Brought a field of weeds back with no tilling.

lastcowboy32 · Aug 30, 2018

Bush hogged twice in 2015.
Applied manure (heavy) that fall and winter.
Two cuttings of hay since.
Nothing but grass, clover and barefoot this year.

Pics are second cut.

lastcowboy32 · Aug 30, 2018

The old 276 is churning out some fairly square and dense bales with the new tine bar, after some tweaking of the tine position.

Had a few instance of "bale henge" where they stand on end.

SVcummins · Aug 30, 2018

Do you replanted it no till or did the grass and clover
come back after you kept the weeds down

lastcowboy32 · Aug 30, 2018

The only "seeding" was done by spreading manure.

Bush hogged twice in 2015. Applied manure in the fall and winter.
Two cuttings of hay each year ever since.

The manure had lots of chopped mature hay bedding (with chaff and seeds) mixed in... and the cows were eating hay with mature clover in it. Clover seeds pass through in a "ready to sprout" state.

The hay has gotten cleaner and cleaner each year. This year, the clover is really hitting its stride.

lastcowboy32 · Aug 30, 2018

Ugh! I also see that spell check, in its infinite wisdom put "barefoot" in my post...as opposed to "birdsfoot"... which is a common name for trefoil around here.

RandyB(MI) · Aug 30, 2018

Back when we farmed and had cattle, there was either alfalfa or "horse hay" (weeds/grass) and not much in between. Ya have to actually plant alfalfa either by broadcasting after roughing ground up or like we did, planted it with the grain drill when planting wheat or oats. After grain is harvested the seeding takes over. With winter wheat, all the weeds are killed over winter and clean crop of wheat crowds out any weeds all summer so the alfalfa will sprout and grow and when crop is harvested, the alfalfa will take off for rest of year. Next year first cutting will be about 2/3 alfalfa and 1/3 grass. Second and third cutting will be pure alfalfa and the best hay for any cattle. You can't handle it like most do , tho, you cut and once dry, you do NOT go out and tun it or handle it at all unless in early morn when dew is on. The "leaves" are what makes this hay what it is. You will have nothing but stems if you beat it up when dry. Anyone can do "horse hay" , take some timing and skill to get good quality , read high priced, alfalfa hay. Same goes for June clover. Not much good if all the leaves and blossoms are lying in the field.

showcrop · Aug 31, 2018

RandyB, that may work for you where you are but around here moldy hat does not sell so we need to turn it. Different climate and soils call for different practices.

showcrop · Aug 31, 2018

Last Cowboy, when my partner and I started haying in 1987 we for the most part had run-out fields with low fertility and acid soil. We spread what manure we had, and after our second year we bought a truckload of bagged lime and spread it. The fields had a lot of golden rod initially and after liming it was pretty much gone. How about a pic of spreading manure this fall with that great Starline spreader you got?

Part Time Pete · Aug 31, 2018

Same here - manure, lime and a few early cuttings will take care of most of the weeds. Very nice barn BTW
Pete

Bret4207 · Aug 31, 2018

I did the same thing up here on the northern border. Disced the living snot out of a a weedy, mossy meadow and spread a bunch of manure on it. Came back in gorgeous hay.

Glen D Anderson · Aug 31, 2018

Looks good!

A friend fed 500 head of cattle on an old, relatively unproductive 90-ish acre hayfield(crested wheat & alfalfa) this past winter. It was a long a cold one so there was a healthy layer of manure across the entire field.

In the spring he simply leveled the piles with a box type land leveller & finished off with diamond narrows & a heavy chunk of pipe. Then he installed a pivot(irrigation) that covered 70 acres & poured the water to it. First cut was 380 - ish bales(1650 lbs) and the second was 160 bales.

Pretty hard to argue with the power of manure & water......LOL

(quoted from post at 10:29:17 08/30/18) Bush hogged twice in 2015.
Applied manure (heavy) that fall and winter.
Two cuttings of hay since.
Nothing but grass, clover and barefoot this year.

Pics are second cut.

SVcummins · Aug 31, 2018

We had some clover show up on a field one year
that must have came from something my uncle
planted long ago

lastcowboy32 · Sep 1, 2018

(quoted from post at 17:14:19 08/31/18) We had some clover show up on a field one year
that must have came from something my uncle
planted long ago

Clover can come from seed being passed through the cows. If the animals ever ate hay with clover in it, it can sprout.

My father also claimed that clover was a "hard seed" and that it could wait dormant for many many years (he claimed twenty); until you had the right conditions. According to him, the "right conditions" consisted of a field that had its first cutting removed and then an abnormally wet midsummer to soak the seed.

