be sure to add white or red cloveror a combination of the two. Alfalfas tend to be a little expensive but there are plow down alfalfas worth considering.

Talk to your local seed source or look over the various options that places like Welter Seed carries.

Plowdown alfalfas

Clover seeds

Occasionally seed companies give away leftover alfalfa seed to Pheasants Forever, NWTF or State DNR agencies so that also can be a great option to consider to keep both your whitetails, your soils and your wallet...happy!

 

[DH1]

thanks dbl,
The soil is sandy loam, at different times it's had alfalfa, clover and rye on it. Any thoughts how light to go on the rye, peas and oats to avoid competition for soil moisture? Would you mix hay alfalfa with falcata, with the plan of it becoming all falcata as the regular alfalfa thins out?

This link has the red clover holding 32% of it's nitrogen in the roots (about 4 pages down). Seems pretty nice for the plotters without the equipment to do a good plow down. This along with the organic matter from the roots provided by the red clover dying off sooner make for some good reasons to consider frost seeding a little red clover in a perennial plot each year.

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/covercrop.html

 

[waylonb19]

Will you lose your nitrogen if you round-up your clover before you till it under? I have a new clover plot that I am going to till under the top ridge to plant a fall mix. Just wondering if I burn it off to kill all the grasses am I going to lose the N in the clover?

 

[dbltree]

The soil is sandy loam, at different times it's had alfalfa, clover and rye on it. Any thoughts how light to go on the rye, peas and oats to avoid competition for soil moisture? Would you mix hay alfalfa with falcata, with the plan of it becoming all falcata as the regular alfalfa thins out?

This link has the red clover holding 32% of it's nitrogen in the roots (about 4 pages down). Seems pretty nice for the plotters without the equipment to do a good plow down. This along with the organic matter from the roots provided by the red clover dying off sooner make for some good reasons to consider frost seeding a little red clover in a perennial plot each year.

The peas won't compete at all because deer will most likely lap them up before they get to tall. I also cannot imagine serious competition for water from newly planted cereals in the fall.

Spring planted cereals that get mature and have large root systems are another story but fall planted cereals I just can't see it?

You could plant 40-50#'s of all three (rye/oats/peas) and it shouldn't be much of a problem at all. You may wish to spray the rye with clethodim in the spring or leave it alone depending on your spring rainfall.

I have mixed regular alfalfa with Falcata and planted Falcata alone...can't tell the difference really so it's kind of up to you.

Will you lose your nitrogen if you round-up your clover before you till it under? I have a new clover plot that I am going to till under the top ridge to plant a fall mix. Just wondering if I burn it off to kill all the grasses am I going to lose the N in the clover?

Yes...you will lose a portion as the upper part dries out..N contained in the leaves and stems will evaporate which is why I plow mine under.

Still a large portion of the N is in the root system so even with no-till systems there is much to be gained by following legumes.

I don't bother trying to kill clover with glyphosate because it's almost impervious to it and just bounces right back. You may find that the roundup will only kill the grasses and merely burn the clover so let us know what happens with yours?

 

[dbltree]

Since a few folks are wondering if winter rye will grow in the shade I thought I would post a few pics of my semi-shaded spot I always plant to rye and red clover.

I have a ground blind that over looks it that I seldom hunt but always get lots of pics there.

They always make scrapes there..

and stop for a bite

others are just "passin thru"...

The spot get some sun each day in the fall but the rye hardly grows the following spring when the leaves return. The red clover doesn't thrive but it survives and I just till it under and repeat the process each fall...:way:

 

[DH1]

thanks dbl for the feedback
Like I said, pretty much my first time venturing into the plotting, I'm really hoping for the best on it. The last 4-5 years I've taken my daughter and son out, they haven't seen much and only harvested one deer, so I'm trying to pull through for them. I think my son is ready to fire me and start looking for another guide...

 

[dbltree]

Plow down or no-till into kill legumes?

This thread has a great deal to do with NITROGEN simply because plants like winter rye and forage radish recyle nitrogen and legumes like clover, peas and vetch fix or "make" nitrogen.

How best to capture that N then is important and both plowing down and no-tilling into killed legumes can work although at leats some N will be lost with legumes left on the surface.

1) 60-90% of the N is contained in the leaves and plant portion of the legume (depending on the legume)

It has been my understanding that as the leaves dry after being killed that most of the N evaporates as it turns to a gaseous state. However it is a bit more complicated then that as the N is mineralized as nitrates (which make it usuable by other plants)

2) Corn yields where corn was no-tilled into killed alfalfa were the same as corn planted in plowed down alfalfa

Is that because the N in the roots was enough??

