cover crop.

As you may remember I custom farm some organic ground for neighbor. This year in half of it they had me plant spring wheat with red clover plow down. I took the wheat off about 6 weeks ago and because of the wet year the clover did not come up to good. But the button weeds started coming back strong after wheat was off. So before buttons started turning black they told me mow it off, bale it and see if I can sell the bales. So these bales are-wheat stubble, clover, pigeon grass and button weeds. Surprisingly, when the people look at them they buy as many as they have cash for. First lady was feeding it to goats. second person dairy beef and person today said he is feeding it to "young stock" I don't know exactly what that is. This hay is actually certified organic but none of these customers are feeding organic. After I got the hay baled off they told me to disk it lightly and plant another cover crop in there right away. This next cover is a blend of soybeans, wheat, clover, rye and corn. That's right, some corn in there! Then just before ground freezes in Nov. moldboard plow it. I got it seeded just before an inch and a half rain so it should get off to a good start. I'm curious what this will look like a month from now. I don't know why I'm telling you this. Just making conversation.

Thanks for the info

I think I mentioned here, I ended up selling my barley straw which was 80% pigeon grass to my neighbor, I wasn’t going to mention that field to anyone just gonna bale it myself, he actually asked me, he wanted it for feeding young stock on his dairy, as you mention. Kinda weird selling weeds to a neighbor.....

If it ever quits raining I need to grab some pics of my cover crop on my 15 acres of oats ground, I plant it all at the same time oats clover alfalfa and a touch of turnips. After swathing, combining, and baling off the straw, neighbor coulters in hog manure. You’d think the field is worked black, but 3 weeks later, boy it’s green and tall in alfalfa and clover and the turnips are gorging themselves on the N.

I just wish it would stop raining.

Paul

Sounds like good hay give me multi species hay over just grass anytime.For a Winter cover crop I plant a mix of Crimson Clover and turnips,pull some of the turnips to feed hogs,goats and cows.Crimson Clover produces a lot of forage in the spring disk it down then plant whatever.

There's 3 or 4 brothers that bought the farm ground across the road from me a couple years ago. They had about 100 acres of certified organic oats in one field, my neighbor told me they had 400 acres of the organic oats altogether. I don't know what kind of bushels to the acre of oats would be good but they sure had a lot of semis hauling it away. I like watching these guys, I think they have all John Deere equipment, most is a few years from new but looks clean and nice and they got a slug of tractors from 4020s up to a couple big tracked JDs.

I see the corn on another farm of theirs has the tassels pulled or clipped so that must be seed corn.
These guys ain't afraid to work, they bought up a lot of ground in the last few years.

How would crimson clover do seeded the same time with cover crop wheat, if I was to cut it all for hay in late May? I like wheat hay but a little clover in it would make it better I bet. This is southern Indiana

Never tried wheat but I have broadcast oats in the clover in the Fall since deer love young oats,some times the oats will over Winter if its not too cold and it grows right along with the clover in the spring,wheat should over Winter no problem.For hay I'd also add Hairy Vetch.