Cereal grains
Conservatively, cereal grains will produce 1,500 to 2,500 pounds of forage dry matter between early fall and April 1 if seeded early and top-dressed with sufficient nitrogen. Another 1,000 to 2,000 pounds of forage are usually produced after April 1. Some recent information suggests that yields can be 1500 - 3000 pounds by December 1 if planted in August, and total seasonal forage yields could be 6000 - 8000 pounds, depending on rainfall and nitrogen fertilization rates. Cereal grains, particularly rye, barley, oats, triticale and wheat are seeded early and grazed throughout the growing season. Mixtures often work best for goat pastures because some cereals produce well in early autumn while others are more cold-tolerant and come on later in winter and early spring. All cereal grains are high in quality -- 70 percent to 80 percent digestible and 15 percent to 20 percent crude protein -- when control-grazed and kept vegetative. Dry matter intake is high. Barley matures earlier than wheat. In general, wheat will not produce as much forage during fall and winter as other small grains. Cereal rye produces more forage than barley on sandy land, whereas barley frequently is more productive on the clay soils. If grain harvest is desired, considerable grazing can be obtained between November 1 and February 15 without materially reducing grain yields.
Luginbuhl, J-M. 2006. Pastures for Meat Goats. In: Meat Goat Production Handbook, ed. T.A. Gipson, R.C. Merkel, K. Williams, and T. Sahlu, Langston University, ISBN 1-880667-04-5.
