Undersowing grass with barley

Grueller

I have a 10 acre field here that I can live without for this year but wanted to reseed in the Autumn. I was considering putting spring barley into it now and undersowing it with grass.
The pros are that I have the work done all in the one go, I have my straw sorted with the uncertainty around it. If a drought comes and silage crops are poor I have the option to wholecrop it.
The cons are reduced yield of barley.

I have little to no tillage experience so I am throwing this out there. What are the extra costs per acre to undersow grass with the barley? How much does yield typically reduce?
Thanks in advance for answers.

Bass Reeves

If you.undersow with grass you need to cut back barley seeding rate to 18-20kgs per acre. You need to have grass seed rate to 15 kgs/ acre. I have grown the crop a few time I be reluctant to do it again as grass can struggle. Great feeding to finish cattle I used to bale it. However you have to pike away and excess straw in that case. I always cut it at the cottage cheese stage to give grass as much of a chance as possible

At a guess you be getting 1.5-1.8 tons of barley to the acre

Reggie.

Grueller wrote: »

I have a 10 acre field here that I can live without for this year but wanted to reseed in the Autumn. I was considering putting spring barley into it now and undersowing it with grass.
The pros are that I have the work done all in the one go, I have my straw sorted with the uncertainty around it. If a drought comes and silage crops are poor I have the option to wholecrop it.
The cons are reduced yield of barley.

I have little to no tillage experience so I am throwing this out there. What are the extra costs per acre to undersow grass with the barley? How much does yield typically reduce?
Thanks in advance for answers.

Were you going to take straw off the land?

Grueller

Reggie. wrote: »

Were you going to take straw off the land?

If I don't harvest it for barley I was going to.

Mooooo

Would you be as well off to set grain only, could still whole crop if you need it and set grass after it?

Grueller

Mooooo wrote: »

Would you be as well off to set grain only, could still whole crop if you need it and set grass after it?

That is the kind of thing I was looking for information about Moooo. I am new to all of this.

Mooooo

Grueller wrote: »

That is the kind of thing I was looking for information about Moooo. I am new to all of this.

No great experience here either but from what I told sowing both can be a halfway house at both then, if you took whole crop you should still have time to get grass in and grazed with better tillering.
Also if you haven't had whole crop before be prepared for the onslaught of crows at the pit, bastards

Bass Reeves

Mooooo wrote: »

No great experience here either but from what I told sowing both can be a halfway house at both then, if you took whole crop you should still have time to get grass in and grazed with better tillering.
Also if you haven't had whole crop before be prepared for the onslaught of crows at the pit, bastards

I always baled it. You need to keep poison down as well for the rats from the start. One advantage of the pit is it can be cut very high and only leave 12'' or less if straw on the grain. You can also combine it, crimp it and put it. Great feed vey balanced in the stomach and can be fed at high quanties.

My own preference if growing as a crop as opposed to a whole crop would be to crimp it and put it. If whole crop bale it.

Another option is to use a hybrids and red clover instead of ryegrass grass. Add in pea's and set barley peas at 630-35 kgs/ acre. Cut at 12 week stage massive crop of high P feedstuff. . Take a second cut of silage this year and three next year and reseed autumn 12 months.

Reggie.

Grueller wrote: »

If I don't harvest it for barley I was going to.

Well you usually spray off the crop before harvesting so you'll kill any grass that's undersown. You have to cut it was wholecrop to undersow grass

blue5000

Mooooo wrote: »

No great experience here either but from what I told sowing both can be a halfway house at both then, if you took whole crop you should still have time to get grass in and grazed with better tillering.
Also if you haven't had whole crop before be prepared for the onslaught of crows at the pit, bastards

Not too many choices for spraying under sown barley either. Legumex extra but not sure if it’s available anymore. Will you have clover in the grass seed?

Sowed some last year, oats, red clover and Italian rye grass, cut as whole crop in September. Oats down first, just shook it on ploughed scrapes. Then levelled it, 3 runs, rolled it, then shook grass seed and rolled again. First run of leveller is about 30 degrees to the plough direction so that seed gets down between the scrapes.

Bass Reeves

blue5000 wrote: »

Not too many choices for spraying under sown barley either. Legumex extra but not sure if it’s available anymore. Will you have clover in the grass seed?

Sowed some last year, oats, red clover and Italian rye grass, cut as whole crop in September. Oats down first, just shook it on ploughed scrapes. Then levelled it, 3 runs, rolled it, then shook grass seed and rolled again. First run of leveller is about 30 degrees to the plough direction so that seed gets down between the scrapes.

I used to spray old sward, disc it with a spring loaded discer. Spread barley/ pea seed, chain harrow with a frame chain harrow. Spread grass seed and roll it twice.

If you plant peas you need less N to grow crop I used to put 3k gallons of slurry before discing. 50kgs urea/ acre spread with barley seed so it was buried and a 50 kgs granlime/ acre with grass seed