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Ryan,
Here in the Mid Atlantic, tobacco farmers routinely used hairy vetch
(Vicia villosa) in their crop rotation to add nitrogen to the soil.
Many decades later, an odd vetch plant will show up in a pasture field.
Vetch is a winter annual legume, and has been used for a long time for
annual pastures just as you plan on using it. The primary concern is
grazing when the soil is too wet and causing plugging. That is, when
the land has been worked, the prime time to graze the rye/vetch may be
when the soil is too wet. Like any legume, it can cause bloat, and some
literature warns about toxicity to horses under some circumstances. (of
course anything can kill a horse).
I don't know when you are planing on planting, small grain does better
when planted in the fall, but you can get some grazing from a late
winter seeding.
Check the hardiness of the vetch variety you select as many are not cold
tolerant.
Kindest Regards
Steve
Steve Lucas
Mountain View Farm
Louisa, Virginia
www.ibiblio.org/farming-connection/ruralwri/lucas/home.htm
----- Original Message -----
From: Ryan VanderVeen
I noticed a warning in a seed catalog that said not to graze
vetch.
I was hoping to plant rye and vetch as a cover crop and use a
portion of it to pasture sheep and dairy cattle. Is anyone doing this
successfully?
Thanks,
Ryan
