Cutting Grain for Straw after Heading

Hi folks,

Bit of an odd question: I have a small (4 acre) field of fall rye at my father's farm - about 80 miles distant from my main farm (Note that this is cereal rye - not ryegrass). I broadcast-seeded it into this sandy, sloped field last October just to provide some ground cover and prevent erosion, expecting to just plow it down in the spring.

It ended up coming along so well that I left it, intending to bale it as green feed before it headed out. Unfortunately I then had to travel for work for what was supposed to be a short trip but ended up being over a month. By the time I came back it had all headed out and was past when it would have been suitable for green feed.

Not sure what to do with it now. Because it's only 4 acres, I'm not too concerned about it, and it's not worth bringing a combine down 80 miles from the main farm nor finding someone local to combine it (don't know what I'd do with a pile of rye anyway). I can always use as much straw as I can get for cattle bedding, so I was thinking I'd just cut it and bale it as straw - heads and all. My only concern: One of the neighbours (who's a nice guy, but a bit of a nutty horse person) thought the long, stiff beards on the rye could cause grief if the animals started to chew their bedding. He thought it might catch in their throats and cause irritation. Would anyone else be concerned about this? I've baled oats (heads and all) for straw before, but obviously they don't have the beards that rye/wheat/barley does. If I let it get dry enough, I'm thinking the crimping rolls on the haybine will probably shatter most of the grain off anyway, so maybe it's not a concern?

Any thoughts/speculation is greatly appreciated.
 
Yep, horse people worry about any and every little thing. I guess to be fair, horses are one of the most delicate, fragile farm animals out there. Cows will be fine.
 
Hi folks,

Bit of an odd question: I have a small (4 acre) field of fall rye at my father's farm - about 80 miles distant from my main farm (Note that this is cereal rye - not ryegrass). I broadcast-seeded it into this sandy, sloped field last October just to provide some ground cover and prevent erosion, expecting to just plow it down in the spring.

It ended up coming along so well that I left it, intending to bale it as green feed before it headed out. Unfortunately I then had to travel for work for what was supposed to be a short trip but ended up being over a month. By the time I came back it had all headed out and was past when it would have been suitable for green feed.

Not sure what to do with it now. Because it's only 4 acres, I'm not too concerned about it, and it's not worth bringing a combine down 80 miles from the main farm nor finding someone local to combine it (don't know what I'd do with a pile of rye anyway). I can always use as much straw as I can get for cattle bedding, so I was thinking I'd just cut it and bale it as straw - heads and all. My only concern: One of the neighbours (who's a nice guy, but a bit of a nutty horse person) thought the long, stiff beards on the rye could cause grief if the animals started to chew their bedding. He thought it might catch in their throats and cause irritation. Would anyone else be concerned about this? I've baled oats (heads and all) for straw before, but obviously they don't have the beards that rye/wheat/barley does. If I let it get dry enough, I'm thinking the crimping rolls on the haybine will probably shatter most of the grain off anyway, so maybe it's not a concern?

Any thoughts/speculation is greatly appreciated.
about all you can do now is cut it. your right the rollers probably shatter it off if its really dry. cows are pretty smart when it comes to eating. and once its dry like that they get pretty picky. one option would be to chop it and mix it with hay as an option.
 
Crimpers ought to get it. If cows get any grief from chewing their bedding, then they will quit chewing on it. Might be better feed than bedding.
 
Thanks, You're right, still might make ok feed of chopped, but these days I actually need bedding more than feed. If I had more time, I'd bring one of my old all-crops down and have fun with it on four acres, but I just don't have time this year for that kind of foolishness.
 
Thanks, You're right, still might make ok feed of chopped, but these days I actually need bedding more than feed. If I had more time, I'd bring one of my old all-crops down and have fun with it on four acres, but I just don't have time this year for that kind of foolishness.
If you want to combine in the future, run your culti-mulcher over the field soon as possible after baling. You will have essentially re-seeded the field, and that will help push it into the ground with minimal investment. Spread some fertilizer and you’re done
You said it all when you said "nutty horse person." In my humble opinion of course. They're always looking for something inane to fuss about.

Cut it, bale it, and don't worry about it.
I don’t want to stereotype but that IS funny…
 
Only thing I would worry about is that horses will eat the rye until foundered. BTW I am not a horse person. But was raised with working horses and rode them so much, I disliked riding them anymore.
 
Hi folks,

Bit of an odd question: I have a small (4 acre) field of fall rye at my father's farm - about 80 miles distant from my main farm (Note that this is cereal rye - not ryegrass). I broadcast-seeded it into this sandy, sloped field last October just to provide some ground cover and prevent erosion, expecting to just plow it down in the spring.

It ended up coming along so well that I left it, intending to bale it as green feed before it headed out. Unfortunately I then had to travel for work for what was supposed to be a short trip but ended up being over a month. By the time I came back it had all headed out and was past when it would have been suitable for green feed.

Not sure what to do with it now. Because it's only 4 acres, I'm not too concerned about it, and it's not worth bringing a combine down 80 miles from the main farm nor finding someone local to combine it (don't know what I'd do with a pile of rye anyway). I can always use as much straw as I can get for cattle bedding, so I was thinking I'd just cut it and bale it as straw - heads and all. My only concern: One of the neighbours (who's a nice guy, but a bit of a nutty horse person) thought the long, stiff beards on the rye could cause grief if the animals started to chew their bedding. He thought it might catch in their throats and cause irritation. Would anyone else be concerned about this? I've baled oats (heads and all) for straw before, but obviously they don't have the beards that rye/wheat/barley does. If I let it get dry enough, I'm thinking the crimping rolls on the haybine will probably shatter most of the grain off anyway, so maybe it's not a concern?

Any thoughts/speculation is greatly appreciated.
Will the rye grain attract mice? If rye is anything like oat hay expect to find several mice in each bale if not one in every slice. Didn't have nearly as much problem with mice in oat straw. Crimping to shatter out the grain might be best.
 

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