“Rye wait?” the winter-resistant crop
The harvest season for corn silage and soybeans is moving at a steady clip and making the month of October go faster than the cheese curds at Cheese Days.
With so much coming off during a great stretch of weather that has dominated the month of October, the seeding of winter grains, cover crops, and manure applications have been keeping farmers busy. Some of those manure applications are going onto established cover crops that have been planted after oats/wheat were combined in August or were interseeded companion crops in silage corn.
My major body of work is working with cover crops, so getting asked questions about seeding rates, species selections, and timing of application is fairly common. The volume of questions, and the amount of cover crops being seeded have been the most I have seen since I came back to Colby in 2014.
The most popular, especially in fall, is winter rye. Now, I want to make this clear: this is rye, NOT ryegrass, that we are talking about. Rye is a winter-hardy cereal grain that is used in making whiskey, rye bread (you know, the dark brown slice of bread that all kids push off to the side at the Friday night fish fry), livestock forage, and cover crop programs for managing soil (minimum till systems, erosion control, organic building, and water management).
Of all the cereal grains, rye is the most winter-hardy. The term ‘winter-hardy’ is in reference to its ability to withstand frigid temperatures. This stuff not only enjoys the snow, it welcomes it. For rye to go through its growth process it needs to vernalize, which is a fancy term that means the plant needs to be exposed to cold to stimulate it and encourage it to keep growing. If you plant winter rye in spring, it will grow about six to eight inches tall and then simply wilt.
Just how much cold can this stuff handle? Old timers will tell you that rye can sprout on an ice cube. A funny yarn from another generation, but they are not too far off. It has been cited that rye will germinate, and grow, at temperatures as low as 33 degrees Fahrenheit. It does begin to slow down at such low temperatures, but when it reaches 38 degrees Fahrenheit its growth begins to accelerate.
The biggest question each year is, how late can this get planted? If the farmer is looking for grain production or forage, mid-September to mid-October is generally recommended. Depending on the weather, this window could be extended. If the ground isn’t frozen, some have planted as late as early to mid-November. The biggest factors for late seeding of rye are moisture and the extended forecast. As I write this, it is 32 degrees (feels like 23 degrees) and a little bit of snow is coming down, yet the soil in the soybean field outside my office is 33 degrees. If we can count on mild fall temperatures with some sunshine for a few weeks, planting rye is an easy decision, especially if it is for cover crops. Another consideration is if the seed is planted in soil that will not warm up past 33 degrees in a timely fashion for the rye to germinate and becomes wetter, the risk of seed rot in spring will increase. Rye can be like a farm dad. It is tough and there is very little that can stop it in the cold (or, if you are like me and have a farm dad; they are just tough to stop in general). This dependability is important for our dairy systems, especially as more continue to pursue the use of cover crops as a mechanism for fertility building, field trafficability, manure management, and forage.
But its use isn’t just limited to farm fields. Gardeners, landscapers, and food plotters can and have used rye as well. So if you are facing one of those unexpected, late-inthe- year projects that need to get covered up, ask yourself “rye wait?”
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