Timothy Cutting Schedule question

But how often can you cut timothy?

I have a real nice timothy field with alfalfa, Normally it is mostly timothy, but with no rain to speak of this summer, the field looks like an alfalfa field(that I would like to cut). i won't get much grass but want the alfalfa hay and not hurt the timothy.

I cut 6/9, so by sunday it will have been 43 days, I figure another 43 days puts me a week into september.

Currently most of the grass is 4-5 inches tall...

One of the big drawbacks to having it in a mixed stand is it has a shallow root system. With alfalfa, in dry conditions, it just cant keep enough water under it.

Nutrition-wise, I've found it to be a heavier potash consumer than I anticipated. It doesnt show the deficiency symptoms that you would expect to see on corn, alfalfa, or some other crops yet my yield responses to muriate of potash have been equal to those from ammonium nitrate.

I am In Lafayette Indiana between Indy and Chicago. My timothy field looks like an alfalfa field now, where before first it looks like a grass field. So sounds to me to be similiar to your fields(I must be doing something correct).

So it will not hurt it to cut the alfalfa on a 35-40 day basis for 2nd or 3rd...

What kind of yield do you get on 1st cutting w/ timothy? Not sure what to expect as this was a weird weather year....

As to yields, I normally get 250-260 or so square bales per acre (6 ton or a little better yield). Yield wise, I anticipate getting at least half the total yield out of the first cutting. with the balance coming in at 35 to 40 bales per acre per cutting out of the later ones. Usually cutting 3, following a modest fertilizing is my biggest. SOmetimes breaks 50. Good years, with good water, I've broken 180 on first cutting but its rare. I had some state fair records a few times, but like I say, its rare.