How many times a year do you cut hay?

How many times a year can you harvest hay? In most areas of the country, grass hay can be cut twice, sometimes three times, per year. The first cutting generally has the largest yield.

How often should hay be cut?

The first cutting in the spring should be when grass has greened up and reached 12 – 16 inches tall. This should clean up all the old growth of winter weeds and such. Then each subsequent cutting is at 3.5 to 5 week intervals.

Can you harvest hay more than once a year?

Depending on the soil condition, hay type and when it is sowed and harvested, it may be possible to get two or even three cuttings of hay in one year. Once the hay is cut and dry, it is time for baling.

How many times can you cut a hay field?

Depending on your soil and grass growth rate, you can harvest hay two or three times a year. In some places, you can even stretch for a fourth crop, but the harvest won't be as fruitful. Your last harvest depends on your state's last frost date.

How many times do you bale hay a year?

Shorter growing seasons mean fewer opportunities for hay cuttings. While in an average season, growers in the southern United States can generally expect to cut hay 4 maybe even 5 times a year, those in the northern US might be lucky to get 2. The types of forage grown.

When is the best time to cut hay?

How long is hay season?

From the month of May to late summer and early fall, hay baling is on the minds of many farmers.

Do you have to replant hay every year?

Planting and growing

Some fields are always used to grow hay, and don't require re-planting every year. In other cases, hay is a part of a crop rotation, where farmers plant different crops on the same field in different years.

When should you stop cutting hay?

The answers to these questions are usually something like… "it is fine to harvest through the first week of September", and… "we recommend harvesting at least six weeks before the killing frost." On average, the alfalfa killing frost (24 to 25 degrees F) in northeast Iowa occurs in the third to fourth week of October.

What month do you cut hay?

Optimum conditions for first cuttings can generally be expected around May 15th in the south and May 25th in the north. Though different cuttings provide different levels of nutrition (a topic for a future blog), the most important determination of hay quality is its state of maturity when cut.

How long after cutting hay can you bale it?

Subject: RE: How long does your hay lay to bale dry? Cut first thing in the morning, ted about 2-4 hours later, do nothing the next day, rake as soon as dew is off (-48 hours after cutting), let dry about 3 hours, and bale. Sometime takes an extra day to dry or occasionally a day less if perfect weather.

Is hay profitable to grow?

He says it costs about $297 per acre to seed and prepare hay ground. “You are going to get more than three years out of that, but if we use three years, that's about $100 per acre per year,” Brown says. “If you are getting $125 per ton for quality hay, you are going to see a profit of $51 per ton, or $204 per acre.

Why do farmers leave hay bales in the field?

You might find hay bales left in a field simply because a farmer hasn't had time to stop by and grab the bales yet. Most farmers work overtime during the summer to get the hay in the barn by the time the fields stop producing.

Is tedding hay necessary?

It's essential to ted hay after the first cut in the spring and the last cut in the fall due to the low angle of the sun, ground moisture and morning dew collection. Sometimes it can be skipped midsummer, but usually high summer humidity and the threat of thunderstorms make tedding necessary.

Is first cut hay better than second cut?

Hay is often cut three or more times each season. The first cutting in any cut will have thicker stems, perhaps have flowers (usually called tassel), and is the highest in fiber of any cut. The second cutting is softer, greener, has a higher protein but lower fiber than first cutting.

How fast does hay grow?

Second Cutting: Depending upon the temperatures of the days and nights, it typically takes 40-45 days for regrowth of alfalfa, mix hay, and orchard-grass , and 55- 60 days for regrowth of timothy.

Why do farmers cut hay at night?

Though starches and simple sugars accumulate during the day, a substantial amount of these carbohydrates are used up during the night for growth and maintenance (via the processes of respiration). Therefore, cutting the crop at night will likely maximize the sugar in the crop, at least at the time of cutting.

What is second cut hay?

2nd cutting is called “second” because it is the hay that is harvested after the 1st cutting. 2nd cutting Timothy Hay is a darker green color and is leafier and more tender with high levels of nutrition. It takes FarmerDave more time, effort and gentle care to make 2nd cutting Timothy Hay properly.

Can you cut wet grass for hay?

Tip #1 – Cut hay after the morning dew dries.

Wet fields will also add to the moisture content of drying hay. Moisture gets soaked up from the soil into the bottom of the windrow if it is contact with wet soils, so keep drying hay off these soils.

Can grass hay be too bale dry?

While hay with exceptionally low moisture might not be at risk of growing mold and bacteria, that's because much of that hay's nutritional value is already gone. When hay is too dry before baling, the leaves of the forage become stiff and brittle, making them much more likely to fall off.

Can you bale hay at night?

Baling at night is nice if your climate will allow. Then the leaves start to toughen up before the stems and the outside before the bottom. “We used to go to the field when the air felt right. That is above 50 percent relative humidity.

Does hay dry at night?

Without sunlight, hay won't dry very fast. But once we have some sun, it doesn't really matter if it is partially cloudy or a bright blue sky. The reason has to do with all those stomates from the first paragraph. In a growing plant, stomates are open in the day and closed at night.

When should I reseed hay field?

The best times for planting are late April to early May and mid- August to early September. Spring seedings are best if field conditions allow you to bring equipment on the field, but late summer seedings are better if the field is too wet to work in spring.

How long is hay good for?

If the hay was of good-quality when harvested and stored in a dry place with sufficient airflow, hay is likely suitable for consumption for two to three years. Keep in mind that hay, even premium forage, loses much of its vitamin content in the first few months of storage.

How do I start a new hay field?