Because of last year's severely dry weather, the results of the 2005-2006 small grains forage variety test conducted at Ardmore, Okla., and Burneyville, Okla., should be reviewed with caution. First, no fall forage was produced at either location. Forage yields were derived entirely from two spring harvests. Second, varieties that may have performed best during last year's drought may not be the optimum forage producers during years of normal precipitation. Total forage yields of all commercial varieties in last year's test can be found in Table 1.

The oat varieties forage yields were greatest for "Harrison" and "Dallas" and least for "Bob." Harrison and Dallas have traditionally performed the best in past Noble Foundation tests, and last year was no exception. Across all commercial cultivars and experimental lines, oat forage yields averaged 3,205 pounds per acre at Burneyville and 2,111 pounds per acre at Ardmore.

Historically, "Maton," "Oklon," "Bates" and "Elbon" have been the best forage rye varieties in tests at the Noble Foundation. In last year's trial at Ardmore, forage yields were similar across all commercial varieties, ranging from 3,572 pounds per acre for Maton to 4,282 pounds per acre for "Winterking." The best forage producers at Burneyville were "Boss," Oklon, "Wintermore," Bates, Maton and "Wintergrazer 70." Their yields ranged from 5,314 pounds per acre for Boss to 4,196 pounds per acre for Wintergrazer 70. Yields of "Thunder," Winterking and Elbon were less, ranging from 3,172 to 3,789 pounds per acre.

In 2006, Noble commercially released its rye breeding line, NF65, as Maton II. In the 2005-2006 variety trial, NF65 had forage yields that rivaled those of the top commercial varieties, producing 3,919 pounds per acre of forage at Ardmore and 5,269 pounds per acre at Burneyville.

Triticale forage yields averaged 5,162 and 3,079 pounds per acre at Ardmore and Burneyville, respectively, across all experimental lines and cultivars. Although forage yields among commercial varieties ranged from 4,713 to 5,409 pounds per acre at Ardmore and 1,982 to 2,903 pounds per acre at Burneyville, no significant differences were found among the varieties tested.

For wheat, good forage-producing varieties in past Noble tests have included "Lockett," "2174," "Custer" and "Coronado" of the hard red types and "Coker 9663," "Bradley" and "AGS-2000" of the soft red types. In last year's test at Ardmore, forage yields were similar for "Endurance," 2174, Coker 9553, Custer, "OK101," "Sturdy 2K," "Deliver," "Kingrazer," "Fannin," "Bullet," "El Dorado" and Lockett, ranging from 4,834 to 5,666 pounds per acre. Forage yields were substantially less at Burneyville. Among the top forage producing varieties, yields ranged from 2,015 pounds per acre for "Jagger" to 2,701 pounds per acre for "Mason."

I am hopeful the 2006-2007 small grains variety tests will provide better results and help you decide which varieties to plant next fall. Timely rains will help ensure the success of this year's test.