Not sure if he's right about those conditions. BUT... I do have a recipe for promoting clover. It consists of getting some clover hay for your animals and spreading their manure.

Once it's out there, you can promote it by getting your first cutting early and your second cut late. Getting the first cut off early removes the competition so that the clover can dominate in the heat of midsummer; when grasses struggle.

Then let that clover go to seed by taking your second cut late... or not at all, if the field needs a rest.

I find that many people underestimate the feed value of excellent, early first cut hay. Here in NY, the cool, long day conditions of May promote the growth of hay with very digestible Neutral Detergent Fiber and high brix. Your second cut may have higher protein, but the fiber may not be as digestible from the hot growing conditions.

If I could feed nothing but first cut taken in the first week of June, I would be a happy camper. It's excellent hay, better than most second or third cut.

showcrop · Sep 1, 2018

(quoted from post at 04:56:42 09/01/18)

(quoted from post at 17:14:19 08/31/18) We had some clover show up on a field one year
that must have came from something my uncle
planted long ago

Click to expand...

Clover can come from seed being passed through the cows. If the animals ever ate hay with clover in it, it can sprout.

My father also claimed that clover was a "hard seed" and that it could wait dormant for many many years (he claimed twenty); until you had the right conditions. According to him, the "right conditions" consisted of a field that had its first cutting removed and then an abnormally wet midsummer to soak the seed.

Not sure if he's right about those conditions. BUT... I do have a recipe for promoting clover. It consists of getting some clover hay for your animals and spreading their manure.

Once it's out there, you can promote it by getting your first cutting early and your second cut late. Getting the first cut off early removes the competition so that the clover can dominate in the heat of midsummer; when grasses struggle.

Then let that clover go to seed by taking your second cut late... or not at all, if the field needs a rest.

I find that many people underestimate the feed value of excellent, early first cut hay. Here in NY, the cool, long day conditions of May promote the growth of hay with very digestible Neutral Detergent Fiber and high brix. Your second cut may have higher protein, but the fiber may not be as digestible from the hot growing conditions.

If I could feed nothing but first cut taken in the first week of June, I would be a happy camper. It's excellent hay, better than most second or third cut.

last cowboy, second cut hay can vary a whole lot. Ideally first cut is done late May early June, which gives another month of cool growth time for second cut while it is the third crop that is grwing through the hot months. I have rarely been in this timing myself, but the guys making forage can of course cover 100 acres a day with today's equipment.

lastcowboy32 · Sep 2, 2018

(quoted from post at 06:22:47 09/01/18)
last cowboy, second cut hay can vary a whole lot. Ideally first cut is done late May early June, which gives another month of cool growth time for second cut while it is the third crop that is grwing through the hot months. I have rarely been in this timing myself, but the guys making forage can of course cover 100 acres a day with today's equipment.

If you can do it that fast, and get the weather...yup.

Most people doing that are either chopping or making baleage around here. Just hard to get that much good weather for dry hay, which is all I can make.

Heck, right now I'm in a pickle. Have a bunch of second cut on fields that I did in July..but I can't get the weather... it's just out there teasing me.

All I can do is keep everything ready to go. I have a feeling that we're only going to get one more shot at it, if anything...to make dry hay, anyway.

Bret4207 · Sep 2, 2018

Where in NYS are you Cowboy? I'm up near Watertown-Ogdensburg.

Texasmark1 · Sep 3, 2018

"My father also claimed that clover was a "hard seed" and that it could wait dormant for many many years (he claimed twenty)."

He is right on with how long seeds will remain in the soil dormant. I can have a clean hay patch for a couple of years or so and all I have to do is to run the
steel through it and wala.....weeds everywhere. Been here 40 years, keep my fields clean and what I said still holds. Clover is just one of the "returnees".

Traditional Farmer · Sep 3, 2018

I can take a field that hasn't been plowed in 60 years and has never had a Morning Glory in it,plow it up and it'll be a stand of Morning Glory in about 10 days.I've read claims that some seed can lay dormant in the ground for 100 years and when conditions get right it'll sprout and grow.A whole lot about seed is not known for sure.

SVcummins · Sep 5, 2018

This clover field had to be at least ten years old and
it was planted at some point because it was thick
and a beautiful stand made a nice crop of hay we
didn?t expect

Glen D Anderson · Sep 5, 2018

Thanks to us farmers, all sorts of surprises lay hidden in the once farmed fields across north America.

Everything from lost tools / equipment / parts to non indigenous plants........even the odd salesman or revenuer. LOL

Brought a field of weeds back with no tilling.

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