Alfalfa ???'s

Anonymous-0 · Sep 19, 2009

Hey folks,
is there a difference in quality of cuttings(1st 2nd, 3rd, etc) as far as hay?
Never fed it before but thought it'd be good to have a few bales on hand for the mares when/if it gets in the teens this winter. Got about 75 bales of 1st cut and the piece grew enough for a second. Looks the same as the 1st to an ignorant eye. Or is it the same as pasture hay between 1st and 2nd?

Thanks,

Dave

Billy NY · Sep 19, 2009

Might be some variables, region, weather, but from my limited experience with baling it, (we had 5 acres of it for many years) back then, was that if you cut it on time, ( here it was typically 1st cut late May, early June 2nd mid summer - August, and 3rd mid to late September).

The farmers that chop it, seem to do so more often, more cuttings, it does grow like heck around here when taken care of, especially with lots of rain like we had this summer.

As far as a detailed analysis, of like nutritional content, maybe I am way off for some unknown reason, but seems like most years when cut on time, it did not vary all that much between cuttings. We used a mower conditioner, and a side delivery rake, don't think it was ever dry enough to worry about knocking the leaves off. We used to feed it to our horses, proportionally to regular grass hay, as you know, have to be a little careful feeding it, high octane LOL !

jwal10 · Sep 19, 2009

Usually each succesive cutting has more leaves and finer stems. Also the later cuttings have more feed value due to better weather. I liked 3rd cutting the best here, best chance of getting it put up right....James

Anonymous-0 · Sep 19, 2009

Thanks! Not enough to speak of by y'all's standards, but getting 50 or so small bales in this area is a big thing. Getting ANY kind of clover in a bail is a biggy. The folks that plant it usually cut it green and feed it fresh.

Dave

Anonymous-0 · Sep 19, 2009

First cutting is often a bit tougher, coarser, because it has the over-wintered residue from the year before, if there was a lot of regrowth after the previous years last cutting. Late season cuttings are usually finer stemmed, nicer quality....biggest impact on each cutting is from weather conditions after cutting. Nutrient content does vary throughout the day, so time of cutting has a slight impact.

Anonymous-0 · Sep 19, 2009

I think horses like grass in the hay, it's softer and more palatable. Alfalfa in the mix is good but they don't like the stems in straight alfalfa. Most don't need that much protein either.

SMA in NE · Sep 20, 2009

I used to put up 150 acres of alfalfa. According to University of Nebraska research feed value of alfalfa is directly related to plant height and maturity. Taller plants have more stem, less feed value. Prebud, bud, and blossom are listed as the various stages of maturity. Alfalfa loses feed value (RFV) as it matures and grow taller. 1st cutting alfalfa cut in the prebud stage can be very high quality feed. Look at the stem size and length compared to the amount of leaves when buying alfalfa hay.

Alfalfa ???'s

Anonymous-0

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Billy NY

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jwal10

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Anonymous-0

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Anonymous-0

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Anonymous-0

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SMA in NE

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