Oats or barley

TnRoy

New User
I have been raising oats and some wheat,feeding the grain to my sheep and square baling the straw to sell. I was thinking about trying barley,here in east Tn barley costs $2.50 more per bu.than oats not that much money for the amount that I use, but which would make better feed and/or straw. Thank you for your comments or thoughts.
 
Oats @ 32 lbs. p/bushel and Barley @ 48 lbs. per bushel will usually yield about the same lbs. per acre, the Barley has more feed value and if you are fattening lambs you don't need anything but Alfalfa hay to go with the Barley. Barley straw is brighter than oat straw as a rule.
 
I agree with LAA on barley being the better feed value.
Here in NY we have the option with most small grains of planting "spring" or "winter" varieties. Typically one will do better than the other. Do you have anyone you could find out from, which would be better there- so you don't have to experiment?
 
Barley is 92% of the feed value of corn, much better than oats, and more adaptable to livestock in large amounts. Barley straw is less absorptive than oats straw.
 
Thanks guys,Barley is what I was thinking too.As to Bobs question winter varietys work better for me,usually still too wet in the spring when it needs planting.Winter variety seems to be ready a little earlier,allowing more time for me to double crop with millet and blackhaybeans for hay cutting.
 
How about succotash? From the Welter Seed and Honey webpage:

Succotash is a mix of 1/3 early wheat, 1/3 barley and 1/3 medium maturing oats. For the livestock farmer this will give more pounds per acre than if each were planted separately. Succotash gives much more feed value to the acre than straight oats. It runs very high in protein. Many farmers like it for hog or calf feed.
welter seed and honey
 

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