Spring Grazing Cover Crops and Avoiding Soil Compaction

For many livestock producers, cover crops and winter grazing go hand-in-hand; however, perhaps the most valuable time for grazing cover crops is in the spring. Winter annual cereal grains such as rye, wheat, and triticale grow fastest and provide the most tonnage in the early spring, before cool-season grasses start to grow. With proper management, soil compaction from grazing cover crops can be minimized as demonstrated in two case studies evaluating impacts of grazing corn stalk residue with and without cover crops.