hey, so im starting my own hay business, I have 8 acres of field. it use to be half alfalfa half grass. hasn't been done in years. im curious about ground prep and planting. by ground prep in talking about ploughing/cultivating. what do I do to the field and in what order? and I keep seeing lots of stuff about how to plant alfalfa but it's all for small household gardens. after ground prep how do you plant the alfalfa? what kind of seeder?
field prep for alfalfa?
- Thread starter 1966Chevy
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Old Red
Platinum Member
Nice firm seedbed. Of course you have to get your soil tested and amended right. Nice firm seemed and I broadcast mine, then pack. I plant Roundup Ready Alfalfa. I have about 8 acres of it. My good ground it performs great, my mariginal ground it does not.
it should be a good PH, but I'll get it tested. so just look up how to get a firm seedbed?
strum456
Platinum Member
Are you no-tilling? If using conventional methods, we cultipack 1x before broadcasting and then 2x after (using a crossing pattern).
what is difference between no tilling and tilling? also what exactly is a broadcaster?
strum456
Platinum Member
Alright, with that said, the first thing I would do is divide that 8 acres into a smaller section. If you are truly a rookie, 8 acres is a lot to be learning on at once. Maybe plant some cover crops to smother weeds and build the soil in some of the acreage.
Tilling would involve plowing, disking, harrowing (turning and working the ground). After the ground is worked, the broadcaster spreads the seed on the tilled ground.
If you no till, you will want to spray first. You might have to mow, to chop up the trash residue as well. Check with your extension office, I'd say there is a good chance that you can rent a no-till drill somewhere in Oklahoma. You'll also need a big enough tractor to pull it. The smallest no-till drills I have seen take a 50 HP minimum, I believe.
Tilling would involve plowing, disking, harrowing (turning and working the ground). After the ground is worked, the broadcaster spreads the seed on the tilled ground.
If you no till, you will want to spray first. You might have to mow, to chop up the trash residue as well. Check with your extension office, I'd say there is a good chance that you can rent a no-till drill somewhere in Oklahoma. You'll also need a big enough tractor to pull it. The smallest no-till drills I have seen take a 50 HP minimum, I believe.
it is all one field but has a fence and some trees seperating it into 2, 4 acre fields. rough outline, did it in the dark with bad headlights, but you get the idea.
strum456
Platinum Member
That sounds like a good reason to split it up. You're looking at some serious $$$ to plant 8 acres worth of alfalfa. Are you new to making hay as well? There is so much to learn and so many things that can go wrong. I'm assuming that you must be independently wealthy and you're just looking for something to do? LOL
im not wealthy nor looking for fun, this alfalfa field is so old that it's mostly just grass now, my grandfather was the last to plant it, he's passed so now it's my job. also making a business out of it. im not new to making hay, just new to planting and field prep. have a 100hp JD 4230, hesston 600 swather, John Deere 510 round baler, ford 530 square baler.
Old Red
Platinum Member
My seed bed is prepared by first killing all the vegetation in the field. Discing, discing, discing, discoing, and some more discing. All the while pulling a cultipacker behind my disc. A tiller would be better than discing for soil prep but I don't have a tiller. I also have access to a very nice no till drill from the county, but I have never tried that method. And honestly, I thought I had a decent stand of alfalfa until I visited Nebraska on a turkey hunt and walked across their irrigated alfalfa fields....WOW, unbelievable as compared to my dinky expensive acreage. I never harvested mine. I had some guys interested but it just wasn't worth it. It gets pounded after the spring green up.