Mother Nature may have come through with rain just in the nick of time for some Kansas wheat fields to support fall grazing.

"Now that there has been rain, producers will be chomping at the bit to get cattle out there to graze," said Kansas State University agronomist Jim Shroyer. "But you just can't go by growth above ground in order to determine if the wheat can withstand fall grazing."

Shroyer, who is a wheat production specialist with K-State Research and Extension, said before a grower considers stocking wheat fields with cattle, the plants should have several tillers and be 6-12 inches tall.

"If you can easily pull it out of the ground and the crown roots are not well developed, it's not a good candidate for grazing at this point," he said. "The plants need to have good crown root development and be well-anchored."

Grazing typically removes excessive top growth, which conserves soil moisture by cutting the amount of water transpired by the leaves. That is particularly helpful in seasons with adequate or surplus fall moisture, but limited springtime precipitation.

Typically wheat is ready for grazing in the Oct. 15 through Nov. 15 period for 120 to 150 days.

Wheat tends to produce more tillers and leaves than are necessary for maximum grain yield, Shroyer said. Although there is a lack of agreement in research and in producers' experiences on the beneficial and detrimental effects of grazing on grain yields, Shroyer is in the camp that believes it will likely trim yields somewhat.

The reduction can be minimized, however, if fertility is adequate; grazing is not too heavy; cattle are removed before the wheat joints; top growth removal curbs water use; and lodging is reduced.

To replace nitrogen lost through grazing, he recommends growers add four-tenths of a pound of nitrogen for every pound of beef removed from a wheat field. That translates to 40 pounds of nitrogen for every 100 pounds of beef removed.

"Wheat pasture is not free and clear. If you don't manage it properly, you're going to reduce your yield if you want to harvest it for grain," he said. "Producers should consider if they're going to graze in the fall, in the spring, or both and if they plan to harvest for grain. Growers just have to put pencil to paper to figure out if they're going to graze and go to grain or graze out. Some years [of low grain prices and high beef prices] it makes sense to just graze the wheat and not harvest for grain."

While optimum stocking rates vary from year to year, depending on climatic and management factors that influence forage yields, recommended fall and winter stocking rates often range from 250-500 pounds of animal per acre or one to two acres per stocker animal, depending on the weight. Spring stocking rates typically are 1.5-2.0 times greater than fall, or 0.75-1.3 acres per stocker, depending on weight. ©