Forerunner is an awnless triticale, a wheat and rye hybrid bred in Oregon specifically to remove the bristly awns found on most cereal grains. That makes it a safer, more comfortable choice for baled hay and silage, since livestock can graze or eat it without the irritation those stiff awns can cause. It's a tall, soft-textured, mid-season variety well suited to forage, green chop, or turning under as green manure to build organic matter in the soil.

Plant in fall for the best forage production, or very early spring if fall planting isn't an option. Sow seed 1 to 2 inches deep, and broadcast at roughly 1.5 to 2 pounds per 1,000 square feet, raking or using a press wheel to firm the soil for good seed contact.