MF 1105 Mowing Thatch Hay...

Bill VA

Well-known Member
Some of the old pastures on our farm over the years, absent cattle grew into weeds, autumn olives and multiflora rose. Some of them we kept bush hogged, but if left for a summer, would grow plenty of grass and grassy undergrowth, but also autumn olive sprigs and the multiflora rose. Stick weeds are abundant.

As I can get to these fields, I cut the hay, weeds, etc., and bale it to get the thatch off the field. We sell it (at a low price) and goat customers are happy to buy it. The field will become timothy.

We get the field cleared of thatch, customer gets a good price for the bales, we make a little money to cover such things as diesel. It is a win - win.

The video below and the subsequent two (to be posted another day) show us cutting this small field and baling it. This video is of the cutting and also shows some of the slopes we are working, in addition to the flatter parts of the farm. The MF 1105 is weighted and wheels set to 80 inch centers.

The mower is a Krone 2801cv with impeller tines...

Bill
MF 1105 Mowing Thatch Hay
 
Our county weed board would have paid me a pretty hostile visit if that was in Davison County SD.
 
"Our county weed board would have paid me a pretty hostile visit if that was in Davison County SD."

I never heard of such a board - I had to look it up.

Nothing like that around here. Believe it or not, there are guys that bale weeds here all the time into squares and sell it as "horse quality" hay. Others pass it off as organic - which I guess is what it is. When customers buy our thatch hay - they know and see exactly what they are getting for the price.

Bill
 
Interesting terrain, watching the tractor drive along cutting past trees, then off in the distance is a mountain! Guessing there isn?t a lot of flat open ground around? Makes good sense to reclaim this field. Nice looking equipment too
 
"Interesting terrain, watching the tractor drive along cutting past trees, then off in the distance is a mountain! Guessing there isn?t a lot of flat open ground around? Makes good sense to reclaim this field. Nice looking equipment too"

Bruce,

Where we are, there is IMHO really no row cropping as you would imagine in flatter areas and of course the midwest. As you go east, the land flattens out or becomes rolling and that is different. Interestingly enough, my mother is from the mountains of western North Carolina. The terrain is much similar. Small fields scattered around the mountains. In my area, cattle seemed to be the cash crop. In my mother's part of NC, tobacco was a big crop (years ago), along with cattle.

Bill
 
The only hay like that around here is called "Beer Can Hay" LOL. And that is because landowners are allowed to mow their ditches. and the ditches along state highways.
Usually has some can and plastic bottles in it. Some along the Interstate is pristine oahe intermediate wheat grass . And or native brome.
 
That'd probably be good hay for cows if supplemented with something like Sweetlix Protein blocks.The other option if you're going to plant something else there would be to take a big offset disk and incorporate the organic matter into the ground it'll help the next crop grow and the soil hold moisture.I grow Crimson Clover to disk in before planting sweet corn helps a lot.
 
Better not try that here in Ohio. Only Twp, county or state goverment allowed to mow. On a few TWP or county roads you could get by with mowing roadside but you had better not try to pick any of it up. Most roadside mowing by landowners is with lawn mowers.
 

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