Benefits of Cereal Rye/Winter Rye

[Tree Spud]

If you want to learn about the benefits of planting WR/Cereal Rye, take a look at Steve Bartylla's video. He does a nice job of explaining the nutritional benefits and WR's early spring emergence from a nutritional perspective.

WR is probably the simplest to plant (broadcast), highest germination rates under most any conditions,provides weed suppression, and most reliable late season & early spring food source.

Oh, btw, can also add a lot of organic matter in spring.

Benefits Of Cereal Rye/Winter Rye

 

[chucker66]

It is the main item in all my food plots. For NW Wis its the last thing that's green during late season. Deer around here will paw through 2 ft of snow for WR up here. Plus its the first thing that green in the spring.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I use winter rye to smother out marestail in our bean foodplots. Two of the bigger issues I see with winter rye is that you don't necessarily want it too thick and you need to make sure you can terminate it at an appropriate time for planting/emergence of your next crop.

 

[Tree Spud]

I use winter rye to smother out marestail in our bean foodplots. Two of the bigger issues I see with winter rye is that you don't necessarily want it too thick and you need to make sure you can terminate it at an appropriate time for planting/emergence of your next crop.

I learned from another poster here that the time to terminate WR is when the seed head emerges.

 

[Derek Reese 29]

Learned a lot about winter rye this past year (NC PA)....broadcasted~50 lbs per half acre last fall into an existing clover stand during a few weeks of drought...thought that the turkeys/mice/other critters got all of the seeds as I didn't see any noticeable growth and believed that I wouldn't see any rye come spring...boy was I wrong.....that 1/2 acre plot was the first to green up in the spring, attracting 20-30 deer and ~20 turkeys at one time! We also shot 3 gobblers out of a blind situated right on it....mowed about 2 weeks ago and the clover is looking better than ever...

 

[Bassattackr]

Great tool no doubt. Grows on a brick, poor soil tolerant, shade tolerant, great nurse crop, weed suppressor, late season food source...

What's not to like?