What is the nutritional value of ryegrass?

By Grant Woods,

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← Grant's Answers — Food Plots
Question
Hey Grant, I have question for you. There are a lot of people that really love planting food plots that are mainly annual rygrass. I know that this ryegrass is good for attracting deer, but it has little to no nutritional value right? I was just wondering because our family owns land and we have one plot with a mix of rape, radishes, forage peas, and buckwheat. One with a mix of alfalfa, ladino clover, white dutch clover, medium red clover, turnips, radishes, kale, swiss chard, dwarf essex rapeseed, and 1.9% anuual rygrass. Another plot with 4 different clovers and chicory. And another that is mainly annual ryegrass with some radishes. Some of us are unsure about the food plot that is mainly annual ryegrass because of its low nutritional value, but others think that its a great plot nutrition wise because of the annual ryegrass. If you could let me know if the annual ryegrass is a good nutrition source for deer that would be great! Thanks.

Nick,

If properly fertilized ryegrass can produce high quality forage.  With that said, I rarely recommend ryegrass for food plots.  

Ryegrass can both grow and mature quickly.  Once ryegrass goes from the blade (flat) stage to the stem (round) stage it decreases in nutritional quality and attractiveness to deer.  Wheat, especially forage wheat, tends to remain in the blade stage much longer and therefore attracts deer much longer.  In addition forage wheat is often less expensive than a quality variety of ryegrass.  

All forages are simply nutrient transfer agents. That’s to say if the nutrients aren’t in the ground they can’t be transferred to deer.  Proper fertilization is just as important as forage variety.

Enjoy creation,

grant