You have several choices on what,when and how to plant/seed your hay.
If you are going to sow alfalfa then I would early spring plant it with oats and orchard grass. You will have to watch the oats like a hawk. They are in the correct stage just a few days when the weather gets really warm. The yields will not be great the first year. I usually just get one cutting on the alfalfa and then let the fall regrowth get tall. It seems to let the roots get established better than when you cut that last cutting.
IF you are going to have a grass hay like timothy or Broome then I would seed them in the fall. I would plant soybeans this year and harvest them as early as they are ready. Then seed the grasses down with wheat,Rye or Spelts. IF you want clover in the mix, late winter frost seed it. You while have a grain crop this year in the soybeans and a small grain crop next year. Plus in the right places the straw is valuable. Then if you get good rains after the small grain harvest then you should get a small grass crop that same year.
I personally have both types of hay. I actually are switching over to more grass bases hay stands. They fit my cattle operation better. I do not need the higher protein of alfalfa. The grass hay is much easier to work with. Get the wrong weather and alfalfa is a nightmare to fool with and get dry.
Also a thought. If you have livestock of your own and you want alfalfa. It is easier to chop the oats earlier an make hayledge out of them and the green growth. You can get them off earlier and that will let the alfalfa grow faster and better. I have had the weather turn wet right at Oats harvest time and they will smother the alfalfa out when the oats get too mature.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Harvestin Hay: The Early Years (Part 2) - by Pat Browning. The summer of 1950 was the start of a new era in farming for our family. I was thirteen, and Kathy (my oldest sister) was seven. At this age, I believed tractor farming was the only way, hot stuff -- and given a chance I probably would have used the tractor, Dad's first, a 1936 Model "A" John Deere, to go bring in the cows! And I think Dad was ready for some automation too. And so it was that we acquired a good, used J. I. Case, wire tie hay baler. In addition to a person to drive th
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
Sell 1958 Hi-Altitude Massey Fergerson tractor, original condition. three point hitch pto engine, Runs well, photos available upon request
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
