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Help me with planting hay seed

J

Justin SE IOWA

Member
I work the the citys water department. Our well field sits along the south skunk river. The utility also owns the ground on the other side of the river. A local farmer farms it but the utility pays for half the seed and half the fuel and out of the last 25 years he has only gotten 5 years of crops off of it due to flooding. So my boss, the supertendit said hes not doing that anymore. He said I could plant hay on it. Its about 4 acres. At home I have timothy alfalfa mix in my hay field. What should I plant there that wont be a big deal when it floods in the spring. Will cattle and my wifes horses still eat the hay or will the flood waters give it a funny taste. I need advice on what kind of seed to plant. Thanks alot
 
For something that is going to get eaten you may want to find out what may get deposited on the field if it gets flooded.You're going to get a dose of that ever is polluting the river each time it floods.
 
I don't think you have to worry too much about taste; they'll decide what they will and won't eat. Your biggest worry will be finding a grass thatwill tolerate wet soils for a period of time. I've had pretty good luck with orchard grass in wet soils. Alfalfa is out. Most clovers will stand some wet as a companion in the orchardgrass. We get at least two cuttings from orchardgrass- one real heavy cutting in late May and usually three cuttings, but the second can be short, and the last cutting in Sepember. The last two cuttings are mostly leaf, and the horse people around here will pay a premium for it. We also try to get the first cutting up as early as possible, preferrably as soon as it starts to head. It's stemy, but when it's cut early, it's a very tender, palatable hay.
 
im thinking a vetch of some sort. The county seeds it where they need to hold dirt, so im thinking it must be tough enough to grow about anywhere.
 
Go to your SCS, Farm Service office, or Extension office. Ask them for a recomendation on native grasses suitable for haying on the soil you have. I went to my SCS office (soil consrevation service) and had a plan developed to restore a native prairie that I can graze or hay (in moderation) The native grasses will tolerate the conditions along the Skunk River as that is their natural habitat.
 
How about planting oates and cutting it for hay? We used to do that and the cows really liked it. If you don't get it cut in time you could harvest it for grain.
 
If you plant reed canary grass, cut it early! Big round bales that I buy each yr, from a local farmer (friends), my cows loved their hay, which is mostly orchard grass, with reed canary in a low swale. (That was 2 yr's ago.) I naturally bought my hay for this winter, from them again. Hay cutting was delayed due to a lot of rains, and poor curing weather, this past summer. I am loosing about 1/3, of each bale, that the cows won't eat, and that 1/3 bale is over mature canary grass. I won't be buying any hay from them next yr, if it is cut late, and they are well aware of it!
 
What kind of grass is growing naturally around the
field? That's what I'd plant. If it floods 20 years
out of 25 it might be good ground to lease out for
hunting.
 
Speaking of hay, what are you guys paying for the big round rolls. Not being a farmer I haven’t been keeping up with it. A year or so ago hay was going for about 20.00 a roll here in North Texas. Then the other day I passed by a place that was selling it for 120.00 a roll. I know the drought we're having is bad but gee's how does anybody pay six times the price.
 
Don't put another bale in until they clean the last one up, they will eat it if they're hungry.
 
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