Hay guy cut and is not coming back

[Hay Dude]

OP says the hay was cut and left in wide swaths pretty much covering the whole field. Not tedded or raked. That's pretty descriptive to me, based on that info I responded and a couple others have as well.
I'm good with that.

Yup.
That description is all a farmer needs to know.
Leave it alone and let it fertilize the growing grass is the safest, cheapest, do-nothingest option

 

[CH4Ohio]

Do you think there should be a requirement for the person that asked a question or started a thread to sign in and respond every day or so? This looks like another effort to stimulate conversation, but we're all supplying the missing details based on how we imagine the situation. It's like these people throw these bombs over the wall and then we debate them, yet they don't participate.

So here I go taking the bait again . . .

I know for a fact that if I cut hay today it would be heavy enough to be a problem. It would NOT be spread out completely -- until after I ran a tedder through it. And even then, spread out completely, it would be a lot of hay, because I waited till it was ready to be cut.

It would be discharged from the back of a haybine in about a six foot wide row/pile, but it would be heavy enough to kill grass beneath it. Now we don't know what was used to cut the grass in this scenario, but even if it was a sickle bar mower (best case scenario), if the hay was heavy, it's not like "clippings". ((I note that the person asking about this mentioned "clippings". That's why I tried to find out how it was actually cut.))

Agree that you can ignore it and just let it decompose until you choose to bushhog it next time. That's only if you're not planning on regular cuttings as you would with a typical hay field.

BUT, if the plan is to mow hay every 30 days or so . . . and we don't know because we don't have the details . . . this brown/black rained-on mess will be mixed in with the new hay that we manage to cut next month. It will be a pain and plug equipment using sickle bars. Disc-bines won't care, but it will still be mixed into your new fresh green cut hay. It won't disappear in a month, and it won't help the quality of the new cutting. It will break down and lose some of the volume, but it won't just disappear. And it will be included in your next cutting / baling.

I got caught on the first cutting of a small field this year. Didn't get it dry enough to bale and then rain hit. It got rained on about 7 days out of 12. When it was finally dry enough to bale it, I scratched it up into windrows and baled it and got it off the field. It wasn't worth handling a second or third time and certainly wasn't worth putting in the barn. The hay was almost black. I unloaded the wagons with a grapple in an open spot and burned it. But it was worth it to get it off the field so it didn't affect the next cutting. Actually, finally cut that same field for the second time and got it baled this Thursday. It made some nice green alfalfa mix.

Had a baler break-down in late August last year. Went across the road and got the guy that was round-baling to come over and clean it up for me. We split the hay and he was happy. I could have spread it back out with a tedder, but that wouldn't have solved the problem. It never occurred to me to just leave it and let it rot.

So, when you guys say to just leave it, are you assuming that this isn't a "hay field", or are you thinking that cows will eat it anyway so just let it burn down and steam and cook for a month and then mix it in with the next cutting?

Not trying to argue. Just want to understand why you say to leave it. What are your assumptions?

To go back to my original point, I think the thread should be disabled until the person that started this discussion fills in some missing info. Is there a "suggestion box" as this seems to be a recurring problem?

Appreciate your thoughts and rationale. Thanks.

 

[RickB]

Thanks for clarifying your thoughts. I don't believe the OP's situation fits your description of an intensely managed, high yield hay crop. He calls his crop "tall grass" and he is located in PA which would be highly unlikely to be on a 30 day cut schedule and clearly is not managed at the level you claim to manage yours.
My opinion is that under the described circumstances and considering the OP clearly does not have the resources to deal with the hay himself that there are no long term negative consequences to leaving the cut grass in wide swaths to decompose. Low yield casually managed grass hay in the Northeast isn't likely to be cut more than once per year. By next year this hay will be substantially gone. I don't feel any need to provide further explanation or justification for my own thoughts.

Your suggestion to lock the thread is borderline foolishness. Of course that's just another of my opinions.

