Too late to mow hay

Keith Molden · Jul 6, 2023

I'm really late getting my first cutting done due to problem with sciatic nerve problem and rain this year.
I looked at the fields I still need to do and there is an awful lot of brown (over ripe) hay in those fields
but there is a lot of new green hay coming up in it. Question is, should I wait till August to cut it or
should I go ahead and cut it? The old timers used to say, if you don't get it cut in June, wait till
August. I'm thinking of mowing and tedding it and just let it lay this year, then hope for the best next
year. I really won't need the hay this year. Just wondering what you guys think. Keith

BillinCentralMO · Jul 6, 2023

There is no one here who does not need hay. Some of it is pushing $200/bale. The straw is bringing over $50. Hope your back gets better soon.

caterpillar guy · Jul 6, 2023

If you mow it and let lay it will be a mess to cut next year. I would cut it and put it up. Or wait till august and do it. I would get it done this year either way so next year is not a tangled mess with old growth in the mix. IF You can sell it do that no work and time to recuperate.

495man · Jul 6, 2023

Hay is hay, it will cut and dry, be a mix of new growth and mature.

560Dennis · Jul 6, 2023

We mowed (NEO)our first cutting hay about now a much later in the month . Had excellent recovery of Timothy ,birds foot trefoil, clover for years .
So I say your fine also

In fact we got a nice second growth of birds foot to combine for seed , which at the time was a very nice cash crop for us.

Erik Ks farmer · Jul 6, 2023

Get it baled and maybe youll get a second cutting. The hay market is extremely tight here this year.

Traditional Farmer · Jul 6, 2023

Keep cutting and let the cows sort it out,I cut a field couple weeks ago that wasn't cut at all last year,some good hay some dried out stalks.Cows will eat what they want and use the rest to lie down on and turn it into mulch/fertilizer.Big advantage to unrolling the bales out in the pasture fields.

rrlund · Jul 6, 2023

Hay might be kind of short this year. If you cut it now, there'll be a second cutting if you get rain.

Traditional Farmer · Jul 6, 2023

Plus hay always looks better when there is a little snow on it.

Part Time Pete · Jul 6, 2023

I live in central NY, so when you get weather, you make hay

showcrop · Jul 6, 2023

I have no crystal ball. We have not had a hay making forecast for five weeks and the ground is saturated. As soon as I get favorable conditions I will be cutting because August and Sept. could be bad as well.

Jim in NC · Jul 6, 2023

Some of my neighbors as well as myself have struggled to finish spring haymaking because of the weather and breakdowns. I baled the last of mine almost 2 weeks ago, and it was overripe as you describe. However the amount of green undergrowth overcame the dead stuff, and it really looked good in the bale. I say bale it if your health will let you. Knowing that hay is in short supply in some areas I believe you will be glad you have it.

BarnyardEngineering · Jul 6, 2023

The old growth would have to be extremely thin to be able to tedd it out and not have it cause problems down the road.

If you can chop it up fine and spread it, that would be the way to go if you don't think it's worth making.

Frankly, cut it dry it roll it up. Someone will buy it.

Michael Soldan · Jul 6, 2023

Make the hay and bale it. Cattle will eat it , just like we like pretzels and potato chips , cattle like old hay to nibble on. You can always spray water and salt mixture on it when you roll it out and the cattle will fight for it ! It will be good hay and the next growth will flourish . Good luck with it

Mike(NEOhio) · Jul 6, 2023

Not really late, Keith. I usually don't get started till July but this year was an exception. I got all mine in by 6-22 but less than half of what I normally get due to the dry May. Just me and the wife doing 14 acres and we often finish up in late August but my customers like it and tell me they can't find decent hay anywhere else. I don't know how your weather has been but up here it was ideal for baling but way short on quantity. I'd say go a head and bale it if you're feeling up to the task.

paul · Jul 6, 2023

Its not that late. Lot of ditch hay being cut here now.

I take a few bales to a hay auction now and then. My swamp was really wet that year, I made first cutting in mid August of it. Was old hay in it and the new hay grew again. It actually bales up kinda nice, just for kicks I took it to the hay auction. Ended up that was some of the best money I got for a bale of hay, couldnt believe it. So I guess an August cutting can work out well too.

Paul

moresmoke · Jul 6, 2023

Biggest question is what are you feeding or marketing to?

Here on the northern plains, beef cows have survived the winter on wheat straw and corn stalks. Dairy cows wouldnt do so well.

Destroked 450 · Jul 6, 2023

You said you don t need the hay so that leaves a few options
Hay removes more potash from the ground than any other crop, you can run a rotary cutter over it chopping up the hay for it to rot and replenish some of the nutrients in the ground
I wouldn t cut it with a hay mower if I was planning on a second cutting, you would end up with a lot of the dead stuff in your next cutting
For hay in a normal dry summer I would leave it till August or later for rain to induce new growth and increase nutrients
If you ve been getting the rains we are getting there is plenty of new tender grass under that dried out top grass and I d cut it for hay if I neede it or had a market for the hay

I ve got 10 acres I didn t cut when I was doing first cutting, it as a little thin, so I m going to run the batwing mower over it as soon as it drys up a little, we ll get a better cutting from it later

Gary Mitchell · Jul 6, 2023

I hear big round bales are bringing as much as $120/bale locally. I'd bale it and run an ad. gm

Keith Molden · Jul 6, 2023

Around here we get between $20 and $30 out of the field and add $5. to it if we put in the building. I only have 2 horses and will probably sell them this summer, so I sell all my hay. I can load an 18 wheeler trailer with 2nd cutting this fall if anyone wants it for 25 a bale 4x4 round bale mixed grass hay out of the field loaded on a flatbed

Too late to mow hay

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