Well, this is one of the hardest subjects I have had to research, there is just not as much out there as I would like for the area I will be working in. There is no shortage of small farms out there who are raising animals on forage but very few of them are growing their own winter or supplemental feed to be totally self sufficient. Perhaps I should take that as a hint however I am not, always did have to learn things the hard way. My sister-in-law Roxy has been asking about when I was going to make this post, I think just to show me how much coordination and planning was involved. I will say this much, yes it is intimating, almost like a jigsaw puzzle to figure out the best way to make it all fit together.
In total I will have 4 three acre plots I have set aside for a crop rotation for animal feed. Each year the crops will rotate one field in so that the same crop is not planted on the same ground except for once every 4 years. When I looked at the crops it was with the intention they could be used for at least a majority of the animals if not all, as a reminder the main livestock is Galloway cattle, Kinder goats, Big black hogs, and various chickens (mainly barred rock and dominques). The cattle however will only be grass or pasture feed, no supplemental grains. So with that in mind we will get started, I will break it down in field position rather then time of planting,
Field 1
Golden hickory king corn- Corn being the nitrogen hog will start off the rotations. The golden hickory king is an open pollinated heirloom variety that grows up to 12 foot tall and produces 2 large ears per plant. The husks are very tight helping prevent insect issues. Planting times are typically in mid-may with ground temperatures in the mid 50s. Maturity for this corn is about 100 days for an end of Aug harvest time. Clover will be planted as a cover crop once the corn has been established.
Field 2
Field 2 will be split into two 1 1/2 acre sections, the first section will be further broken down to three 1/2 acre sections of three root type plants, sugar beets, turnips and rutabaga. These are all cool weather plans and can be planted as soon as the ground is workable, probably in the April time frame. The turnips can be harvested after 60 days while the beets and rutabaga can be harvested after about 100 days. Because these are being used for animal fodder however we will allow the cattle to graze the greens twice during the growing season (leaves have about 20% protein) and only harvest about 1/2 of them in early Sept. We will allow the rest to stay in the ground and use it for a late fall foraging lot for the hogs. Even harvesting only 1/2 the roots will still provide multiple tons of winter feed.
On the other 1 1/2 section I will plant Giganteus Sunflowers. These sunflowers grow up to 12 feet tall with flower heads up to 18 inches across. Since this field is following the corn rotation it should still have clover from the previous year. With 36 inches between plants i will try to allow as much of the clover to remain. This plant grows best with ground temps of about 70 degrees so probably late May to early June for initial planting times. Harvest time is between 80-120 days after planting so so late Aug to early Sept for harvesting the heads.
Field 3
Like field 2 this field will be split into 2 halves, this field will have "procon" field peas on one half and chickpeas on the other half. Both peas have a ground planting temperature of only 40 degrees meaning a very early planting, basically as soon as the ground defrosts in late March early April. The maturity of the peas is roughly 100 days so will be harvested in early July. The hard decision for me was what to do after July with this section and I decided to go with a grain and double crop this section. To be honest the grassy grains scare me due to the having to harvest them! I went back and forth between Fox Tail Millet and hulless barley. The F oxtail Millet matures in as little as 30 days but best to figure 45 days, the hulless barley matures in 60-90 days for a late Sept harvest date.
Field 4
Field 4 is the recovery field and will be planted with a legume mix along with wild flowers in order to help fix the nitrogen as well as give another pasture for the pasture rotation and provide nectar for the bees.
So in short the schedule will be: (depending on weather of course)
This mix of crops should give me a good variety of winter-feed for all of the livestock when combined with apples, garden scraps, and goat milk and whey and remaining forages.
Early April - Plant Peas and Chickpeas
Early April - Plant beets and roots
Mid-May - Plant Corn
End May/Start June- Plant sunflowers
Late June/Early July Harvest Peas/Field Peas
Early July- Plant Millet and Barley
Mid Aug Harvest Millet
Late Aug- Harvest Corn
Late Aug - Harvest Sunflowers
Early Sept Beet and Root harvest
Late Sept Harvest barley
At the end of the day this should give me a pretty good mix of proteins, carbs and fats for the needs of the livestock over the winter! It will also mean alot of work on my part. Right now i am honestly not sure how feasible any of my time frames are as i am still not sure how much equipment i will have to work with. Wish me luck!!
