Hybrid Rye Earns A Premium

Hybrid Rye Earns A Premium CROPS New Crops Hybrid winter rye is earning A&L Peterson Farms a premium in yield and markets Ryan Peterson is excited about the demand for his crop     “Our irrigated winter rye averaged 85 bushels per acre and we are still learning ” says Peterson “With 4-ft tall plants there is a lot of straw to push through the combine We had to adjust settings and cut only 20-ft swaths with our 30-ft header We are happy with the 85 bushel average but we definitely have the potential to do better ”     The Petersons have planted rye on dry land in the past with yields of 30 bushels or less They hesitated to put it on irrigated acres or push much nitrogen to it due to its tendency to get too tall and lodge But with the Bono Hybrid Winter Rye variety that wasn’t a problem     “We gave it about 80 to 85 lbs of nitrogen per acre ” says Peterson “Some was side dressed and some delivered through the pivot closer to the end before it matured It had great standability and didn’t lodge ”     Before they even sold the rye they harvested a side benefit of 5 big round bales of straw per acre     Marketing began with a malting company contract for 50 bushels per acre The remainder of the yield this year will go to other food or distillery users     The family farming enterprise is a diverse operation feeding out Holstein steers and raising corn and soybeans as well as seed corn and kidney beans In fact the rye was an experiment resulting from cover crops failing behind kidney beans     Although drilled in September the cold fall slowed growth However it came back strong in the spring Peterson is satisfied enough that he plans to double his acreage from 100 to 200 this fall University of Minnesota yield trials have shown average yields across multiple sites of as high as 125 bushels per acre and 3-year averages of 104 bushels per acre     According to Albert Lea Seed House Peterson’s supplier the hybrid rye produces 8 to 20 tillers per plant in the fall with each tiller potentially producing a head www alseed com; ph 800-352-5247     Fall-tillered rye sets heads and pollinates earlier than spring rye reducing potential ergot infestation In fact the hybrid rye sheds pollen so quickly that the company says a dust cloud of pollen can be seen This is important as once pollinated the rye flower closes and is no longer susceptible to ergot spores     Although Peterson grew his under irrigation the hybrid rye is also promoted as high yielding under dryland conditions The only real downside is that seed can’t be saved for replanting However that trade-off is worth it for Peterson     “We are always looking for more rotation crops especially non soybean cyst nematode host crops ” says Peterson     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup A&L Peterson Farms 9200 57th St Clear Lake Minn 55319 ph 320-743-2551

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