Stemmy, overgrown hay field -- weed free, but too stemmy.... advice ?

[mattv1]

Hi All...

Due to rain and my 'real' job, i wasn't able to get into all my fields as early as i should have.

Some fields got an early first cutting -- about a month ago. Horses are loving the grass and leaving no waste.

I just cut a field last weekend and the horses are being picky. Wasting a lot.... and my wife has noticed. She's pushing for me to find a way to cut the stems off, and cut the fields down to 5 or 6 inches and let it regrow to get a "2nd cutting" without actually taking a first cutting.

I have a flail mower that I can probably do this with, but I don't think I can run it as normal, with the heavy roller on the ground to set the cutting height, because I estimate the heavy roller over the tall grass would stunt any regrowth...
I surely can't just run my swather through the field at a high setting, because it would just leave long unchopped grass pieces all over and choke the field out
I don't have a "proper" batwing mower or brush mower that I can somehow set at 5 or inches, though I feel like this would maybe work OK.
Maybe I'm best off cutting and baling the field, but setting the swather at 4 or 5 inches, and selling the hay for whatever I can get....this would avoid any thatch problems.

Of course no matter what I do, after i cut the stems off and such I will apply proper fertilizer and spray for weeds to encourage regrowth. and pray for rain.

I'm all ears --- would love to hear your suggestions or experiences.

 

[riptides]

What kind of grass is it that you are cutting and feeding?

 

[mattv1]

Smooth bromegrass, with a fair bit of Kentucky 31 bluegrass and orchardgrass mixed in.

 

[riptides]

In my experience, here, the drier it gets the more "stemmy" my orchard grasses get. I can get one cutting, already done, out of the fields where it is prevalent. If I try for two, you would swear the grasses are not the same species. This time of year our horses get picky too, so I supplement the hay with a lot of other bales from past cuttings. They still pick and choose. So the first cut to me is OK, the second goes to round bales for cow. It's just the way the fields are. I think your options of cutting higher with different equipment are a lot of work for mixed, diminished results.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I think I would just cut is as normal for baling. The horses can either eat the stems or not, either way you wont be having any more invested in it and still get the same amount of good horse hay. If you feed it where you can collect the stems after the horses have picked thru it, you could use those to line your stalls.

 

[Mace Canute]

I bet if the horses were hungry they wouldn't be picky...

 

[mattv1]

I ended up cutting the field and and leaving a considerable amount of stubble.

The grass dried very quickly -- i actually tedded and baled the next day. I've never been able to do that.
The resulting bales were a fair mix of grass blades and stems, and it was still excellent color and texture.
Horses seem to be eating it rather well.

I plan to spread a small/moderate amount of liquid fertilizer and herbicide on the field in the next day or two, once i see signs of regrowth. I will do another cutting in 3 or 4 weeks when the grass is at peak maturity for horse consumption.

thanks to everyone for the comments and perspective.

 

[riptides]

Glad it worked out for you!