Traditional doublecrop options after wheat grown for grain have been soybean, sorghum, or sunflower. Doublecropping after wheat is a fairly common practice in central and eastern Kansas where rainfall often occurs toward the end of the summer and the growing season can be long enough to produce grain from these crops. However, with the shortage of forages from the extreme drought the last two years, producers may consider planting a forage crop or cover crop that can be used for forage instead of a grain crop.
Soybean
Soybean has been the most popular doublecrop option in Kansas, largely because glyphosateresistant varieties made weed control easy. However, the cost of weed control has risen in recent years in areas where glyphosate-resistant weeds are present.
Although doublecrop soybean are normally harvested as a grain crop, it also can have value as a forage crop if necessary. As a legume, soybean makes a high-protein feed. Cattle can utilize soybean as either a hay or grazing crop, although there are limitations to both uses. If doublecrop soybean produces enough growth for a hay crop, it likely has had good enough weather to make a profitable grain harvest. Doublecrop soybean is not very conducive for grazing. It often is upright in growth and the stem will break easy if cattle open-graze a field, thus potentially wasting much of the forage. Strip grazing failed doublecrop soybeans will increase its utilization.