While it’s hard to get through a winter without feeding hay, there are quite a few things we can do to make sure that our cows get quality forage year round. Fortunately there are some grasses that do quite well in the late fall and early spring, so that we can cut back on our hay feeding. Annual ryegrass, triticale, barley and wheat are grasses that are fairly cold tolerant, and can be planted after our cash crops come off the field. In this picture, Scott is finishing up planting triticale on some bean ground. So that during the winter, the cows will have fresh green grass, and the soil will be covered, minimizing erosion and suppressing weeds. Quality forage for our cows doesn’t just happen!