Who makes oats for hay?

Don-Wi · Jun 29, 2010

This year feed is a little harder to get as we lost just about all of our first crop. We've got 10 acres of oats that's up to my belly button or taller (3-3 1/2' tall) and it's in the milk stage which I know is supposed to be good for cutting for feed.

Trouble is, we've only ever done oats for grain or oats & peas and chopped it off. Never just baled it for hay but it's looking pretty tempting. Who has baled it in the past, and what did you feed it to? We would be feeding it to dairy cattle, or at the worst heifers & steers.

We would probably cut it with our 9' machine instead of the 14' hydra-swing so we can lay the windrow out wider and get a better conditioning on it. Even have a brand new sickle in the shop waiting for action. Need to pull the machine out of the weeds and grease it up, inspect it, etc...

Donovan from Wisconsin

Anonymous-0 · Jun 29, 2010

only if you can get it to dry out,otherwise it will be moldy mess,if yo chopped it in pass why not chop it now especially if you been wet like here good luck

rustred · Jun 29, 2010

i seeded about 4 acres of oats last year just for green feed for the cows , the kids former 4h animals. need to cut it when its pretty green and leafy. i just cut it with the swather but it takes 2 weeks or more to dry. i bale it with a square baler for easy handling when feeding. the cows seem to really go for it. seeded the same this year.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 29, 2010

We cut a lot oat hay here in west co.its decent feed if done right,cut it now before it gets ripe.I havent heard of feeding it to dairy,Steers,hiefers,cows,horses do fine.Oats are slick,alittle tougher to bale.Go for it!

Don-Wi · Jun 29, 2010

The main trouble is that the chopper is down right now. We're cutting 2nd crop and will probably start to bale tomorrow. Our alfalfa will be dried down in 3 days to bale, and this is a 14' cut and shoved through a 4' crimper. That's why we'd use our 9' New Idea haybine that has full width crimpers.

Donovan from Wisconsin

Bodyman · Jun 29, 2010

Donovan, the years we are putting in new seeding we have used oats for cover crop and it has worked very well, if the weather cooperates (unlike this year, record rains and flooding) they dry down well, we usually cut in the dough stage, makes great hay for horses and cows (also don"t know about dairy) only one BIG down side if you are putting them in the barn every mouse in 3 counties will be in your barn for winter and they will eat the strings if not wire tied.

Don-Wi · Jun 29, 2010

It has been exceptionally wet this year up till now, and now there is nothing but sunshine untill Sunday night or maybe Monday, then 2 days of 30% chance of rain and sun again in the 10 day forecast.

Hopefully it doesn't go the other way and get too dry on us, but I wouldn't be surprised at this point. The feilds are rutted up from chopping the 1st crop back on the ground, now the ruts will turn to bricks....

Donovan from Wisconsin

DeltaRed · Jun 29, 2010

oats take a little longer to dry than grass or alfala,and can be a little harder to tell when dry.stack them away from the barn,you'll have lots of fattened mice(nitch market?)

MN Scott · Jun 29, 2010

Just knocked down 40 acres of oats today for hay. Just does not pay to combine it for oats. If its not at least 36 TW elevators don't want it and oats here rarely get over 32 TW. I like to cut it just after it heads but before milk. Thats when its the highest protein but this year its in full milk because of the rain delay. A word of caution oats can easily fool you, they feel dry but the grain is full of milk, been many barns burnt down over the years around here. I roll it up, net wrap it and stack it out side. I've never had it mold like wet hay will. Makes great feed, cows go strait for it in the winter. And to repeat, I would not stack it in a barn! Chop it or roll it up and stack outside.

Tx Jim · Jun 30, 2010

I agree with MN Scott as my father and I both have put up many bales of oat hay. It's a little late to cut because I too like to cut oats as soon as I see a few heads but yours will still make good quality hay if baled at correct moisture and receive no rain on them.

My dairyman neighbor has fed both oat & wheat hay to his herd.

hayray · Jun 30, 2010

I did it a couple years, it pretty much at your stage is going to bleach right out after cutting and look like straw. I fed it to cattle and a little to horses. They pretty much pick through and eat the heads and leave a huge mess of straw. Oat hay is usually down below 8% protein, so you are not going to get much TDN out of it. It will be real high in fiber and low in everything else. I think you get better feed value out of it by combining the grain. Mixing grinding for a TMR probably feasable if short on feed.

DJM75 · Jun 30, 2010

I have done that several times cut and round baled for my beef cattle. They love it always wished I had more before winter was over come to think of it they did too. Like you said get it early in the milk stage. Don

Tx Jim · Jun 30, 2010

(quoted from post at 06:45:57 06/30/10) Oat hay is usually down below 8% protein, so you are not going to get much TDN out of it.

Oats cut for hay before soft dough stage will test higher than 8% protein if properly fertilized and baled. My cattle always cleaned oat hay up.

Closer to maturity of any hay crop rather it be grass,grain or legume the protein & TDN falls like a ROCK !!!!!!!!!!

teddy52food · Jun 30, 2010

I don't think you should run it through the crimper as it will lose a lot out of the kernals. Without the crimper it won't dry very fast. Should have been cut on Monday to be dry before the weekend rain.

Mike (WA) · Jun 30, 2010

It will make good feed for young stock, but not enough feed value for dairy cows. Once you put them on poor feed, production drops, and you can't get them back up, even with good feed later.

Dad couldn't afford alfalfa ($33 per ton) in 1958, so we put up local hay. Production dropped off to nothing, and he never recovered from it. Sold off the cows two years later.

hayray · Jun 30, 2010

Up here in the Midwest pretty hard to cut oats early enough to get anything over 8% protein and that being said 8% would be on the high end for most oat hay baled this far north. Alot of oat hay usage is more of a traditional thing then practical - grandpa did it so it must be good and the cattle eat it real good so it must be good - but no way a dairy farmer in this area is going to keep milkers going on oat hay cut in the dough.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 30, 2010

I was attempting to cut oats for hay last night. I was having trouble with the liquid in the oats, in the milk stage, getting on the reel belt and making it slip. It was stopping the reel. Hooked up to the mower and cut till dark, will finish tonight. Roll them over on friday and bale saturday afternoon.

Tx Jim · Jun 30, 2010

(quoted from post at 11:21:38 06/30/10) I don't think you should run it through the crimper as it will lose a lot out of the kernals. Without the crimper it won't dry very fast. Should have been cut on Monday to be dry before the weekend rain.

If weather permits to cut oats before dough stage no kernels will be lost due to crimping.

David from Kansas · Jun 30, 2010

Here are pics of oats we baled on June 5th. I think they were down only about 5 days prior to baling (it was hot and dry here). Swathed with 15' 3" disk header, then raked two windrows together a couple days later, baled two more days later. They were a nice green color.
Fed oats hay last winter to beef cattle and they did well on them.

Sparktrician · Jul 1, 2010

I mowed 15 acres of oats last night, plan to bale them on friday or saturday. Mowed with a 1411 discbine. Have been making oats hay for about 5 years now....makes really good feed for our brood cows....

Who makes oats for hay?

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