25 Acres worth buying hay equipment?

[Farmer495]

Has anyone talked about how haying is mining minerals and fertility from your land and shipping it down the road? And no chemical fertilizer does not replace it. So haying is a losing money operation and it mines your land.

Taking only 1 cutting per year instead of 2 or 3 helps a lot. Putting cows on the land in between cutting helps as well.

This is true.

I hay to feed cattle, which in turn generate manure which gets spread on the field.

The fields that get manured every year yield very well, the ones that don't, need fertilized, limed reseeded.

 

[Hay Dude]

Has anyone talked about how haying is mining minerals and fertility from your land and shipping it down the road? And no chemical fertilizer does not replace it. So haying is a losing money operation and it mines your land.

Taking only 1 cutting per year instead of 2 or 3 helps a lot. Putting cows on the land in between cutting helps as well.

I add about 2 tons/acre of spent mushroom compost to my fields.

Does that get me off the Environmentalist’s shitlist?

 

[Jrasband]

I add about 2 tons/acre of spent mushroom compost to my fields.

Does that get me off the Environmentalist’s shitlist?

I think you are taking my comment the wrong way. Just so you know I am a small dairy farmer and go through up to 125 bales a year. Nothing wrong with hay and I know just as much as anyone that it is essential for raising ruminants. I have no disrespect for hay farmers.

Sounds like you are on the right track by putting compost on your fields, more than I can say about most the farmers around here. Also, I think you hay a lot of lease land don't you? That is different than owned land. If people are happy to have there land hayed and hauled off and don't think twice about it well so be it.

 

[Hay Dude]

Its important to add nutrients to the soil to keep your yields up!

 

[Hersheyfarm]

This is interesting. I have depleted my hay fields because of high clay content and high magnesium content. last year i bushogged half of 2 fields instead of taking a last cut. I’m watching now to see if there is any difference.

 

[Hersheyfarm]

I add about 2 tons/acre of spent mushroom compost to my fields.

Does that get me off the Environmentalist’s shitlist?

With a manure spreader?

 

[Hay Dude]

With a manure spreader?

yep
A real big one…

 

[Hersheyfarm]

Wow you live in a for real mansion.

 

[Hay Dude]

Ummmm, no lol
Thats not my mansion, that is a DuPont mansion.

 

[airbiscuit]

Looks like you live in the high rent district.