I'm going to post this info in the cereal grain thread as well but here are more thoughts to ponder along with some good links:

Legume Cover crops
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amount contained in the legume.



Approximately 40% of the plant tissue nitrogen becomes available the first year following a chemically burned, no-till legume mulch.


Approximately 60% of the tissue nitrogen is released when the cover crop is incorporated as a green manure rather than left on the surface as a mulch.
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but increased yields are apparent.<O></O>
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84<O></O>

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<O></O>
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Managing Cover crops profitably
<O></O>
A common misunderstanding about using green<O></O>
manure crops is that the N is used more efficiently<O></O>
because it’s from a plant source. This is not necessarily<O></O>
true. Nitrogen can be lost from a green<O></O>
manure system almost as easily as from chemical<O></O>
fertilizers,and in comparable amounts.

The reason is that the legume organic N may be converted to ammonium (NH4), then to ammonia (NH3) or nitrate (NO3) before plants can take it up. Under no-till systems where killed cover crops remainon the surface, some ammonia (NH3) gas can be lost right back into the atmosphere.<O></O>
<O></O>
To summarize, conventional plowing and aggressive<O></O>
disking can cause a rapid decomposition of<O></O>
green manures, which could provide too much N<O></O>
too soon in the cropping season.

No-till systems will have a reduced and more gradual release of N,<O></O>
but some of that N may be vulnerable to gaseous loss, either by ammonia volatilization or by denitrification<O></O>

In short...planting into a legume is a win win regardless if it is plowed under or killed an left on the surface and either may work well but there are some differences in the amount of N retained in no-till or incorporated legumes....

 

[dbltree]

I guess I can't say I have ever experienced two feet above normal rainfall in 90 days, so even though I have done some livin' and seen a lot of things over the years, I have never seen such water logged soils as we had this year in SE Iowa.

Normally my berseem clover thrives and I learned long ago the folly of planting brassicas with it!

At first my crimson clover

berseem clover

and chickling vetch appeared to be healthy and thriving

but days of relentless rain turned to weeks, even months of more of the same and our heavy clay soils soaked it up like a sponge and held onto it in the same manner.

Eventually it got the best of my annual cover crops and the berseem and vetch eventually succumbed to the rain and in most places there is not so much of a trace of either. I did some studying on this subject and while my white clovers absolutely thrived in the wet soils, it turns out the annuals cannot stand water logged soils.

For years it seems we endured summer after summer of drought and 100+ days when we would have welcomed "waterlogged" soil! We tend to become adapted and used to those type of situations and then are left scratching our heads when confronted with entirely different scenarios...such is the case with these three annual cover crops.

The crimson clover turned white as a ghost but didn't die

and recent stretchs of hot drier weather brought some of it to life

Last week we endured another 8" of rain in three days and then another 1 1/4 a few days after that...so the wet soils persist. Those of you with sandy light loamy soils will most likely never experience "waterlogged" soils and thus never have a problem. Others who have heavy poorly drained soils should at least be aware of the potential for problems in rainy years.

I sowed some left over white clover seed at the same time in one of my spent brassica plots and it is still going gangbusters so there are always options for wet clay soils. Aliske clover is a great option for those type of soils and the seed is usually inexpensive.

Alsike Clover seed

Each year brings the potential for the unexpected, the possiblity of failure or success and years spent farming have taught me that often Murphy's Law may rear it's ugly head at any time...nothing to do but try again next year...:way:

 

[dbltree]

Let's talk about oats.... after all, I include them in my own fall cereal grain planting....

I mix the following:
Winter rye 50-80#'s per acre (56#'s = a bushel)
Spring oats 80-120#'s per acre (32#'s = a bushel)
Austrian Winter Peas 20-80#'s per acre (4010 or 6040 field peas will work fine for 1/2 the price)
Red Clover 8-12#'s per acre or white clover at 6#'s per acre
Groundhog Forage Radish 5#'s per acre
Plant seeds roughly 1-2" deep, and then cultipack to cover, broadcast clover seed and re-cultipack
Plant fall grains no earlier then the last week of August through mid September, earlier is better when adding peas and clover

Personally I would never dream of planting oats alone and after years of fooling with cereals and testing various species and varieties against each other I have found not a single reason to choose oats based on deer preference.

