Hay Season 2018

[skyhightree1]

I went back to my home town for family reasons and first person I see on a tractor is our very own no rest farm someone I don't do hay much I will start this year's thread out with him. Keep the pics coming

 

[M-5]

If we get some rain this week , MAYBE in 3 weeks I can cut some. Our nighttime temps changed this week and we finally had temps above 65 and the grass is trying to grow just need some moisture now .

 

[skyhightree1]

If we get some rain this week , MAYBE in 3 weeks I can cut some. Our nighttime temps changed this week and we finally had temps above 65 and the grass is trying to grow just need some moisture now .

Hope you get it we been cutting for 2 weeks

 

[True Grit Farms]

No hay here and if it doesn't start raining regular there's no hay till next year for me.

 

[Silver]

Shoot, seems like our snow just left. Seeding now, and will be July before hay is ready to cut.

 

[Atimm693]

Got our first cut of alfalfa and fescue this weekend.

192 bales off of 55 acres. 50x48" bales, cut, raked, baked, hauled, and wrapped for silage within 48 hours. Got fertilizer put on too.

Fescue is pretty thin yet, we cut it once early, and then again later in the season around August or September.

The cool spring set us back a little, but these last couple weeks off 80+ degrees has almost made up for it.

 

[ddd75]

finally had some thunderstorms and a little growth.

looking a lot better now but no where near what it should be.

hoping in another week I can cut.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Still feeding hay does that count? Hopefully have enough grass to graze in 3 or 4 weeks. Hopefully start on hay mid to late June, that is if we get some rain. Last of the snow left 3 weeks ago and it hasn't rained much since, things are dry and dusty and not growing. Also doesn't help last Friday it was 21 degrees for almost 8 hours the ground, grass, and trees and got froze pretty good.

 

[kentuckyguy]

I've got all the equipment ready and a new to me baler and tractor ready to go. Now I just need some dry weather paired up with some warm days.

We fertilized this spring and are hay fields look great. The bluegrass, fescue and indiangrass are all super thick and just starting to seed out.

After we get our first cutting off it will be time to plant a couple acres of piper sudangrass to supplement our hay crop. This will be our first year trying the sudangrass by itself. Hoping it will dry down quicker and be a little easier on the equipment than the pearl millet was.

 

[ez14.]

 

[snoopdog]

Cut today , but it's pretty thin. It had to be cut , for the quality , but the yield isn't going to be there. Makes me worry. If the almanac is right , we'll be ok. Funny , how you walk through it , and can't hardly , but when it's on the ground , it don't seem like much.

 

[ddd75]

got 2/3's of a field baled yesterday.. then it poured on me. I tried out this new baler I bought.. It did pretty good for about 8 bales then twine got caught around a roller and froze it up. hopefully its ok. ran and got the other baler after messing with that one for an hour.. wish I would of started with the proven one and finished up with the new one to test it..

oh well. only about 15-20 bales worth of grass got rained on.. it should dry out pretty good today

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Dairy farmers are putting up haylage. The only fields I have seen mowed for hay is my neighbor that does my hay - put up baleage which is what mine will be. NO ONE is thinking about dry hay - although we did have 3-4 days of sunshine. If timed right, could have dry baled a little.

 

[snoopdog]

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

We almost have enough grass to start grazing.... long ways from hay making.

Im getting jealous seeing pictures of guys making hay. Equipment is all serviced and ready to roll, now we just need some more moisture and more time to grow.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Dairy farmers are putting up haylage. The only fields I have seen mowed for hay is my neighbor that does my hay - put up baleage which is what mine will be. NO ONE is thinking about dry hay - although we did have 3-4 days of sunshine. If timed right, could have dry baled a little.

Haylage or bailage is great if you can afford the equipment.

I have a new dry hay strategy this year. Try to flash graze every acre to set ur back, then drop a few weedy paddocks out the rotation and bale them in mid June. Since we are not getting rain this spring - - this approach may be too easy.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

One year, I grazed one half of a field twice and not the other. The two grazings were probably within a 10-14 day period. We ended up with too much pasture, so we hayed both halves. Got exactly the same from each side.
I don't own any hay equipment except the spears on my old tractor. I am EXTREMELY lucky that I have a neighbor that has been doing my hay for maybe 30 years. He does all of his own, then helps another dairy farm, then mine. The timing is usually perfect - mid June. Last year - not so much - but not because I relied on someone else - just tooooo wet to hay on any land. Ended up with mid to late July hay. Condition of cows really showed it this winter/spring, but they are quickly putting weight back on now that they are on full grazing.

 

[ddd75]

got those 20 bales baled last night. got another 80+ on the ground that I cut yesterday. going to ted twice today.

 

[Texasmark]

Funny , how you walk through it , and can't hardly , but when it's on the ground , it don't seem like much.

My sentiments exactly. Question for you. I notice you are bailing wet crop. How are you going to process and put it up?

My first cutting this year, the week of April 8, was peas and Jumbo Rye and it was dry when I cut it and over 4 days I tedded probably 3 times, had sunshine and moderate temps. Peas dried out good but stems on the Rye stayed green and a fingernail squeezed along the stem with an open end didn't produce any visible moisture; leaves were ready to shatter. Regardless, I baled it (rain on the way as usual) and after about 10 days it was browning. Didn't feel I deserved that. Should have been ok. Fed it out before it ruined.

Second field was Perennial Rye and Fescue I cut May 9 and it cured out ok and made some nice hay.

 

[snoopdog]

Funny , how you walk through it , and can't hardly , but when it's on the ground , it don't seem like much.

My sentiments exactly. Question for you. I notice you are bailing wet crop. How are you going to process and put it up?

My first cutting this year, the week of April 8, was peas and Jumbo Rye and it was dry when I cut it and over 4 days I tedded probably 3 times, had sunshine and moderate temps. Peas dried out good but stems on the Rye stayed green and a fingernail squeezed along the stem with an open end didn't produce any visible moisture; leaves were ready to shatter. Regardless, I baled it (rain on the way as usual) and after about 10 days it was browning. Didn't feel I deserved that. Should have been ok. Fed it out before it ruined.

Second field was Perennial Rye and Fescue I cut May 9 and it cured out ok and made some nice hay.

TM, I have to confess my ignorance on what you mean by "wet crop ", which I normally associate with silage. Unless you consider the wheat a wet crop , we just have mixed grass and dry it normally .