Re: oats or oat hay

Posted by Gerald J. on December 15, 2006 at 08:37:05 from (67.0.97.210):

In Reply to: oats or oat hay posted by joel rand on December 15, 2006 at 08:24:18:

You could do better with oats by fertilizing, but that negates their function as a nurse crop holding back weeds from the hay crop.

When I did that, a few years ago, I made as much from oat straw as from oats as grain. You want to be sure to choose an oat variety that is early and that isn't prone to lodging, so probably is a short variety, contrary to the raising of straw. Lodging kills the hay crop underneath.

Cutting oats as green hay works too, animals love it, but it has low protien, I've not had great results selling it.

Making hay is going to cut into your day job unless you have some magic way to control rain and dry spells. It takes 3 or 4 days to dry a hay crop, and the alfalfa mix won't cure evenly. Be sure you have buyers for the mix. Around here (central Iowa) that mix won't sell. A few will buy brome but the alfalfa buyers want pure leafy alfalfa that hasn't seen rain after cutting.

A mower conditioner will cut a day or two from the drying time, but only if you lay a wide windrow and then rake it narrow for baling a day before baling when the hay is still tough.

I gave up growing hay because I found it impossible many Junes to get 3 days early in the month to cut and bale when the alfalfa was prime.

Gerald J.

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