In Arkansas, livestock producers utilizing cereal grains are not constrained by the need to produce a grain crop; therefore, more options are available for maximizing fall forage production. A total of eight diverse varieties of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), oat (Avena sativa L.), rye (Secale cereale L.), and triticale (X Triticosecale rimpaui Wittm.) were drilled into prepared seedbeds on September 8 and 10, 2004 in Fayetteville and Batesville, respectively. Beginning in mid-October, plots were harvested for DM yield at approximately two-week intervals through December. An entry x harvest date interaction (P < 0.0001) was observed for Fayetteville, and a tendency (P = 0.069) at the Batesville site. At Fayetteville, DM yield for all entries increased with single or multiple polynomial effects (P < 0.040) over harvest dates. The triticale and oat varieties displayed cubic effects (P < 0.040), probably because the vast majority of tillers elongated, and these entries were then particularly susceptible to freeze damage/kill in late December. Generally, wheat and rye entries accumulated DM in less complex patterns over harvest dates, but the maximum numerical yield for any wheat entry was only 2554 kg ha^-1 compared to 4661 kg ha^-1 for oat. At Batesville, the DM yield for the eight entries ranked similarly, but overall yield was roughly 25% of that in Fayetteville because germination was delayed more than a month by drought. A simple predictor of forage availability, such as canopy height, would be quite useful to producers who need to allocate forage for grazing livestock on a regular basis. Although the relationship between DM yield and canopy height was inconsistent (P < 0.05) statistically over entries and sites, a crude linear relationship based on all data (Y = 74.3 X - 554.1; P < 0.0001; r² = 0.563; n = 576) may be useful to producers.