For many husbandman , growing your own hay to fee your livestock is one satisfying whole step nigher to a self - sufficient farm . If you ’re prosperous enough to have several large , heart-to-heart fields on your farm , growing your own hay can be a very workable projection . But as with any harvest , growing hay has its share of complexity and challenges that must be think before you get started . Here are some tips to help you mature calibre hay .
What Makes Quality Hay?
Growingquality hayrequires a compounding of weed - spare fields and good weather condition . One of the key to growing calibre hay is harvest it at the appropriate sentence , before the seeded player of grass hay mature and before legume industrial plant bloom . Once the hay begins to mature , the amount of nutrients can belittle quickly , leading to lower - quality hay that is less nutritious . Hay can not get blind drunk once it ’s been cut , as this further cut back the nutrient content and can cause the hay to mold once it ’s been baled . grow timber hay can be a careful balancing act between cutting at the time of peak nutritionary value while stave off rainstorm and cutting only during stretch of dry weather .
Hay Varieties
There are many different types of hay that you could grow , and which you choose will alter depending on where you dwell . Some of the most common include :
Preparing Soil for Planting
To grow quality hay , you ’ll need to sample your dirt to determine if any fertilizers or territory amendment should be applied . As cite above , ample nitrogen is important for weed hay , while for leguminous plant , phosphorus and atomic number 19 are key soil food . To ensure that thesoil pHlevel is appropriate for growing hay , limestone may need to be contribute several month in advance of planting . Having an expert test your soil and recommend fertilizer total can aid ascertain that your grease is well - develop for grow hay .
Improving Yield
The amount of hay your orbit can produce will depend in bang-up part on the bit of crucial nutrients available in the soil , so supplying fertiliser every few years can help you to greatly improve yield . Rotating the cropsyou grow in your fields can also be helpful , especially with alfalfa , which does n’t execute as well when grown in the same fields for too many years . Alfalfa does better growing in fields that have previously been used for harvest in unlike industrial plant families , such as corn .
Hay Growing Challenges
Moisture content and gadfly are two of the main challenges of growing quality hay .
Moisture Content
Hay must be dry in the champaign after cut to obviate mold growth . For small square bales , a wet content of around 20 percent or less is fine , but for gravid square and round bales , the moisture subject will need to be gloomy — as minuscule as 15 percent . Hay moisture meters can be purchased to give you an accurate measuring .
Pests
Insect pests , such as alfalfa weevil , can also be serious problem . For large infestation of alfalfa weevils , which can destruct an full craw of lucerne , spraying with insecticide may be necessary , although another answer is to cut the hay earlier than common , which kills the weevil while preserving the hay from further damage . Consult an expert to ascertain the good approach .
It ’s also important to be on the sentinel for blister mallet . Although they do n’t usually cause much price to crops , bulla beetles contain a bodily fluid that causes blisters , and horses that run through hay containing the mallet will recrudesce internal blister that can have death . bleb beetle are commonly found in lot , and should you discover them in portions of your orbit , it might be impudent to avoid cutting those section rather than risk baling the beetles in your hay .
Harvesting Hay
When harvest tone hay , there are a couple of factors to consider :
How Many Cuttings?
Depending on the weather condition and the distance of your growing season , it can be potential to cut hay too soon in the year , get it regrow , and then thin it once or even double more before autumn make it . These second and third cut can acquire higher - quality hay that is prized among farmer .
Your Harvest Schedule
When should you await to cut your hay for the first time each year ? Naturally , this will deviate reckon on your location and whether you ’ve experienced an early or recent spring , but the typical time for the first cutting of Medicago sativa can range from as early as February or March in westerly state of matter , such as California , to as previous as June in northerly state , like Wisconsin and Montana .
Shorter grow seasons also mean that you ca n’t rationalise as late into the year as in areas with long time of year of warm weather . In many commonwealth , cutting season cease in September , but in a few lucky states the cut season can extend into November . Alfalfa in finical can be sly to cut at the right prison term of year .
For more information on haying time time of year , visit theMichigan State University Extension website .
Baling Hay
Hay can be baled in a variety of shapes and sizes , depending on usable equipment and personal preference . Small square bales and large round bales are the most common ; large square bale that weigh similar to round bales also live . little square bales require more treatment than larger bales , but offer the benefit of being more doable . weigh between 40 to 60 pounds , they can easily be moved around by a single mortal , whereas machinery is involve for moving large square and circular bales .
Testing Your Hay
In some respects , the character of the hay you produce can be measured by its appearance and smell . Does it have fat people of color , or is it dull and gray ? Does it sense fresh ? Is it cold ? Does the hay have a high amount of leafage material ( which has higher nutritionary economic value ) , or have the parting mostly shatter during cutting and baling ?
But while a visual test can tell you a lot about your hay , an official chemical substance trial can differentiate you about the nutritionary value of your hay . Several nutritionary factors can be evaluate , including the blunt protein content of the hay , which can help determine how much hay to feed to your animals and also give way you an estimation of your hay ’s monetary time value . The National Forage Testing Association ( NFTA ) certifies labs to try hay , and having a NFTA - certify science lab analyze your hay is the well agency to get an exact measurement of its nutritionary values . ThePenn State Extensionhas more information .
Pricing Your Hay
If you ’re able-bodied to raise more hay than your animals need , good for you — you’ll have some left over to sell ! However , choosing how much to charge for your hay can be tricky and will vary depending on where you live .
The first footstep is to add up the toll of make your hay , accept into account all expense involved such as the cost of seeding , fertilizers , hired help , and running the equipment . Adding up all expense and dividing by the number of bale produced can give you the cost per bale , the perfect starting point for fix your price . inquiry what other haymakers in your region are consign per bale . If you retrieve that offer a private-enterprise price means you ca n’t make a profit , you might be good off keeping your hay for your own use . On the other hand , if you have bring on top - tone hay , you might be able-bodied to charge a gamey toll than your challenger and still find buyers .
Growing quality hay requires a flock of forbearance and exertion , but these tips should help get you started .
