Winter Cereals as a Multipurpose Crop

In 2010, the University of Vermont Extension continued their research evaluating winter cereals as a multipurpose crop. Winter cereal grains including barley, wheat, and triticale are planted mid to late September in the Northeast. The crops can be harvested as pasture, stored feed, or grain and straw. This study was to evaluate if the winter cereals could be grazed and then harvested for forage or grain/straw. This would allow a farmer to harvest more than one type of feed from only one planting of cereals. Overall the goal of this project is to help organic dairy producers reduce their reliance on expensive concentrates through the production of a variety of high quality annual forages. Winter cereals begin to grow early in the spring when air temperatures are in the low 40s. The growth of cereal grains begins before cool season pasture. Hence these cereals may provide early season grazing opportunities and then still be able to provide later harvested stored feed or even grain/straw.