By: Mark Sulc, Extension Forage Agronomist, Dianne Shoemaker, Extension Field Specialist, Dairy, Bill Weiss, Extension Dairy Nutritionist, Stan Smith, OSU Extension PA, Ben Brown, Agriculture Risk Management
Oats planted in late summer and originally intended as a cover crop are also high quality and valuable feed.
Considering the current shortage of quality forages, and the abundance of cover crops that were planted in Ohio this summer, the question has been asked, “How do I set a price to buy a oat/spring triticale forage crop still growing in the field?”
In response we’ve assembled a spreadsheet based tool to help determine an appropriate value for standing oat and spring triticale cover crops that could be harvested as feed.
At best, how to value a standing oat/triticale summer seeded forage crop is challenging. Assigning an appropriate value includes the buyer and seller agreeing on the market value for the forage and then adjusting for harvest costs, quality, moisture and the other factors that contribute to the price of forage sold in the open market. Some of these values can be challenging to quantify.
Under the web link that follows you will find a detailed explanation for pricing oat or spring triticale haylage standing in the field – https://go.osu.edu/standingoatforageprice
The link that follows here goes to an Excel based worksheet tool that will assist with calculating a buyer’s breakeven price for a standing crop. That price is the ceiling, or highest price a buyer could pay for an oat or spring triticale crop standing in the field in order to breakeven with the assumed costs and risks – https://go.osu.edu/standingoatforageprice-tool