I plant oats because they allow me to sow my cereals very heavily so they will withstand the heavy grazing but eventually the oats freeze off leaving only the winter rye. I always add white or red clover(or a combination of the two) with my cereal grain plantings so adding oats that freeze out leaves a slightly thinner easier to manage crop of rye that won't interfere with spring growth of the clover yet provides all winter into spring grazing.

So I don't add oats because deer like them better then anything else...I plant them because they serve as an intricate piece of my habitat plan, that includes soil building with the right combination of cereals and legumes.

Oats do have many great attributes however so I'll try to cover them and the pros and cons compared to other cereals.

BFO's are the only oats I have ever planted that deer refused to eat and on top of that they are extremely expensive!!

In short...given any other reasonable alternatives, deer do not like Buck Forage Oats and that is based on my side by side testing and close observations revealing heavy grazing of the common oats...

Jerry Oats

while the BFO's when untouched and all of my pictures on all of the plots showed the same thing. I do make an assumption here that everyone can see the grazed jerry oat leaves and the fact that the BFO's are untouched.

Buck Forage Oats

One can see the side by side tests back in the middle of this thread.

BFO vs Oats Discussion

How do oats stack up to winter rye in regards to forage yields?

Winter rye yields more tonnage compared to wheat or oats as this table shows

Forage yields

How do oats compare to other cereals regarding crude protein?

Hunter/landowners assume that all protein tests are created equal and it's across the board but nothing could be further from the truth. Most forage tests that are often referred to are done in late spring or early summer when cereals are harvested for silage or hay and that in no way compares to the results of forage tests done in the fall when cereals are young and tender.

This link properly compares fall planted cereals when harvested in December (forage samples taken) and various winter rye varieties are clear winners in both CP and yield over wheat, although in this test no oats were compared I share it so that you understand that testing 6" high forage in late fall is very different then testing 2 foot tall forages in spring when CP levels begin to drop like a rock1

Winter Rye for Extending the Grazing Season

This link compares oats to barley and shows that dairy cows produced more milk on barley forage then oat forage.

Cereal Spring Forages

I have worked hard to provide plenty of substantiated information showing that winter rye averages higher in crude protein then wheat, so when we see oats coming in below wheat it gives one an idea of how oats rank on the totem pole so to speak.

This link shows oats to have less CP then wheat or barley and in a lower table again reveals that winter rye comes in on top of wheat.

Emergency Forages

What about palatability?

To my knowledge there are no bona fide university studies that compare the palatability of cereal forages in regards to whitetails, so mostly what you read is "assumed".

In practical observations using trail cams or watching deer from my stands or blinds, they could care less if they are grazing oats, rye, triticale or a combination of all three.

If palatability were an issue (obviously BFO's are NOT palatable) then deer would seek out only one forage type and graze it to the ground but such is not the case in decades of observing deer grazing these forages.

Deer are opportunistic and given almost any good food source in a safe secure area...they will eat it!

What kind of oats should I buy?

Bin run feed grade oats will work just fine but I usually spend a couple extra bucks for seed oats that I know have been germination tested. Spring oats are the most common type, the ones farmers plant in the spring and harvest the grain in late summer. All oats are cold tolerant and normally planted in early March in many areas and that same tolerance allows them to survive repeated killing frosts in the fall.

Welter Seed has a long list of oats but everyone should be able to find oats locally. I share the Welter list simply for the information there and an example of what oat seed should cost.

Oat seed

Albert Lea Seed House also carries a full line of oats, rye and other seeds

Albert Lea Seed

Most oat varieties are for grain production and there are probably hundred of varieties across the nation because they are bred to suit the growing differences in different regions. Varieties in North Carolina will be far different then those in North Dakota, and those in Texas different then will be available in Minnesota.

Just check with your local ag co-op and and choose a reasonably priced commonly grown oat.

What about forage oats??

Contrary to what one might think....forage oats are bred for hay and silage production rather then grazing. Allowed to grow they will get taller and leafier then grain type oats but when fall planted they don't have time to do that much growing.

They do have some attributes if you can find a forage oat at your local seed source but nothing to get all worked up about "searching" far and wide for them.

Oats...easy to grow and whitetails find them tasty but they lack significant advantages such as winter survivability nor the soil improving attributes found in winter rye.

Add some to your fall planting or...not, the choice is yours but I would encourage landowners to not put undue emphasis on oats compared to other cereals or crops in general........