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Implement Alley Discussion Forum

Foxtail field to Alfalfa/Timothy

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Joe in IN

10-26-2004 14:31:35




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I can get a free 8 acres to put into hay. what was a farm field 2 years ago was just weeds this year. Actually it looked like a field of Foxtail. Thick and tall. Now the question. What is the best way to get rid of the foxtails?

If I bushhog and till, there will be plenty of foxtail seed for next year. Burning an 8 acre field, while doing a great job of killing the seed, is not something I feel up to tackling(Houses around as well.). Plus here in Indiana it might not burn well with the rains we've had.....

I wanted to put an alfalfa/timothy mix in but afraid I might not be able to fend off the foxtail. Suggestions? Should I just do straight alfalfa so I can use grass killer?

I get the field for two years, I can't count of more than that...

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Mike (WA)

10-29-2004 12:28:09




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 Re: Foxtail field to Alfalfa/Timothy in reply to Joe in IN, 10-26-2004 14:31:35  
We're probably talking about two different things, but if "foxtail" is the same as what we call "meadow foxtail" here, the ground is probably too wet for alfalfa. Meadow Foxtail grows in wet areas- is the first grass to head out in the spring, and would be OK for hay if you could ever harvest it before it's overripe.



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txblu

10-27-2004 06:50:35




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 Re: Foxtail field to Alfalfa/Timothy in reply to Joe in IN, 10-26-2004 14:31:35  
Had Foxtail coming out my ears. Believe it or not, mowing, plowing, and 2-4-D applications over several years, with a reemergence of coastal bermuda grass has all but ridded me of the pest....which I "think" is also called Millet. Well Millet sounds like something you use for feed. I have grazed it and cows eat at it. But for Hay, it sucks totally.

The bermuda roots were there, but the plants were suppressed by other things. By killing off weeds and such, with a proper nutritional program, and loose soil, the bermuda came back and must have choked out the Foxtail.

HTH.

Mark

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JMS/MN

10-28-2004 21:49:57




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 Re: Foxtail field to Alfalfa/Timothy in reply to txblu, 10-27-2004 06:50:35  
2,4-D is a broadleaf weedkiller- it does not kill grass. Foxtail is a grass. Foxtail is not millet.



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txblu

10-29-2004 05:52:11




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 Re: Foxtail field to Alfalfa/Timothy in reply to JMS/MN, 10-28-2004 21:49:57  
I know it's grass, speculating about it being millet. Response was what I did to my pastures to get them back into grass. Weeds were part of the compliment of bad guys.

Mark



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Jerry D in NC

10-27-2004 03:17:30




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 Re: Foxtail field to Alfalfa/Timothy in reply to Joe in IN, 10-26-2004 14:31:35  
I too have made a stab at short run fields and would recommend the following. Thanks to a gracious neighbor I have access to a nice No-Till planter. I mowed the field with the MoCo, raked and baled it and carried it of the field and sold it to the straw choppers. That left a clean field that I no-tilled Orchard grass into. If you can establish Timothy for $10 an acre then I would double that and go for it now. Alot of your grass seed may not sprout and grow until spring but for $160 I have gambled alot more for less potential and you are not investing that much in tillage. Just my $.02 worth and how I did it.

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KJM

10-26-2004 19:56:09




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 feed it in reply to Joe in IN, 10-26-2004 14:31:35  
Joe,have the fox tail tested as hay,I had a farmer tell me back in the 70s that fox tail tested out better than alfalfa and a lot easyer to grow. It might be a load of cr#p but for less than $20.00 for a test, what the heck. kjm



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JMS/MN

10-27-2004 11:53:21




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 Re: feed it in reply to KJM, 10-26-2004 19:56:09  
Many plants, whether they be weeds or normal crops, test about the same for protein if you test them when they are flowering or shortly after. That's why, if I had cows to feed, I would prefer a wet year over a dry year, because weeds, if ensiled properly, can still feed cows- and weeds grow better in a wet year than in a drouth. But to compare foxtail to a real crop like alfalfa- the only way they would compare is if you did an excellent job of harvesting the weeds, and a lousy job of harvesting the alfalfa.

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kyhayman

10-26-2004 16:58:46




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 Re: Foxtail field to Alfalfa/Timothy in reply to Joe in IN, 10-26-2004 14:31:35  
I agree with 'what Tim said'

If you had it for a longer period of time, maybe alfalfa. For the short run, and this late in the season if you want to make use of it heres some ideas. Were it me for only 2 years I'd probably plant rye ot triticale right now, take it off as hay or round bale silage and double crop soybeans for hay or silage after that. After the soybeans come off then maybe plant it in timothy in fall of '05 for harvest in spring of '06. Seed cost on timothy will only run you $10 per acre. Then in the fall of '06 count on the foxtail as a fall hay crop. Cut prior to seed head formation it makes a good feed, several area horse farms here request it.

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kyhayman

10-26-2004 16:56:45




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 Re: Foxtail field to Alfalfa/Timothy in reply to Joe in IN, 10-26-2004 14:31:35  
I agree with 'what Tim said'

If you had it for a longer period of time, maybe alfalfa. For the short run, and this late in the season if you want to make use of it heres some ideas. Were it me for only 2 years I'd probably plant rye ot triticale right now, take it off as hay or round bale silage and double crop soybeans for hay or silage after that. After the soybeans come off then maybe plant it in timothy in fall of '05 for harvest in spring of '06. Seed cost on timothy will only run you $10 per acre. Then in the fall of '06 count on the foxtail as a fall hay crop. Cut prior to seed head formation it makes a good feed, several area horse farms here request it.

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Tim(nj)

10-26-2004 15:30:21




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 Re: Foxtail field to Alfalfa/Timothy in reply to Joe in IN, 10-26-2004 14:31:35  
For two years, I wouldn"t even bother trying to establish a hay stand on it. Takes a year to get it growing good, then you"re only getting 1 year of good hay? Alfalfa is a crop that for the cost of the seed and the inputs to get a decent crop needs to be producing 4-5 years to be worthwhile.



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Joe in IN

10-27-2004 06:35:50




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 Re: Foxtail field to Alfalfa/Timothy in reply to Tim(nj), 10-26-2004 15:30:21  
I concurr with your comments for the most part. I wasn't planning on $4/lb seed. I was only planning on vernal at $1.20/lb. 20# to the acre, so for less than $200 I have it planted(minus fert of course, planning on $200 for that as well). I figured in year 1 to break even. $400/$3per bale is only 133 bales. I could easily get that. I got 50 bales an acre this year on a new plant that was stunted early with 12 inches of rain in 5 days.....

I could go with the timothy route but would still have the foxtail problem, it would increse yield but quality(or at least perceived quality) would be diminished.

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