Bush Hogging a Hay Field?

[Drose]

Is there any benefit to resting a hay field and bush hogging it to rot on the ground? I bought a 18 acre piece of property and just now sent in my soil samples but I'm not sure what to do with the standing hay in the field. Its decent hay at best with a good bit of broom sedge right now. So is it better to cut and roll to get it off the field before I apply what my soil sample recommends or leave it to rot on the field?

 

[aprille218]

Cut and roll or even better burn it if you can. This will reduce the weed seeds left.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I've brush hogged plenty of extra hay down in years past. Don't remove any nutrients just put it right back on the soil.

 

[Porkies Bovines]

For millions of years everything when back on the ground and every few years fire burnt over it. And that worked real good.

 

[Drose]

Is it more beneficial to bush hog and chop as fine as you can or disc mow it, fluff then leave it?

 

[Warren Allison]

Cut it and roll it, then burn it off. Dunno what it is like where you are, but down here the hydro seeders pay as much per bale for straw and baled up weeds as they do good hay. and for that reason, people don't raise as good a hay as they used to sell. When they can get $7.50 for a square bale, or $60 for round bales of trash, they don't waste money on fertilizer, lime and herbicide. If there is no market for that where you are, then yeah, bush hog it, then burn it off later on.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Around here if you brush hog it up fine, it'll rot over winter and be mostly gone by spring.

If you mow it with a hay mower and leave it long most of it'll still be there just the same in the spring. Much of it will get picked up by the hay rake and baler the next season.

 

[Brute 23]

What kind of grass is it?

If you bale it you are just taking more and putting nothing back. This would be my choices.

1. Burn (best option if it's possible)

2. Mow

A mow and/or disk option may be good in certain circumstances, also.

 

[coachg]

I'd bush hog and then burn . You'll get a better burn with the dead stuff laying on the ground .

 

[Brute 23]

I'd bush hog and then burn . You'll get a better burn with the dead stuff laying on the ground .

What makes it burn better?

 

[coachg]

Dead , dried out , laying on the ground?

 

[southernultrablack]

If it's got a good bit of sage grass in it and it's dried out, it'll go up in a blaze of glory!!

 

[4hfarms]

I have bushhogged after the growing season, after mid December when rotations stop, each year and the fields are nice enough on Mar 1st to start rotations back up.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

The fact that you say 'apply what is recommended' implies that you intend to improve the soil to produce better hay. I'm going to change up the pitch here and ask, 'what is recommended' for the soil AND what is the pH? IF only the pH is screwed up (low) then you very well could get by with baleing and removing the offending broomsedge before ammending the soil with primarily lime. The soil MAY NOT need the added nutrients and removing the offending vegetation could be appropriate, especially if you intend to seed as all the 'bad hay' would impede seed to soil contact and prevent germination and establishment of seed applied. Burning the offending hay on site would be the best of both worlds as it would leave nutrients from the bad hay while eliminating its 'suffocating' (literally) presence. I would say don't cut it before burning. Fire will carry better through the standing hay rather than smolder through hay laying on the ground. But fire has an obvious element of risk. I just touched on the reason to leave the bad hay on site, and that is nutrient content. Especially if the soils are nutrient poor, and I don't mean low pH, leaving the bad hay on site for the nutrients it contains is highly preferable. Additionally, if nutrients are that low, I suspect the bad hay won't be 'too thick' to make improvements on the field through seeding and nutrient application impossible. Mowing to get existing hay as fine as possible will benefit and hasten breakdown. Also consider this, broomsedge grows with low phosphorous and potassium availability. So, broomsedge hay is NOT going to have the nutrient/fertilizer content of quality orchardgrass or fescue hay would. Consequently, removing broomsedge hay from a field is going to remove far less nutrients than removing better quality hay, so lower total loss of nutrients from the field soil when doing this.

1) Burn is preferable (but risk)
2) Bale and remove (benefits seed contact and germination but removes nutrients, but possibly a lower amt removed as hay is poor)
3) Cut and leave lay (leaves nutrients on field, but may/will hinder seeding if done, longer time to break down)
4) Cut/chop fine (leaves nutrients, faster breakdown than coarse cut, better seeding establishment than coarse cut and leave lay but not as good as bale/remove or burn) Chopping fine means multiple passes which means time an fuel and wear and tear which means $$.

I gave you 4 options. There may be more. Pros and cons to each. You get to choose what is right for YOU. (not right for me)
Sorry no simple answer.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

I have bushhogged after the growing season, after mid December when rotations stop, each year and the fields are nice enough on Mar 1st to start rotations back up.

Agreed, but we don't know the volume of 'trash hay' that is being talked about.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

Do you have pictures?

 

[Mark Reynolds]

What makes it burn better?

Good question. I'm skeptical to the point I'd say I disagree, unless you are cutting green vegetation to kill it and dry it out. Standing dead will burn much better than dead lying on the ground.

 

[Brute 23]

Good question. I'm skeptical to the point I'd say I disagree, unless you are cutting green vegetation to kill it and dry it out. Standing dead will burn much better than dead lying on the ground.

Any thing will burn with the right weather. You don't have to cut it to dry it out. We burn grass across water. Wet/ green just smokes a little more.

Generally you burn grass to remove thatch or prevent thatch or because you do not have time to wait for the natural decomposition process.

I can not think of a situation where cutting the field first woulf have benefits that would justify they additional costs. Straight up grass fields burn very fast and easy.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

Anything will burn with the right weather. You don't have to cut it to dry it out. We burn grass across water. Wet/ green just smokes a little more.

Good question. I'm skeptical to the point I'd say I disagree, unless you are cutting green vegetation to kill it and dry it out. Standing dead will burn much better than dead lying on the ground.

@Brute 23 is right, and I think you took note I said "burn much better". You pointing out that "Anything" will burn brought to mind an instance of a wildfire I was doing rehab on that was leaving patches of unburned vegetation in its path. The firefighting crews didn't want to contend with the possibility of these patches burning later. They dropped the potassium permanganate ping pong balls on some of these patches......4 times.......in an attempt to get them to burn. I honestly can't remember if they were successful.

 

[chaded]

I wish burning was more common here. I'd love to light my entire property but nobody does it that I know of and I am not brave enough. Lol.