Objective

The purpose of this study is to test forage yield, and quality of twelve spring cereal forages.

Summary

Twelve cereal forage entries (eight barley, three oats, and one triticale) were tested in a randomized complete block trial replicated four times (for detailed management information, see Table 1).

Forage quality is presented in Table 2. Forage yield ranged from 5.9 t/A (MT20_F099_05) to 8.0 t/A (Oats, Haymaker, and MT20_F109_08). Haymaker, SD Titan and Goliath averaged the highest forage yields values, however they were not statistically different from each other. MT20_F099_05 had the lowest forage yield value (Figure 1). 

Plant height ranged from 36 in. (MT Double Barrel) to 58 in. (SD Momentum) (Figure 2). Lodging was only observed for the barley entries where Lavina had the lowest percentage, and the rest were greater than 50% (Figure 3).  

 

Table 1. Management Information

Seeding date:

4/28/2025 (118 Julian)

Field Location:

R9

Seeding rate:

20 plants/ft2

Harvest date:

Forage harvest 7/28/25 (209 Julian)

Previous crop:

Fallow (2023 Canola)

Soil type:

 

Flathead Fine Sandy Loam

Herbicide:

Cleansweep

Tillage:

Conventional

Soil residual nutrient

(N, P, K, S lb/A):

142.5-18-448-68 (Fall 2024)

Insecticide:

N/A

Nutrient fertilizer applied (N, P, K, S lb/A):

100-35-10-5 (Spring 2025)

Fungicide:

N/A

 

Table 2. Agronomic Performance, NWARC, Kalispell, MT

Cultivar

Crop

PLNT HT

(in)

HD Date (Julian)

LOD

(%)

Forage MC

(%)

Forage YLD

(tons/ac)

Crude PRO

(%)

ADF

(%)

NDF

(%)

DDM (%)

RFV

(%)

Lavina

Barley

38.6

180.8

26.3

31.9

6.3

11.6

41.0

68.7

56.9

77.3

Haymaker

Barley

36.5

181.5

78.8

32.8

8.7

11.0

41.8

68.8

56.3

77.5

MT Cowgirl

Barley

38.4

180.0

66.3

31.4

6.4

11.2

41.4

68.9

56.7

78.0

MT Double Barrel

Barley

36.9

184.8

55.0

32.1

7.8

11.9

39.6

65.7*

58.1

82.2*

MT20_F099_05

Barley

38.1

180.0

83.8

33.7

5.9

10.8

41.4

67.7

56.7

76.9

MT20_F108_13

Barley

37.8

188.0

62.5

30.9

7.2

11.9*

40.9

68.0

57.1

77.5

MT20_F109_08

Barley

38.1

180.5

81.3

31.4

8.0

10.9

42.0

70.2

56.2

74.0

MT20_F109_22

Barley

37.4

180.5

80.0

36.8*

7.9

11.4

39.8

66.1

57.9

79.8

SD Titan

Oat

52.4

180.0*

0.0*

25.3

8.8

7.2

43.6

69.9

54.9

73.8

SD Momentum

Oat

58.4*

182.8

0.0*

24.0

8.0

5.8

49.4

75.4

50.4

62.4

Goliath

Oat

53.8

182.0

0.0*

25.1

8.7

8.7

42.9

69.9

55.5

74.6

Tyndal

Triticale

48.9

180.5

0.0*

29.2

7.3

10.4

39.2*

67.3

58.4*

81.5

Mean

 

42.9

181.8

44.5

30.4

7.6

10.2

41.9

68.9

56.2

76.3

CV%

 

4.6

0.5

42.4

7.2

18.5

8.0

3.9

3.4

2.2

5.4

LSD (0.05)1

 

2.8

1.3

27.1

3.2

NS

1.2

2.3

3.4

1.8

6.0

P-value

 

<0.01

<0.01

<0.01

<0.01

0.07

<0.01

<0.01

<0.01

<0.01

<0.01

PLT HT: Plant Height; HD: Heading; LOD: Lodging; MC: Moisture Content; YLD: Yield; PRO: Protein; ADF: Acid Detergent Fiber; NDF: Neutral Detergent Fiber; DDM: Digestible Dry Matter; RFV: Relative Feed Value

Bold* = top performer within a column; Bold = equivalent to top performer within a column

1Fisher's protected LSD not significant when P-Value > 0.05



Figure 1 A & B. Forage yield and plant height by entry with barley, oat, and triticale color-coated from left to right respectively.

Figure 1 A & B. Forage yield and plant height by entry with barley, oat, and triticale color-coated from left to right respectively. The same letter assignment denotes an insignificant difference at α =0.05.

Figure 2. Plant lodging by entry with barley.

Figure 2. Plant lodging by entry with barley. The same letter assignment denotes an insignificant difference at α =0.05.

Acknowledgements

We thank farm operations staff J. Penney and A. Goodman, without whom this research couldnot be successful. We also acknowledge J. Cain, A. Mathison, and E. Schreifels for theirassistance with field operations, data collection, and sample processing.

 

Link to 2025 Intrastate Spring Cereal Forage Variety Trial Printable Report (PDF)