Planting Wheat for Grazing

Jaynie Norman • September 3, 2021

By PAUL BECK September 1, 2021


Wheat is a great resource for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers, it can be used for grazing only, grain production only, or as a dual-purpose grazing and grain crop. Ideal planting dates are different depending on the intended purpose of the crop.


The best grain crops are usually planted much later in the fall, around mid to late October. Dual purpose (grazing and grain) crops are planted in mid to late September. Because it is a double cropping system, seeding rates, planting dates, and fertilizer management are compromises between the needs for fall forage production and grain production in the spring.

When wheat is used only for grazing through the fall and winter and as a grazing or hay crop in the spring, planting dates are much earlier than if grain production is the goal. Profitability of grazing depends on achieving the earliest forage production and maximizing forage during the fall and winter, so planting dates can be as early and the end of August into early September.



When fields are planted earlier, soil temperatures are higher and soil moisture is usually limiting, therefore…

  • Higher soil temperatures limit the length of the emerging shoot (coleoptile) of the plant so planting depth should be less than 1 inch.
  • In clean till fields hard rains can cause the seed bed to crust over hindering emergence of the wheat plant.
  • Earlier seeding makes it difficult to control cools season broadleaf and grassy weeds, so rotation of crops or seeding dates becomes necessary to clean up these issues.
  • Insect pests, such as grasshoppers and fall army worms, are a bigger issue for early planted wheat, so scouting and control are important.
  • Tom Royer with OSU Entomology and Plant Pathology presents Winter Wheat Management for Fall & Winter Pests. This webinar is part of the Thursday Rancher's Series and was presented on Nov, 12, 2020. OSU Extension: Winter Wheat Management for Fall & Winter Pests - YouTube
  • Seeding rates for early planted wheat are recommended to be higher than later planted wheat at 1.5 (90 pounds per acre) to 2 (120 pounds per acre) bushels per acre.

In no-till with good residue cover, soil temperatures are cooler than clean-till, moisture retention is often better, and there are less problems with soil crusting. The cooler soil temperatures will slow seedling emergence for late fall plantings but can be of benefit for early planted wheat.


Resent research showed that fall forage production in no-till wheat plantings in mid-August and early September were similar to forage production of clean-tilled fields in early September. When planting was delayed until mid-September, fall forage production in tilled fields was better than in no-till. Stocker calf gains were the same for early planted no-till and clean-tilled fields, but no-till had later stocking dates and lower calf gains than clean-till when planted later.


There is a lot of compromise and give and take when planting wheat and other cool-season annuals for pasture. Each year is different, but when aggressively pursuing the earliest planting dates for maximizing fall forage production, producers must be ready to intervene if crusting occurs and control pests or replanting may be necessary.

e body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

You might also like

Jaynie Norman

Bill would label livestock rivals as ‘imitation’ or ‘lab-grown’ meat

By Jaynie Norman • February 1, 2024
By Chuck Abbott Successful Farming With U.S. approval of cultivated chicken grown in fermentation vats, farm-state lawmakers filed companion bills in the House and Senate on Tuesday to require alternative proteins, such as plant-based foods, to carry the words “imitation” or “lab-grown” on their labels. Sponsors said they wanted to prevent confusion in the supermarket between “real farm-raised meat” and its rivals. Plant-based meats accounted for 2.5% of retail packaged meat sales in 2022, according to the Good Food Institute, a think tank and network of organizations “working to accelerate alternative protein innovation.” Only a trickle of cultivated chicken is on the U.S. market at present. Upside Foods said last September it would build a commercial-scale plant to produce cell-cultured meat products in suburban Chicago. The USDA is working on label regulations for cultivated meat. In the interim, it decided Upside Foods and Good Meat, which were cleared last summer by USDA to sell cultivated meat to consumers, would label their products as cell-cultivated chicken. “The American consumer deserves to know what they are eating and feeding their family,” said sponsor Rep. Mark Alford, Missouri Republican. “It’s only fair that all products are labeled fairly.” Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall said, “Distinguishing between a black-bean burger and an actual beef burger shouldn’t be hard.” Under the legislation, foods made with plant protein and that are sold with a name associated with products from a food-bearing animal or that are created to taste or look like them would be required to carry the word “imitation” on the label or a word to show the source of the protein. “Meatless chicken tenders” would be one possibility, according to a summary of the bill. Similarly, labels for cultivated meat would include “cell-cultured” or “lab-grown” immediately adjacent to the name of the food. The bill was backed by the largest groups speaking for cattle, hog, sheep, and chicken producers, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Livestock producers have argued for years for restrictive labels to prevent alternative proteins from using names associated with animals. A one-page summary of the bill is available here . To read the text of the legislation, click here .

Prevention and Treatment of Tick Bites

By Jaynie Norman • May 23, 2023
The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

Livestock and Animal Antibiotic Changes are Coming Soon

By Jaynie Norman • January 12, 2023
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in June 2021 that all medically important antimicrobials for food-producing animals and pets will move from over-the-counter (OTC) to prescription (Rx) effective June 2023 . A prescription is already required for most antibiotics delivered to livestock, and the remaining three categories of injectable antibiotics available over-the-counter will soon be joining the list of medically important antimicrobials that require a veterinarian’s prescription. To add to the stress of raising livestock, now things will change again which is going to influence the ag industry overall. I hope that this list of medications will give people a chance to read it and become familiar with the situation before the change comes in June of 2023. Changes Coming are as follow: In 2018, the FDA established a 5 year plan for supporting antimicrobial supervision by veterinarians. The plans purpose to address antimicrobial resistance using only medically necessary drugs as necessary to prevent, treat and control disease. It has to be determined by a licensed veterinarian if it is necessary, but you won’t have to order the prescriptions from the vet directly. You will, however, need to establish a Veterinary-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR) if certain animals are not examined regularly. Popular Products Will Require Prescriptions Following a recent penicillin shortage, soon producers will get hit with this change that once again impacts access to antibiotic therapy for animals. When you’ve used them for so long as OTC meds to treat pneumonia or shipping fever in your livestock, Now, the change will be to establish the relationship with your veterinarian to get the prescriptions for these meds. Here is the list by active ingredients. The following are some products that will be seeing label changes to prescription-only status: Oxytetracyclines Injectables: Liquamycin LA-200, Noromycin 300 LA, Bio-Mycin 200, Agrimycin 200, etc. Boluses: Terramycin Scours Tablets, OXY 500 Calf Boluses Penicillins (Penicillin G procaine, penicillin G benzathine) Injectables: Penicillin Injectable, Dura-Pen, Pro-Pen-G, Combi-Pen 48, etc. Intramammary tubes: Masti-Clear, Go-dry, Albadry Plus Sulfa-based antibiotics (Sulfadimethoxine, sulfamethazine) Injectables: Di-Methox 40%, SulfMed 40% Boluses: Albon, Sustain III Cattle & Calf Boluses, Supra Sulfa III Cattle & Calf Boluses Tylosin Injectables: Tylan 50, Tylan 200 Cephapirin, cephapirin benzathine Intramammary tubes: ToDAY and ToMORROW Additionally, several swine medications fall under the new guidance: Lincomycin Injectables: Lincomix 100, Lincomix 300, LincoMed 100, LincoMed 300 Gentamicin Injectables: Garasol, Gentamicin Piglet Injection ToDay Mastitis Treatment for Lactating C ows
More Posts

Book a Service Today