Planting Guide for Forage Crops in North Carolina (2020)

This planting guide by NC State Extension provides the best available information about planting dates, rates, and depths for forage crops commonly grown in North Carolina. The process of establishing a forage crop is very important because:

• It is expensive — $100 to $250 per acre
• Perennial crops can remain productive for several years without replanting, and thus poor stand establishment can result in long-term low forage productivity
• Soil and water conservation and animal feeding depend upon rapid establishment of persistently good forage stands

In addition to this publication, use this online tool to quickly access information about establishing forages, to use a pure live seed calculator, and to find estimates of frost dates in North Carolina.