hay field renovation

You're lucky you have the option of corn.

I'm facing the same situation where the alfalfa is down to 'bout 30 or 40 percent and the field is pretty much all taken over by the darned grass anymore.

Since alfalfa kills it's young, a feller has to crop one year of something else and I'm rackin' my brain tryin' to figure out what to put in there next spring.

Allan

If the field is in a legume like alfalfa or clover, then planting corn is a good idea as a transition crop. Early spring, take soil tests, plow under the hay you have now, do all the necessary secondary tillage to get a nice seedbed and plant your corn. The following spring take soil tests, spray for weeds, apply your fertilizer and disk it in, then drill your seed. Remember that grasses do like their N, but that depends on how many cuttings you want, and how important yield per cutting is.

I had 18 acres of alfalfa that was thinning out, disced it twice with a JD 12-13ft AW(not a deep tillage disc) with a harrow on the back so that we could plant corn on it. When we finally got back to it to plant, we had the thickest, best stand of alfalfa ever. I've been told since that discing up the crowns on established stands is a plus. This 5yr old stand lasted another very productive 7 years.

I don't know if it was the plant genetics, type of disc, time of the year, month, or day, or just plain dumb luck. I've been convinced that an alfalfa stand should have at least a light discing first thing every spring ever since.
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Mel

Yep, didn't wanna start an arguement, but this is indeed the case. Give 'er a good going over with the spring tooth or a disc and it removes everything except the alfalfa.

Does wonders for the hay crop; but you've got to do it way early in the spring just when the grass is greenin' up.

Allan

But, ya wanna be sure to bale it with a NH 489 swather. :>)

Allan