Seeding two crops together (intercropping) that can utilize soil resources and sunlight during different parts of the growing season may improve forage production in terms of yield, quality and, and utilization. When grown together, the spring cereal can be cut for silage, usually shortly after heading (about 65% moisture), and the winter cereal may grow quickly in the absence of competition from the spring cereal for grazing later in the fall. The silage crops may suffer some yield loss but the silage and pasture yields may add up to produce more forage per acre than either one grown separately. The cereal combinations that can be useful for such purposes in the Peace region include spring seeding of spring barley or spring triticale intercropped with fall rye or winter triticale.
One obstacle to integrating winter cereals into a silage production system in the northern Peace region is the winter survival. Past research done at the AAFC Experimental Farm in Fort Vermilion, AB showed better winter survival from the winter cereals seeded into stubble rather than summer fallow.
