What is the easiest hay to grow?

Alfalfa, clover and fescue grasses are popular hay types, as well as brome and timothy grasses. Oats and millet can also be useful for hay crops. The best hay to raise will depend not only on growing conditions, but also on the livestock that will eventually eat the hay and what their feed preferences may be.

How do I start growing hay?

What is the best hay to grow?

Hybrid and improved vegetative bermudagrasses will produce a large quantity of high quality hay, but it usually requires more management than do other summer grasses. Horse owners usually prefer a weed free, high quality bermudagrass hay, whereas cattlemen may settle for less at a lower price.

What kind of grass makes the best hay?

Alfalfa- It is probably the best high quality feed for livestock and as a cash crop but it requires deep, well drained soils and high fertility for high yields. While it can be used for grazing, it is best adapted for hay or silage.

Is it worth it to grow your own hay?

Points in favor of growing hay

You can ensure that it has high-quality nutrition and is free of mold and pests. You don't have to haul it from another farm or pay for delivery. You can save a lot of money compared to buying hay, assuming you already own the necessary equipment and storage space.

Planting Hay the Small Farm Way

Is it cheaper to buy hay or make it?

In most environments where forage production is based on natural rainfall, you can almost always buy hay cheaper than you can produce it.

How many acres do you need to make hay?

Horse farmers are looking for good hay, and they're willing to pay for it. Here was the thought, on 50 acres you would get 100 square bales per acre, which is a conservative number. If we do the math, that works out to be. 100 bales x 50 acres = 5000 bales of hay for 50 acres of land.

What is the best hay seed?

Alfalfa- It is probably the best high quality feed for livestock and as a cash crop but it requires deep, well drained soils and high fertility for high yields. While it can be used for grazing, it is best adapted for hay or silage.

Which cutting of hay is best?

Timothy Hay

Timothy must be harvested in the pre- or early-bloom stage to ensure a high nutrient content. The first cutting usually has a higher weed content, and quality decreases after the second cutting, so the second cutting is usually the best to feed.

What is best hay for cattle?

Timothy hay is recommended by many experts due to its ease on various animal's digestive system as well as promotion of bowel regularity. Additionally, there have been scientific studies done that show Timothy hay is an ideal feed for pregnant or lactating cows.

Does clover make good hay?

Red clover is also a great choice for incorporation into older, grassy hay and pastures to improve quality and yield through frost seeding or no-till drilling.

Does red clover make good hay?

General Information. Red Clover is valuable for hay, pasture and soil improvement, and fits well into established crop rotations.

Does white clover make good hay?

White clover and red clover with one of the grasses listed in Table 2 should provide an excellent hay or pasture stand.

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.

How hard is it to grow hay?

Commercial farms have little difficulty raising hay or sourcing out their needs, but smaller farmers and urban hobbyists can also grow, harvest and bale hay even on a smaller scale. Haying can be challenging, and some farmers simply enjoy that challenge.

Does fescue make good hay?

The hay of each maturity was then fed to 500-pound Holstein heifers. Not surprisingly, the early-cut fescue had the highest forage quality with a digestibility of 68 percent and a crude protein content of 13.8 percent (see table below).

What is first crop hay?

First cut hay is just as it sounds! It is the first cut of the season out of the field before it blooms. This hay usually has thinner stems but it's more stemy than leafy. It's higher in fiber content and lower in protein and fat content. The color will be lighter with more yellow and brown parts.

When should I cut my first hay?

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.

Does orchard grass make good hay?

Orchardgrass is a versatile grass and can be used for pasture, hay, green chop, or silage. A high-quality grass, it will provide excellent feed for most classes of livestock.

Does ryegrass make good hay?

Ryegrasses are excellent, high quality forage, establishing rapidly and producing good yield in the seeding year if cool (50 to 75°F) exist and adequate moist is available.

What grass makes the best hay for horses?

How many bales of hay can 1 acre produce?

With an average bale weight of around 40 pounds (with our Abbriata small square baler or any of our mini round balers), that's 100 bales to the acre for a first cutting.

How many bales of hay does a cow need for winter?

For a cow needing 8,190 pounds of hay per year and a bale weight of 960 pounds, divide 8,190 by 960 for a yearly need of about 8.5 bales per cow. Multiply this by the total number of weaned cattle in your herd. For example, 45 cows multiplied by 8.5 bales per cow results in a total need of 383 bales.

What is the smallest hay baler?

The smallest of the three, the Mini/S, has a total width of only 59 inches, making it the narrowest baler in the compact square baler class.