The Effect of Date of Planting and Clipping on Oat Forage and Grain Yields 1

SMALL grains have become prominent as a winter pasture and have been used for a number of years, especially in the West where a custom grazing rate is established each year (4, 6, 10, 14). Oats are used more extensively than the other grains in the Southeast to provide winter grazing. Seasonal conditions during and after grazing greatly influence vegetative growth in the fall and following spring (1, 2, 7). Subsequent grain yields are also influenced by the intensity of grazing and its duration as shown by Cutler, et al. (3) and Hubbard and Harper (8) who found that grain yields were correlated with yearly environmental conditions and severity of clipping. Reduction in height of mature plants was correlated with the date at which clipping was terminated in the spring. Clipping to March 25 in Oklahoma reduced yields of certain cereals, exceptions being oats and barley (5, 9, 13), but Stansel, et al. (12) reported that in Texas oat yields were increased by grazing to March 15. Moderate grazing in the Southern Wheat Belt did not reduce grain yields