How's the hay?

rrlund

Well-known Member
I cut a couple of fields yesterday and the day before that were giving me a serious anxiety attack. So much so,that I went this morning and looked at the rest to see if I needed to make plans to sell some cows.
Most of the rest looks at least normal to average. I think what happened was,we had a lot of moisture starting late July last year,and I took a third cutting off a couple of older seedings. They're about 50% alfalfa,but had a good stand of orchard grass and brome. The grasses didn't winter over,probably due to not enough nutrient reserves. Any place where the woodchucks have been busy,bringing nutrients up from down deep,it looks good and lush.

I'm gonna have to go get a spreader and some fertilizer and get it on there as soon as I get it baled and get the bales moved off or there won't even be a second.
 
Hay crop in this area is well above average.....cool damp spring, winter was not too hard on it. Just gotta get some decent weather. Ben
 
My hay looks to be a bit on the thin side in many places but that could be from having 4 more horses on the pasture or it could be from the floods we have had this past couple of years and washing all the horse manure down stream. Have some places where it is real thick and others where it is so thin it almost does not pay to cut it.
 
That's the way it was here last year. I thought there was something wrong with the baler and it wasn't packing tight enough or something as many as it was making. I cut another small field this morning after I posted that. It was about normal. Must have just been because I cut those other fields late last year. Learned my lesson there.
 
SO SO, some spots good others thin!

Cut the last of it today, had to put the tractor fire out in the process of it. Battery cable rubbed through in a spot then set the oil and crap on fire under the cab. Had a heck of a time getting it out, cleaned all the dirt I could get off the floor in cab to throw up at it, then kept running over to the corn field to grab dirt, really thought it and my mower were going to be toast, with a plastic fuel tank and I bet at least 60 gallons of fuel in it could have been interesting! At least then I wouldn't have to re core that radiator! LOL
 
Yields were down some n first cut alfalfa. It's been wet since September, and consequently I did not get any gypsum spread on the alfalfa. Sulfur on alfalfa has gotten to be pretty important here. A wet, warmish winter didn't help either. Nor a freeze the 7th of May.

That being said, I got the forage tests back... and quality was some of the best first crop I've had in a long time.
 
I'd say we are average over on the Southeast side of Michigan. Fields I fertilized with manure are really doing good.
 

Just bailed 24 acres yesterday in the yield was horrible it was a field that I bailed really late last year when the weather finally warmed up so we can get some hay up last fall
 

Finished up the last of my hay ground yesterday, after averaging everything out yields are down 15-20% from last year.
Not as bad as I thought it was going to be but still leaves me over 200 rolls short if it doesn't turn dry like last year, over half of the ground is used for summer pasture so not must to get second cuttings from.
A guy about 20 miles from me gave me 20-30 acres of native prairie grass to cut, research shows it to be decent cow hay so we'll be moving equipment there in a couple of weeks.
Going to have a lot of time involved in moving equipment and transporting bales but since it's free I can invest a little time and cost, biggest issue is it's down on a river bottom with only a small dirt road leading down to it, all of the rolls will have to be transported by tractor for nearly 1/2 mile to a staging area to be loaded on my trailer, may take a farm wagon over to see if I can haul out 6-8 rolls at a time instead of 1 or 2.
 
I have noticed the same thing and many people I have talked too in my area say the hay crop is down form what it has been in the last few years
 
A 2yr old alfalfa timmothy mix was ok. A 3yr old all alfalfa was terrible, half what it was last year. Plants looked stunted for some reason. Really wet spring maybe? Soil tests done and up to snuff. Hope they come back or it'll be corn next year. The couple fields of brome/ old alfalfa were a touch below what they have been. Mid Michigan
 
My grass hay was above average in yield. Could not ask for better weather either. I ran it thru the old IH 990 on Tuesday afternoon. Raked it the next morning and it was on the truck before dark. Nice bales.
 
1st cutting far above average here. Most guys just got done. we'll see on the 2nd. south central Iowa
 
South central Iowa 1st cutting was huge. Getting 1st good rain right now after several weeks of hot dry days. Should get a real good 2nd.
 
Finished 1st and 2nd all yesterday lol. Last 3 little pieces of first, and last bunch of second. Start 3rd of alfalfa end of next week. Yields for 1st right on average, down 30% from last year but on trend line (last year highest first yields I've ever had). 2nd was very nice and right on trend line. Sales brisk with large loads heading south but very few locals buying. Overall I think we will be short in this area, last year super mild winter and most people were pretty tight.
 
1st and 2nd cutting was all done at one time because of the rainy season so far this year, and will go up to the mushroom houses. The orchard grass bloomed and then the second cut grass came up into it. The cows will pick through it, and horses just turn their noses up at it. Third cutting looks great- if we can get enough clear weather to get it up. Haven't even started that yet.....
 

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