Can spring forage stands still successfully be plant?
The short answer is – yes, into the first ten days to two weeks of May. The end of the spring forage planting season is limited by seedling development and growth into the summer months. Most forage seedlings are emerging and growing root systems into the top one to three inches of the seedbed during the three to four weeks following germination. The increasingly dry and hot soil surfaces in late May and June increase the risk that the small forage seedlings do not establish. So, the risk depends on rainfall and soil temperatures from here on. If conditions turn normal or hotter and dryer than normal, the risk of late planted forage seeding failures increases. If late May and early June conditions remain cooler and wetter than normal, then later-than-desired spring forage seedings may survive very well. Planting later than desired, adds to vulnerability to erosion and weed competition. Keep cereal companion crop planting rates to half of a full seeding rate or less, and mow or clip new
