Re: Hay field

Posted by Destroked 450 on March 13, 2020 at 09:47:45 from (66.38.93.182):

In Reply to: Hay field posted by Grandpa love on March 11, 2020 at 08:09:45:

Not sure about you state but here we can take soil samples to our local conservation office and they send them to a lab for analysis, that will tell you what the condition of the field is, to low on potash and it won't grow much hay but will have plenty of weeds.

I cut hay on 6 farms totaling around 235 acres, 15-45 acres each farm over a 9 mile distance but within 6 miles of my place, the hay is divided between my place and MIL's farm 6 miles from me so no hay is hauled more than 3 miles, all is rolled into 4x5 rounds for cow feed.

A few years ago we were low on hay so I cut some that was nearly 20 miles away, by the time we had transported equipment there and back, did the work and hauled the hay back to my place I had travelled over 700 miles moving hay and equipment with my truck, in the end it didn't pencil out, I was offered that ground the next year and turned it down.

Good advice on looking the fields over now before grass gets tall, remove or mark anything that will plug or damage equipment, this will also give you a lay of the land to make note of areas to avoid, you don't want to be mowing along and drop your tractor into a gully or sinkhole you don't see till to late.

I'd start off cutting 5-10 acres to see how everything works out, I'd cut the first part early so the grass hasn't matured to much should you decide to cut more and have a market to support it.

Ask your friend when the ground was last fertilized, if it's been a while I'd put 250 lbs per acre of 19-19-19 on that 5-10 acres I was going the start with, that will show you how the field will respond and what yield you can expect. Or you just cut it and see what you get, hopefully it'll have some grass worth feeding and not be a bunch of weeds to dump in a ditch, but that's were soil testing comes in, it'll give you a idea if you should expect a decent cutting or total failure.

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