Sowing Oats: Our calendars are telling us it’s spring

By Dan Takes

Well according to our calendars spring is here, although this past weekend sure didn’t look or feel like it. I spent much of last week out in the fields rushing to get some planting done before the snow storm.

You’re probably thinking you read that wrong, but you didn’t. We were rushing to sow our oats, alfalfa and orchard grass before we got hit with the mid-March snow storm.

Sowing oats and a variety of grasses is something that, for us, happens right at the beginning of spring when the ground is still frozen at night but thaws out during the day. This early spring planting is a crucial step to ensure the success of our harvest throughout the summer. and It also guarantees our animals have something to eat throughout the year.

Oats are relatively cold-hardy and most farmers will tell you oats like a little snow on them, so the earlier they’re planted, the better. When we saw the forecast for last weekend, we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss the opportunity to get them sowed into the ground.

Getting that snow on them after they are planted is proven to be an effective and inexpensive method to improve the quality and quantity of forage.

We’ve done our job up to this point. Now we wait for it to grow…

  • Posted by Josie Rozum
  • On March 27, 2018
  • 0 Comments
  • 0 likes
Tags: dairy, farm, non-gmo, oats, planting, spring

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