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Kobe Johnson 08-27-2012 12:24:16 24.196.77.26 Report to Moderator	Hey all I ve got a thirty acre field that has been hay on hay for last 20 years. It was reseeded about 7 years ago, not by me. Ive rented it the last three years, yields steadily decreasing. The owners are totally against spraying any chemical and it is to steep for corn or beans. So I am looking for options to seed it down with a brome timothy and alfalfa mix. Beef hay for my father in law. Im in Wisconsin. Heres what im thinking of doing, Planting winter rye asap then in spring take a cutting of rye at boot stage. Then work field and plant my alfalfa mix. or??? Is this a good idea or is there a better option? Thanks in advance for all responses. [Reply]   [No Email]
tjdub 08-28-2012 14:42:59 208.28.88.253 Report to Moderator	Re: seeding alfalfa in reply to Kobe Johnson, 08-27-2012 12:24:16   What I do is take first crop off around June 1, then immediately plow it and seed sudangrass. Sudangrass is ready to cut by July 15, then again by August 20. Then in the spring I seed oats w/alfalfa. The only trouble is Sudangrass is tough to dry down for hay. If you don't have any way to wrap it for balage, it probably isn't going to work well. Also, you have to buy nitrogen which gets expensive. Oh, and horses can't eat it. Other alternatives are pearl millet or teff. I've never tried teff, but one year I tried pearl millet and it only ended up yielding about half as many bales as the sudangrass or sorghum-sudangrass. [Reply]  [No Email]
Kobe Johnson 08-28-2012 15:40:12 69.179.24.99 Report to Moderator	Re: seeding alfalfa in reply to tjdub, 08-28-2012 14:42:59   thats a good idea i might try that I do wrap my bales anyway thanks [Reply]  [No Email]
donjr 08-27-2012 19:16:13 71.248.83.169 Report to Moderator	Re: seeding alfalfa in reply to Kobe Johnson, 08-27-2012 12:24:16   Interseed it with a no till drill, no alfalfa. Do a soil test and lime and fertilize to recommendation. [Reply]  [No Email]
KobeJohnson 08-27-2012 15:41:53 24.196.77.26 Report to Moderator	Re: seeding alfalfa in reply to Kobe Johnson, 08-27-2012 12:24:16   thanks guys would really like to get this reseeded as finding ground to rent is getting harder and harder and more expensive. I also dont want to take other peoples ground from them. This is my only piece of hay ground. Any other ideas on how to make this piece yield better? I dont neccessarilly need alfalfa as this is all beef hay. [Reply]  [No Email]
KobeJohnson 08-27-2012 15:43:39 24.196.77.26 Report to Moderator	Re: seeding alfalfa in reply to KobeJohnson, 08-27-2012 15:41:53   ther is a little alfalfa there not much tho, mainly grass and clover [Reply]  [No Email]
rrlund 08-27-2012 15:12:46 207.241.137.116 Report to Moderator	Re: seeding alfalfa in reply to Kobe Johnson, 08-27-2012 12:24:16   Is there any alfalfa in there now? And from what I'm reading you want to reseed some alfalfa? Won't work. Wasting your money. Alfalfa has an autotoxicity whereby the old plants will kill any newly seeded alfalfa. If you have some wackjob dolt who's opposed to spraying,you have two choices. Get rid of him,or seed to just grass or grass and clover. [Reply]  [No Email]
bison 08-27-2012 12:51:24 69.168.144.134 Report to Moderator	Re: seeding alfalfa in reply to Kobe Johnson, 08-27-2012 12:24:16   I would kill it with roundup this fall and work it in. Next spring i would seed it with your choice of alphalpa/grass mix. You get a better alphalpha stand that way versus underseeding with grain. i would also throw in a lb/acre of meadow foxtail. By the time the alphalpha is petered out the meadow foxtail will have filled in.It yields almost as much as the original mix. Or underseed with oats and cut and bale for green feed. But it may not work in your area. [Reply]  [No Email]
Ken Macfarlane 08-27-2012 13:40:12 142.166.168.2 Report to Moderator	Re: seeding alfalfa in reply to bison, 08-27-2012 12:51:24   Note he said the owners say no spray. I've got a bunch of the same type of ground, except the owners also want no chemical fertilizer or manure. I can plant legumes to get some nitrogen, I think they might let me spread woodash, not sure how to address the rest other than getting the ph right to gain access to what little is left in the field. [Reply]  [No Email]