In total I will have 4 three acre plots I have set aside for a crop rotation for animal feed. Each year the crops will rotate one field in so that the same crop is not planted on the same ground except for once every 4 years. When I looked at the crops it was with the intention they could be used for at least a majority of the animals if not all, as a reminder the main livestock is Galloway cattle, Kinder goats, Big black hogs, and various chickens (mainly barred rock and dominques). The cattle however will only be grass or pasture feed, no supplemental grains. So with that in mind we will get started, I will break it down in field position rather then time of planting,
Field 1
Golden hickory king corn- Corn being the nitrogen hog will start off the rotations. The golden hickory king is an open pollinated heirloom variety that grows up to 12 foot tall and produces 2 large ears per plant. The husks are very tight helping prevent insect issues. Planting times are typically in mid-may with ground temperatures in the mid 50s. Maturity for this corn is about 100 days for an end of Aug harvest time. Clover will be planted as a cover crop once the corn has been established.
Field 2
Field 2 will be split into two 1 1/2 acre sections, the first section will be further broken down to three 1/2 acre sections of three root type plants, sugar beets, turnips and rutabaga. These are all cool weather plans and can be planted as soon as the ground is workable, probably in the April time frame. The turnips can be harvested after 60 days while the beets and rutabaga can be harvested after about 100 days. Because these are being used for animal fodder however we will allow the cattle to graze the greens twice during the growing season (leaves have about 20% protein) and only harvest about 1/2 of them in early Sept. We will allow the rest to stay in the ground and use it for a late fall foraging lot for the hogs. Even harvesting only 1/2 the roots will still provide multiple tons of winter feed.
On the other 1 1/2 section I will plant Giganteus Sunflowers. These sunflowers grow up to 12 feet tall with flower heads up to 18 inches across. Since this field is following the corn rotation it should still have clover from the previous year. With 36 inches between plants i will try to allow as much of the clover to remain. This plant grows best with ground temps of about 70 degrees so probably late May to early June for initial planting times. Harvest time is between 80-120 days after planting so so late Aug to early Sept for harvesting the heads.
Field 3
Like field 2 this field will be split into 2 halves, this field will have "procon" field peas on one half and chickpeas on the other half. Both peas have a ground planting temperature of only 40 degrees meaning a very early planting, basically as soon as the ground defrosts in late March early April. The maturity of the peas is roughly 100 days so will be harvested in early July. The hard decision for me was what to do after July with this section and I decided to go with a grain and double crop this section. To be honest the grassy grains scare me due to the having to harvest them! I went back and forth between Fox Tail Millet and hulless barley. The F oxtail Millet matures in as little as 30 days but best to figure 45 days, the hulless barley matures in 60-90 days for a late Sept harvest date.
Field 4
Field 4 is the recovery field and will be planted with a legume mix along with wild flowers in order to help fix the nitrogen as well as give another pasture for the pasture rotation and provide nectar for the bees.
So in short the schedule will be: (depending on weather of course)
This mix of crops should give me a good variety of winter-feed for all of the livestock when combined with apples, garden scraps, and goat milk and whey and remaining forages.
Early April - Plant Peas and Chickpeas
Early April - Plant beets and roots
Mid-May - Plant Corn
End May/Start June- Plant sunflowers
Late June/Early July Harvest Peas/Field Peas
Early July- Plant Millet and Barley
Mid Aug Harvest Millet
Late Aug- Harvest Corn
Late Aug - Harvest Sunflowers
Early Sept Beet and Root harvest
Late Sept Harvest barley
At the end of the day this should give me a pretty good mix of proteins, carbs and fats for the needs of the livestock over the winter! It will also mean alot of work on my part. Right now i am honestly not sure how feasible any of my time frames are as i am still not sure how much equipment i will have to work with. Wish me luck!!
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