Square Baler for Hay?

5030 · Oct 3, 2003

Re: Square Bailer for Hay?

Yellowsocks93:

I don't understand cutting hay after a frost. Usually, when you start having frosts, you don't have any more degree days for dry-down.

Besides, that late in the year, you'd winter kill your hay fields. If you mean spring frost, the plants aren't mature enough to cut at that point.

Rule of thumb for cutting is 20% blossoms on the average before cutting or about 29 days between cuts in our area. I know, how do you determine 20%? That's where experience in the "art" of haying comes in.

I think the farmer was pulling your leg!!

slowzuki · Oct 3, 2003

Re: Square Bailer for Hay?

I'm from New Brunswick, Canada, a little bit northeast of Maine. We tend to get 2 cuts of hay in a normal season. 15 acres will produce 1000 -2000 bales a year, maybe more.

The talk about all the fertilizing etc depends on your location. Here the fields need reseeded about every 5 years, fertilizer ie manure every couple of years and limed as needed by soil ph.

If you leave a field without doing anything it will produce for about 5 years, by the 10th year it is just wild grasses.

I will be in the same situation as others, 15 acres of good hay, a sister with hungry horse and no one except me to bale.

Ken

kensfarm · Oct 3, 2003

Re: Square Bailer for Hay?

We just had our first frost this morning.. it was 30 degrees..

I know the farmers hated to have frost this morning.. the late planted soybeans fields are still filling out.

cowboydoc · Oct 3, 2003

Re: Square Bailer for Hay?

Daryl,

We always do our last cutting after the first "killing" frost. This way we get our hay so that it's tall enough to survive the frost and also get our last cutting. After that first killing frost the hay is dormant so it doesn't do much good to leave 6-12" standing in the field. It will dry it just takes a couple days longer.

5030 · Oct 3, 2003

Re: Square Bailer for Hay?

Richard:

We don't do that unless mother nature doesn't cooperate and then we do it. As a rule, around here, we don't. In our region, we run out of degree days around now.

5030 · Oct 3, 2003

Re: Square Bailer for Hay?

Slowzuki:

I don't know about that "manure" part. Maybe urea, but not manure. With the application of manure, next season you will have a lot of undesirable growth in the hay field.

I just had this same discussion with a professor of agricultural science at MSU. He told me it was an accepted practice to apply HORSE manure to a hay field to promote growth. I told him that the only thing the manure would produce is the growth of undesirable grasses. I went on to tell him that it might be an acceptable practice in Lansing, on a test plot under controlled conditions, but in the real world of farming, no way. Sometimes, professors should stick to their books, that book stuff or controlled plot growth is not the real world.

cowboydoc · Oct 3, 2003

Re: Square Bailer for Hay?

I told him that the only thing the manure would produce is the growth of undesirable grasses.

That sure doesn't happen with us. I wouldn't even begin to know how much manure we apply to our fields. It's alot. The only way you would have alot of problem with grass seed is if you are grazing the animals on poor grass that's already gone to seed or feeding hay that has alot of grass seed in it. If you're feeding the hay you're producing though, which is what we do, I don't see how you are going to get grass growing? The grass has to come from seed. If you're feeding alfalfa you're not going to get grass seed from the manure. Same with our cattle. In the winter when they're in the lots they are fed the hay that we take the manure to. If you're only putting back the manure from the hay you produced you aren't going to produce grasses unless you baled alot of grass seed.

5030 · Oct 3, 2003

Re: Square Bailer for Hay?

Richard:

I was referring to foreign manure. In a closed loop scenario that would work with no imported manure. As we don't barn our horses, there is no intensive stall clean out except when foaling so on our fields, the "foreign" element would come into play.

We tend to get undesirable grasses in our fields just from wind drift.

Besides, we don't feed our horses alfalfa timothy hay, they get an orchard grass, Broome grass combination except during the last 3 months of pregnancy and for 3 months after foaling. Don't forget, we raise drafters not quarter horses.

cowboydoc · Oct 3, 2003

Re: Square Bailer for Hay?

Yea I understand that. I wouldn't even think about spreading manure on my hay fields besides my own. Alot of the guys I know won't feed anything but alfalfa to their belgians. One of my good friends is one of the bigtime breeders. They do all the shows and have the hitch teams they compete in. We've had many discussions on hay and he won't feed anything but staight alfalfa. I don't like feeding it straight unless they need it. A growing horse or an athlete they need the protein. But alot of them don't. All depends on who it's being fed to. I agree with you on feeding grass hay and would much rather feed it. But I know the draft guys around here don't like it.