Hay yield

[joeu235]

3000# an acre of high quality hay is what we consider to be an average cutting.

 

[prof fate]

Thinking of doing hay, working on the numbers (is it worth it?)

I'm in western PA and Penn State U ag reports say to expect a ton per acre, give or take 10% based on soil/rain, etc. I assume that's for the year - not first cutting only. Seen similar amounts in a few places.

What i've not been able to truly find out - is how to plant hay.

We have 12 acres of what is/has been horse pasture. Too much for them to eat, spend too much time/fuel brush hogging it, she spent too much to clear it years ago to let it revert to woods. But to be productive it would need plowed/planted in hay.

Looking at having someone else do it and pay us in hay, or we invest in the equip (have tractor..but nothing else) and do it ourselves. Used wagon/baler/cutter/rake-tedder could be done for under 10k, maybe much less if we get lucky. Time we're already spending mowing it. We don't have the equip to plant it - but a disk is all that needs done we could do that (rental likely).

We use about 1200 bales/yr (small sq) so the 12 acres would provide all we need.

 

[StuartDK45SE]

What I am experiencing in my area is that for a small place ( I have 10 acres in hay) unless you can find someone that is very close to you, you might have a hard time finding a hay guy that is interested. And the guys I can even get to call me back balk at baling on the halves. They keep 2/3s or more is more likely. So I have started to look for my own equipment. I will probably buy a new drum mower from Small Farm Innovations. They are pretty reasonable and any used disc or drum mower in that price range is usually just plum wore out. The rest will all be used.

 

[M5farms]

why would you tear up the grass your horses are eating now ? Just fertilize and bale that . If they eat it green they will eat it dry ,as long as it put up at the right time.

 

[prof fate]

a couple of reasons - no clue what hay (grass) it is, but could probably find out. It's not consistent across the field for sure - some areas are barely a foot tall and others have 4' tall plus weeds in there.
A previous owner put in some ditches..for drainage I assume..the one wet area lack that thought...and i'm not talking swells/swales but DITCHES..and they are laid out like a spider as opposed to paralle to anything. Odd. COuld be worked around I suppose.

Biggest issue is weeds - without the tools to mow it regularly it has, at times, gotten out of hand with weeds. Last year in particular - only got mowed in august..by then everything had seeded/reseeded itself.

There are about 24 acres total - one barn, a drive, some regular lawn, an area with some trees - probably 18 acres total in pasture - and in the past 12 horses, but currently 4 in the front and 2 in the back...they don't graze it nearly enough it gets way overgrown.

She's owned the place for 20 years and never 'seeded' it. So it's whatever was there...30 years ago?

 

[M5farms]

I understand your thought but native grass should not be dismissed . A couple of years of spraying with herbicide can control the weeds which will improve the native grass. if the ground is tilled and planted its still going to have to be sprayed because you will open up a new weed seed bank. A horse does not need anything special , just good quality grass hay.

 

[prof fate]

spraying with what?
Ive used glyphosate in varius concentrations - it will kill grass for sure.
I've used somehting else (from home depot) with the idea of killing grass/weeds and not the ivy or pachysandra..mixed results, it kills nothing mostly.

What would I spray to kill 'weeds' and not 'grass'?

She's never sprayed - fearful of chemicals and horses eating chem'd grasses/weeds. Her son for a decade has been the fence post week whacker - I detest weed whacking so we've talked about spraying - and I've got an OK...plan to spot spray the weediest areas in the pasture and now that we've got a tractor and brush hog to keep the weeds down before they go to seed...since I've not had time to mow everything I'm hitting the worst first..and she's complaining about the hap hazard looking mow pattern I've got out there.

I assume if i let the grass go to seed that's a good thing?

 

[M5farms]

Grazon is a good product with some residual , 24d is another that will not kill grass but several applications will need to be done each season as other seed germinate and I spray with the cows and horses in the pasture .

 

[StuartDK45SE]

spraying with what?
Ive used glyphosate in varius concentrations - it will kill grass for sure.
I've used somehting else (from home depot) with the idea of killing grass/weeds and not the ivy or pachysandra..mixed results, it kills nothing mostly.

What would I spray to kill 'weeds' and not 'grass'?

She's never sprayed - fearful of chemicals and horses eating chem'd grasses/weeds. Her son for a decade has been the fence post week whacker - I detest weed whacking so we've talked about spraying - and I've got an OK...plan to spot spray the weediest areas in the pasture and now that we've got a tractor and brush hog to keep the weeds down before they go to seed...since I've not had time to mow everything I'm hitting the worst first..and she's complaining about the hap hazard looking mow pattern I've got out there.

I assume if i let the grass go to seed that's a good thing?

Maybe consider one of these. Rosco I am finishing up their 14 foot kit as we speak. In my jigs grass fields I have vasey and fox tail that grown much higher than the jigs grass I am nurturing. You fill it with 1/2 glyphosate and 1/2 water and drive through your field. The ropes will wipe glyphosate onto the taller weeds only and hopefully kill them. Haven't tested it out yet, but the investment wasn't all that much.

 

[prof fate]

ahh, that explains something - I saw a 'rope' or 'wick' weed killer distribution device and had no clue what it would be used for...THIS makes perfect sense! Thanks!

Maybe consider one of these. Rosco I am finishing up their 14 foot kit as we speak. In my jigs grass fields I have vasey and fox tail that grown much higher than the jigs grass I am nurturing. You fill it with 1/2 glyphosate and 1/2 water and drive through your field. The ropes will wipe glyphosate onto the taller weeds only and hopefully kill them. Haven't tested it out yet, but the investment wasn't all that much.