Annual ryegrass has very little cold tolerance and therefore would behave like an annual in the Midwest except in mild winters or with excellent snow cover. It has potential, as an annual forage crop, to provide high quality grazing for dairy cattle. It will produce high yields and maintains productivity through the midsummer slump better than most other cool season grasses. It is easy to establish and grows rapidly. Plants will produce heads in the seeding year. This characteristic reduces quality unless plants are grazed prior to seed head emergence. Planting later maturing varieties will make it easier to graze plants before heading occurs. Annual ryegrass is the grass of choice for frost seeding to improve pasture quality because it establishes rapidly, yields better than other ryegrass types through summer, and has the highest yields in the seeding year. It is also recommended for use as a cover crop when establishing new seedings of pasture. Adding it to a seed mixture with a legume and a more permanent cool season grass, like bromegrass, timothy or orchardgrass, will provide rapid growth and high quality forage in the seeding year. The ryegrass will die in 1 to 3 years leaving behind the other grasses and legumes.

Address: 432 N. Lake Street Madison, WI 53706
Website: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/forage/pubs/ryegrass.htm