A Madrid-based farm grew 70 acres of triticale as part of the early field trials of double cropping in the Northern New York region.

Weather conditions in Northern New York impact crop production and how much forage inventory farmers can stock ahead to feed their livestock each year.

To help dairy farmers boost feed supplies to cover potential emergency needs, the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program funded research evaluating the use of double cropping. To view the results visit www.nnyagdev.org.

Double cropping involves growing two crops on the same acreage.

Research conducted in 58 field trials on farms in St. Lawrence, Franklin, Jefferson, Clinton and Essex counties evaluated the use of the winter small grains triticale and cereal rye on land also used to grow corn for silage. The goal is to produce a second forage crop without negatively impacting corn yield.

“Low forage inventories helped prompt the use of cereal rye as a risk management strategy by several farmers in northern New York in recent years,’ said Dr. Kitty O’Neil, NNY regional field crops and soils specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension.

In St. Lawrence County, Brandy View Farm Manager Greg Hargrave grew 70 acres of triticale as part of the early field trials in the NNY region.

“Getting two crops off the same acreage makes sense for efficiency,” Hargrave said. “This field research showed us that you must prepare and plan for a double crop and you need to be ready to move with your equipment in a timely manner if you are going to be successful with both crops.”

While half of the participating farms in Northern New York did not need to apply additional nitrogen fertilizer to reach crop yield potentials, others needed to apply 75 to 100 lbs. of nitrogen per acre to reach optimum yield for the additional winter forage crop.

The results of all trials statewide are being evaluated to develop nitrogen fertilizer guidelines for double-cropped winter grains. More information is expected in the spring of 2016.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is a farmer-driven research and technical assistance program for St. Lawrence, Franklin, Jefferson, Clinton and Essex counties.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Senate and administered through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.