Bear mauls elderly man on tractor in this state's 1st bear attack in 25 years (Arkansas)

[WinterDeere]

Neighbors on all sides have weeds, wind and birds bring weeds .. I only have 16 acres total, so lots of shared border ...

Yeah, that does make it tough. I have some astoundingly productive dandelion farmers in my neighborhood too, and their crop is always blowing my way.

But again, after the initial year or two of spraying selective herbicide, pre-emergent weed block put down before the growing season each year will be both more effective and cheaper, for keeping it reasonably weed-free. It's usually sold integrated with fertilizer, so it covers your first round of fertilization for the year, at the same time.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Yeah, but . . . pre-emergent is still a chemical I'd rather not put on my ground ... Lime I don't mind, and may do a $25 soil sample for kicks in a few years, and see if it needs some more ...

I don't plan on fertilizer for the 14 acres of fields, or 1.5 acres of lawn either ... From what I understand and from experience, if your not removing the cut clippings, those nutrients and minerals go back into the soil, that's why the prairies of the Midwest are/were such fertile soils ...

My county ag extension guy told me haying is like above ground mining ... The grass extracts the minerals and nutrients, you cut it and remove them as hay, you need to replenish them with more, to make the grass grow more for next harvest.

Nevertheless ... My place is not an ideal place for black bears ... Most of the neighbors have Great Pyrenees dogs which don't like intruders, nor do a few angry bulls ... While there are "forests" of trees ... Lots of open range land and hay fields too ...

 

[lman]

Yeah, probably good enough. I'm doing the whole golf course-quality lawn thing, and I buy enough product that the turf products company usually comp's me a free yearly soil test, so I just do it. But the actual nutrient needs don't change that fast most years, unless things were way out of whack and you're making big corrections to get it back on-target. Hay is still gonna grow!

If you're not making hay or crops, you're not taking fertility away from the soil so little fertilizer is needed to maintain the soil.
I had a guy doing my hay and he put very little fertilizer on it. He stopped making it and the guy doing it now is maintaining it much better and the alfalfa looks much better. The Amish that buy the hay appreciates it also.

 

[Hay Dude]

We have guys farming hay here in my area that don’t fertilize and the hay keeps returning of course, but the yields slowly diminish. Unfortunately many land owners in my area want their fields “cut”, but not “farmed”. They don’t want to pay for field mowing, they just want you to come in, cut the hay, bale it, and take the bales away. IOW, they want the fields to retain their natural beauty.

The family farm is all but gone in MY area. Most farms have been bought by wealthy peeps, and they don’t want “intensive farming” anymore.

Also, when you see what the per ton price is for average quality “cattle hay”, you quickly understand fertilizer (especially at today’s prices) is usually not worth it unless you do a VERY expensive field rehab FIRST, which most land owners don’t want to see done to their property anyway.

People like to tell farmers what to do, how to do it, and when to do it, not understanding there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Much more.

 

[WinterDeere]

If you're not making hay or crops, you're not taking fertility away from the soil so little fertilizer is needed to maintain the soil.

Yes, I'm sure it's less, but it's also still far from nil. Just test any lawn in which the owner has always left clippings behind but never fertilized, and you will see just how far from target the levels really are... and how poor the lawn is, in return.

I get the soil tested every year, as stated, and from that I get a nutrient plan for the year. Of course Nitrogen is always the highest demand, that's depleted quickly by by germination and by growth, whether you leave or collect the clippings.

But of course there's also the matter of goals. If you don't need a perfect lawn, you might be fine with the target nutrient levels being all out of whack, which I think is the OP's mindset here. Something is going to grow there, either way, even if it's not all your monoculture grass.

 

[Bentrim]

Often got a laugh at those people who just have to bag their grass clippings when they mow and then belly ache about having to fertilize and weed their lawn for that "perfect green lawn".

 

[Shawn T. W.]

You're losing money now as well.

How so?

I didn't buy the place to make money or hay, I bought it for peace and quiet and fresh air away from people ... My neighbor told me it was a good hayfield, I could supplement my retirement income, that she'd buy my share ... After 1st harvest, she said she didn't want to buy my fescues hay, even though that's what grows in her pasture her cows and horses graze on ... So I gave it a shot, and it didn't work for me ...

Originally when I looked at the place to buy, I was just gonna buy a 50-100 HP tractor, and cut it all a few times a year ... Now I'm cutting it more often, so I guess it could be said I'm "losing money" in diesel ... But it makes me happy, so I don't consider it loosing money ... Do you?

 

[lman]

How so?

I didn't buy the place to make money or hay, I bought it for peace and quiet and fresh air away from people ... My neighbor told me it was a good hayfield, I could supplement my retirement income, that she'd buy my share ... After 1st harvest, she said she didn't want to buy my fescues hay, even though that's what grows in her pasture her cows and horses graze on ... So I gave it a shot, and it didn't work for me ...

Originally when I looked at the place to buy, I was just gonna buy a 50-100 HP tractor, and cut it all a few times a year ... Now I'm cutting it more often, so I guess it could be said I'm "losing money" in diesel ... But it makes me happy, so I don't consider it loosing money ... Do you?

I was just pointing out that your money is leaving your bank account when you buy fuel along with putting hours on your tractor when you mow it. So either way it's costing you.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Yeah, so is eating dinner tonight!

Owning property costs money, I knew that when I bought it.

I'm much happier cutting my grass every few weeks in the growing months, than letting it grow up with weeds looking ugly, or pouring chemicals on it ... It's only money!

 

[Torvy]

Always a fan of doing it your own way.

If it was me, I'd run a few cattle on it. Buy some young steers and feed them, sell most and eat one.