Image of Shooter
Forage

Shooter

Common Name
Forage Oats
Species
Avena sativa
Uses
Silage
Hay
Green Crop
Grazing

Shooter oats in the new kid on the block for spring oats. Its fast growth, high dry matter yields and excellent palatability makes this a highly desirable oat for all your forage needs. An efficient user of nitrogen, Shooter oats will give maximum yields with minimum inputs. With a temperate climate and adequate moisture, these oats will out-perform many small grains currently being used for forage production. Shooter oats are tall. In one fall planted trial in Oregon's Willamette valley, they grew to 8 1/2 feet by June. With adequate management of spring planting, they will grow to 6 feet by maturity. Shooter oats have exhibited good resistance to stem rust, stripe rust, and barley yellow dwarf virus. Results: Shooter Oats have been tested for three years at Overton, TX, Marianna, FL and Plains, Tifton, and Griffin, GA in university trials. For the fifteen locations/years, Shooter oats were #1 for first cutting forage yields nine times! Shooter oats yielded an average 6% more than the next highest oat. When the first cut yields were totaled and averaged from all locations/years, Shooter oats still out-yielded the combined competition for the first cutting! There were between 12 and 25 entries of both commercial and experimental varieties in each trial. 

Details

  • Fall plant: Shooter oats are a spring oat, but they can be planted in the fall for extremely fast growth for those early grazing needs. Able to be withstand temperatures down to 20 degrees with little damage, Shooter oats can last the winter to provide large yields of sweet, palatable feed. Shooter oats will work great along the Gulf coast and central valleys of California and Arizona where there is little risk of extreme freezing temperatures. Shooter oats can complement planting of annual ryegrass in the south to provide early fall forage while the ryegrass is establishing. It recovers well after grazing. On the west coast, Shooter oats are an excellent choice for green chop and silage production. Its high palatability will increase animal intake, in turn increasing milk and meat production. Spring Planting: Shooter oats are an excellent choice for your summer forage production needs. Planted as soon as the last killing frosts are over, Shooter oats will grow rapidly, providing high yields of palatable, sweet feed. Shooter oats can be used for any type of forage production, but performs best for green chop and silage production. If left to mature, shooter oats can reach six feet in height with proper management. If harvest in the pre-boot stage, Shooter has a fast regrowth capability, providing an additional hay or silage cut. In trials, Shooter oats have performed well with four or more cuttings for green chop. If planted and harvested early enough, a cutting of Shooter oats can be followed by a short rotation corn silage crop for a double cropping system.

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