 

[CH4Ohio]

Thanks for clarifying your thoughts. I don't believe the OP's situation fits your description of an intensely managed, high yield hay crop. He calls his crop "tall grass" and he is located in PA which would be highly unlikely to be on a 30 day cut schedule and clearly is not managed at the level you claim to manage yours.
My opinion is that under the described circumstances and considering the OP clearly does not have the resources to deal with the hay himself that there are no long term negative consequences to leaving the cut grass in wide swaths to decompose. Low yield casually managed grass hay in the Northeast isn't likely to be cut more than once per year. By next year this hay will be substantially gone. I don't feel any need to provide further explanation or justification for my own thoughts.

Your suggestion to lock the thread is borderline foolishness. Of course that's just another of my opinions.

The comments about locking the thread were tongue-in-cheek sarcasm.

Most hayfields in this part of the country get at least 3 cuttings per year. Four is average and five is not unusual. I know that goes for OH, IN, KY, and PA. I have a friend in western Massachusetts who sells hay and he always gets at least 3 cuttings.

Perhaps you're right and there's no intention to do anything with this field till next year. Seems like an assumption and somewhat contradicts the concerns of the original question though.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Hay Dude]

PA average is hay farmer 2 cuttings. Maybe 3 or more if it’s drilled-in hay seed. Nobody in my area does 5 cuttings. Rarely you’ll see 4.
Theres a ton of variables, but in my situation, if I cut my fields and walked away, they could be ready to make hay again the next cutting. I cut my hay and fan it out wide just for that situation. What if one of us died in a farming accident? We don’t want to leave any more chances of problems than already exist. Besides, wide windrows promote not only new hay growth, but faster drying.

1. Hay cut and spread wide is not a problem. 2. Hay cut and left in a narrow, thick windrow by closing-down discbine chutes is a bit of a problem. 3. Hay raked and abandoned hay is more of a problem.
And really, there’s no problem, only solutions if the OP can run a mower over it.
Jeeze, there’s far greater things to worry about.

 

[RickB]

The comments about locking the thread were tongue-in-cheek sarcasm.

Most hayfields in this part of the country get at least 3 cuttings per year. Four is average and five is not unusual. I know that goes for OH, IN, KY, and PA. I have a friend in western Massachusetts who sells hay and he always gets at least 3 cuttings.

Perhaps you're right and there's no intention to do anything with this field till next year. Seems like an assumption and somewhat contradicts the concerns of the original question though.

Thanks for the clarification.

I spent 60 years farming and supporting farming in the Hudson Valley. Cool season grasses don't grow enough to get cut more than twice with the possible exception of orchard grass when excess rainfall exists. Legumes of course are a different story.

You are seeking additional information from the OP while disregarding that which has been provided.

 

[Bentrim]

When dad had bad hay he used to sell it to the mushroom folks. If you have bad hay and you have mushroom people close at least you can get something out of it.

 

[Hay Dude]

When dad had bad hay he used to sell it to the mushroom folks. If you have bad hay and you have mushroom people close at least you can get something out of it.

I sell quite a bit of mushroom hay. Mushroom growers all located just 10 miles from me.
Back in the day, all the mushroom hay buyers would take just about anything. Not like stickers or anything, but “baled vegetation” would qualify, or good hay left to turn brown was fine. They actually don’t want green hay, they want all the chlorophyll out of it.
In the last 10 years, they have become more picky. They won’t accept crappy hay with excessive weeds. What they really want is good hay, that got rained on and can no longer qualify as feed hay. There are still a couple guys who will buy bottom of the barrel stuff, but they also pay less per ton for it.

 

[Bubblehead751]

Almost unbelievable how the original post leaves out way to much information for anyone to give a good answer !

Ever wonder why people do stuff with their new equipment without asking more experienced folks about it first. Hey you are cleaning smarter at this than I am but that ain’t saying much. Probably the only way you know to feel good about yourself is to dump on a newb.

I think I’ve had enough of you and the rest of the forum. Good day to the others and their helpful posts.

 

[Hay Dude]

Ever wonder why people do stuff with their new equipment without asking more experienced folks about it first. Hey you are cleaning smarter at this than I am but that ain’t saying much. Probably the only way you know to feel good about yourself is to dump on a newb.

I think I’ve had enough of you and the rest of the forum. Good day to the others and their helpful posts.

Bah, I know Citydude. He’s a good guy. Don’t
leave the forum. I think you are interpreting what he said the wrong way.