Annual forage benefits
Annual forages provide many benefits including reducing erosion, improving soil,
competing with weeds, enhancing nutrient and moisture availability and helping
control pests. At the same time, they can reduce costs and increase profits.
A growing number of farmers are looking at the long-
term contributions of annual forages to their whole farm
system. Some of the most successful have seen the
benefits and are committed to making annual forages
work for them. They are re-tooling their cropping
systems to better fit annual forage growth patterns, rather
than squeezing annual forages into their existing system.
Here are some important ways to evaluate the economic
and ecological aspects of annual forages. These
significant benefits vary by location and season, but at
least two or three usually occur with annual forages.
• Cut fertilizer costs
• Reduce the need for herbicides and other pesticides
• Improve yields by enhancing soil health
• Prevent soil erosion
• Conserve soil moisture
• Protect water quality
• Option for grazing, swath grazing, silage or
greenfeed
Evaluate the impact of annual forages as you would any
other crop, balancing costs against returns in all forms.
Don’t limit your calculations to the target benefit as
annual forages often have several benefits.
Many annual forages offer harvest possibilities as forage,
grazing or seed that work well in systems with multiple
crops and livestock.
It’s important to note there is an element of risk when
your feed source contains higher levels of nitrates/prussic
acid. Nitrates accumulate in plant leaves and in very high
concentrations may cause livestock death.
This problem is largely caused by high soil nitrate levels
following prolonged dry conditions being quickly taken
up with rapid growth following rainfall or irrigation.
Testing is the only way to determine the nitrate level in
your feed.
Selecting annual forages
To find suitable annual forages, consider the following:
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• Clarify your primary needs
• Identify the best time and place for annual forages
in your system
• Test a few options