Small-grains like triticale are a familiar part of the forage program on many dairy farms. But deciding when to harvest them can influence far more than just yield.
Sarah Morrison, a dairy nutrition research scientist at the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, explains that the decision of when to harvest small-grains is often influenced by the balance of forage inventories, crop rotations, nutrient management plans and weather conditions. She adds that how closely harvest timing aligns with forage maturity can influence the nutritional composition and digestibility of the harvested forage.
With so many factors influencing harvest timing, it helps to understand the differences between the various maturity stages.
Boot stage vs. Soft-Dough Stage
Harvesting triticale earlier generally produces higher-quality forage, according to Morrison. She notes that studies comparing triticale harvested at the boot stage with triticale harvested at the soft-dough stage consistently show clear nutritional differences.
The boot stage occurs when the developing grain head is still enclosed in the flag leaf sheath. At this point, the plant is less mature, which typically results in higher crude protein, lower fiber levels and greater digestibility, though overall yield is usually lower.
The soft-dough stage occurs later in plant development after the grain head has emerged and kernels have formed. While harvesting at this stage increases yield and adds some starch from the developing grain, the plant fiber is more mature, leading to higher neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and lower digestibility.
“In general, by harvesting at the boot stage the forage has higher crude protein, lower neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and higher NDF digestibility,” she says. “However, forage yield may be lower when harvested at this earlier maturity.”
That trade-off often raises a question for producers. Does forage maturity actually impact ration cost or cow performance? Some research suggests the impact may be small when diets are balanced for forage quality.
“When compared from a least-cost ration-formulation standpoint, some work indicates that the harvest maturity of small-grains has minimal effect on feed cost,” Morrison explains. “This may be true as we balance around the quality of the forage included in the diet, but this doesn’t necessarily mean cows won’t respond to better-quality feed.”
New Research on Triticale Maturity
A recent study published in the Journal of Dairy Science evaluated how triticale maturity affects cow performance when included in rations with different forage levels. The research compared triticale harvested at the boot stage or soft-dough stage and fed within either low-forage or high-forage diets.
The high-forage diets contained 52% forage, while the low-forage diets contained 37%. In both cases, triticale made up 49% of the forage portion, with corn silage providing the remainder.
Morrison notes that the nutritional differences between maturity stages were substantial. Boot-stage triticale contained 16.7% crude protein and 51.1% NDF, while soft-dough triticale had only 8.7% crude protein and 62.6% NDF. The later-harvested forage also contained higher levels of lignin and undigestible fiber.
Milk Production Response
Those nutritional differences affected how the cows performed in several ways.
Cows fed boot-stage triticale produced 7.7 lbs. more milk per day than cows fed soft-dough triticale across both forage-inclusion levels. Diet structure also played a role, as cows on lower-forage diets produced 8.6 lbs more milk than those on higher-forage diets.
Milk components responded differently. While cows fed the soft-dough triticale had slightly higher milkfat percentage, overall milkfat yield remained similar due to lower milk volume.
Protein production told a different story. Cows fed boot-stage triticale had both higher milk protein content and greater protein yield. They also tended to produce more energy-corrected milk.
Digestibility differences were another key factor. Morrison notes that cows fed boot-stage triticale had higher total-tract digestibility for both dry matter and NDF. Meanwhile, the higher levels of undigestible fiber in the soft-dough triticale likely limited intake in higher-forage diets due to increased rumen fill.
Balancing Quality and Practicality
While the study highlights the performance advantages of earlier-harvested triticale, Morrison emphasizes that real-world feeding programs often balance forage inventories and costs.
“Overall, maturity does seem to play a role when incorporated into dairy cow diets,” she says. “The expected or observed response might be more pronounced in different forage inclusion levels of the diet.”
However, the difference isn’t as big when the ration is already adjusted for the forage quality on hand.
“Although cost and inventory may be critical considerations for the utility of small-grain silages in the diets of lactating dairy cows,” Morrison notes.
In other words, harvest timing still matters, but how that forage fits into the rest of the ration often determines how much cows respond to it.
For more on silage, read:
