Left over hay on the ground - what to do with it?

[ddivinia]

Thru the winter I have fed a lot of round bales. So, I have a lot of excess hay on the ground that will not get eaten. What should I do with the hay? Rake it up with my landscape rake and burn it? Get a manure spreader and blow it out around the place? Run of them with the batwing and watch it blow them up?

Thanks,
D.

 

[RichZ]

You can use it for mulch or spread it around to decompose. If you have a manure pile, add it to it, it'll provide bulk to the manure.

 

[chh]

I tried the batwing trick once with less than spectacular results . If it is individual piles here and there I have had good luck just burning them where they are. Provided of course that it hasn't rained too much on them in the last few days. Even if you don't get a clean burn, if you get the solid part of the core burnt the rest will break down pretty quickly. Scattering ot out thin will help also. I read an article last year that said that hay clumps like this are the perfect breeding ground for cattle flies. The larva(maggots) do very well in the wet rotting hay.

 

[DLMaine01]

ddivinia,
This is waste hay that the cow's have left on the ground after being fed? What I do is move the cows to a differant pasture and till it with my Howard rotovator and gauge wheels just enough to grind up waste hay and poop and then seed it to Timothy and White clover. Works out great by late August /September I have lush pasture. This is probably differant for you as I live in Maine. Same concept could be adapted though.
Good Luck
Dave

 

[ddivinia]

You can use it for mulch or spread it around to decompose. If you have a manure pile, add it to it, it'll provide bulk to the manure.

No manure piles unless I have a sick cow in the barn. All our longhorns are out in the pastures.

D.

 

[ddivinia]

I tried the batwing trick once with less than spectacular results . If it is individual piles here and there I have had good luck just burning them where they are. Provided of course that it hasn't rained too much on them in the last few days. Even if you don't get a clean burn, if you get the solid part of the core burnt the rest will break down pretty quickly. Scattering ot out thin will help also. I read an article last year that said that hay clumps like this are the perfect breeding ground for cattle flies. The larva(maggots) do very well in the wet rotting hay.

I have used my batwing but it can be hard on the drivetrain.

There is no core - it all pretty flat. I try not to throw multiple bales on the same spot, but some times it happens. We have had so many burn bans, I dont want to burn the county down.

I am concerned about them being a breeding ground for all kinds of nasty stuff.

All the piles have been rained on at one time or another.

I was thinking I could get a pull behind manure spreader. Pull it with my gator. Use the 4720 with landscape rake and FEL to fill the spreader and then blow it out.

D.

 

[ddivinia]

ddivinia,
This is waste hay that the cow's have left on the ground after being fed? What I do is move the cows to a differant pasture and till it with my Howard rotovator and gauge wheels just enough to grind up waste hay and poop and then seed it to Timothy and White clover. Works out great by late August /September I have lush pasture. This is probably differant for you as I live in Maine. Same concept could be adapted though.
Good Luck
Dave

I have 5 pastures to rotate 2 herds thru. There is plenty of manure around, but the hay bales need to go. I'll post some pics. Just hay on the ground, but there has got to be a smart way to take care of them.

What is a rotovator?

D.

 

[ddivinia]

I guess I could just run over them a bunch with my disc harrow.

I tell ya, the landscape rake does a very nice job gathering the hay up. Then I can scoop it up with my FEL.

D.

 

[JESSE1]

I've always just used my front end loader to push the waste hay into low spots of the pasture. It will rot and grass will grow over it in time. I also try to feed in spots where the ground is bare and the grass won't grow very well. The waste hay rots and enriches the area.
I've also just pushed the waste into big piles and let it rot for several months before moving it to where it's needed. Waste hay is great for filling washes and slowing erosion.

 

[ddivinia]

I've always just used my front end loader to push the waste hay into low spots of the pasture. It will rot and grass will grow over it in time. I also try to feed in spots where the ground is bare and the grass won't grow very well. The waste hay rots and enriches the area.
I've also just pushed the waste into big piles and let it rot for several months before moving it to where it's needed. Waste hay is great for filling washes and slowing erosion.

Good stuff - maybe I should use it to fill in the stumps holes from tearing out so many cedar trees.

I'll throw some on the burn piles spots from last year - might help get some grass growing.

Thanks for the ideas.

D.