2007 Annual Report for FNE06-587
Growing winter spelt as an organic grain or forage for dairy cows
Summary
Rick Kersbergen and I chose a field on my farm that we planted to winter spelt according to the design in the application. We planted on three dates (September 1, September 15 and October 13). One Lely cultivation was done on the plots after emergence. The late planting was done just before a very rainy period and emergence was poor compared to the earlier plantings.
We chose the field since it it one that is not a good corn silage field, but would represent a field that might suit a winter grain production sequence. Lim and manure were applied prior to planting and incorporated.
In the spring, we plan to evaluate the field and undersow red clover as a way to establish a new sod crop for the field. We will also harvest the plots as sub-plots or forage at two maturities and a grain crop.
I recently hosted the Northeast SARE summer tour and talked about this project and showed them some of the winter spelt I planted in late October 2005. This group also included Certified Crop Advisors from the American Society of Agronomy.