Cutting hay today

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jedstivers

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Marianna Arkansas (East Central)
Cut wheat for hay today. It's 24"-26" tall and in the boot to heading stage, hope to bale before rain Saturday. It seems to be yielding well, estaments of over 2 tons acre. I'll update after we bale.
 
Must be nice where you are. we don't even have a hay seed in the ground yet.
Just a little wet here today. :D :lol2:

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your going tobe pushing it hard to get the hay baled for the rain hitts it.i have a friend thats putting up baleage right now.
 
It is all a mess. No rain during the winter put us here. The clover is just starting and it not even 2 foot tall yet. The rye is seeded out and the rescue grass is past ready for grazing. Nothing is in sinc because of the winter drought.

But I can give thanks it didn't all burn off last week in the fires. There are a whole lot of folks in terrible shape. The lost fences, barns, tractors, cattle and homes.
 
Renovating some pasture today, I was thinking we are usually cutting ryegrass off the bermuda by now. This year their is none to cut. Could have scrapped some oats but the pastures are not growing so I'm going to let the cows have at it. Been almost 3 weeks since our last good rain. What did green up is scoarching again. Haygrazer came up but doubt it will survive. Still the same old crap. No rain when you need it.
 
Off topic but I thought most of Texas got rain. It seems it must not be enough. Are there still fires or danger of fires. Fire season is almost over here so if needed I might come help for a few weeks in May.

Back on topic, I will spread nitrogen tomorrow on about 65 acres. We have had plenty of rain but it still does not seem to be growing good.
 
Yeah, we got rain 3 weeks ago. Since then the wind has probably averaged 20 mph every day. Still a 50% deficit for the year added onto last years 60% shortfall.
 
getting wheat dry in april takes 5 or 6 days to get dry enough to bale.an in april its hard to get a string of days like that.
 
kenny thomas":3esw2u4q said:
Off topic but I thought most of Texas got rain.

Yes and that was great. Most of us are no longer hauling water to cows. Mine are now in a pasture that had water in the winter months but no grass. They'll get moved to yet another where there is a water well. It is raining today.

When the humidity is around 6 percent, most are scared to cut because a spark from any machinery will wipe out everything. Now that we have had rain, we can cut.

Some use weed kill but if they put it out now, they'll wipe out crops seeded over the winter that are just now growing.

But wheat can be cut now if someone has it. It would be great to cut it and then get back to that low humidity scenario for it to dry.

The drought put a lot of folks in a catch 22.
 
Finally got it bailed last Friday and I think it did good. Baled 53 4x5 balesoff of 13 acres and had 3 more torn up by the baler trying to get it set. I will get a weight and test posted later.
 
Jogeephus":5bdx1k26 said:
Glad you beat the rain and got it up. Bet it will be good feed.
We've missed the rain here (other than the rain that hit it right after we cut it) We have been wet all year and are way behind but last Thursday we started back and have been running hard ever since. This is the first night I've been home this early since then. The state has had huge amounts of rain just west and north of us but so far we've been lucky but I think it will get us tonight.
 
jedstivers":ws8l2lxv said:
Jogeephus":ws8l2lxv said:
Glad you beat the rain and got it up. Bet it will be good feed.
We've missed the rain here (other than the rain that hit it right after we cut it) We have been wet all year and are way behind but last Thursday we started back and have been running hard ever since. This is the first night I've been home this early since then. The state has had huge amounts of rain just west and north of us but so far we've been lucky but I think it will get us tonight.

We got 3 1/4" Monday night in Cabot!!
 
We NEED to cut hay really bad but rain has made it impossible...we're watching weather for the next stretch of dry days...
This reminds me of last year...it was so wet it took us forever to get it in and the mower/conditioner had one h@ll of a time cutting...husband just looks out there and cusses as he knows its going to be the same deal this year.
 
Wisteria Farms":2l81xcyr said:
We NEED to cut hay really bad but rain has made it impossible...we're watching weather for the next stretch of dry days...
This reminds me of last year...it was so wet it took us forever to get it in and the mower/conditioner had one h@ll of a time cutting...husband just looks out there and cusses as he knows its going to be the same deal this year.

Wisteria just think how fast that grass will grow back after you cut it. I'll take too much rain over not enough anytime. Course none of us are Supt. of the rain dept. :)
 
Cowdirt":1vv22kbw said:
Wisteria Farms":1vv22kbw said:
We NEED to cut hay really bad but rain has made it impossible...we're watching weather for the next stretch of dry days...
This reminds me of last year...it was so wet it took us forever to get it in and the mower/conditioner had one h@ll of a time cutting...husband just looks out there and cusses as he knows its going to be the same deal this year.

Wisteria just think how fast that grass will grow back after you cut it. I'll take too much rain over not enough anytime. Course none of us are Supt. of the rain dept. :)
Only if it KEEPS raining...last year we got it cut and then seemed like we didn't have rain FOREVER... :mad: We bought some large squares early spring as we weren't possitive we'd make it til spring on our stores and I'll tell you what...those are NICE. We're tempted to sell the haying equipment, turn everything into grazing pastures and just buy the winter hay...
 
Wisteria Farms":1kxnmscy said:
Cowdirt":1kxnmscy said:
Wisteria Farms":1kxnmscy said:
We NEED to cut hay really bad but rain has made it impossible...we're watching weather for the next stretch of dry days...
This reminds me of last year...it was so wet it took us forever to get it in and the mower/conditioner had one h@ll of a time cutting...husband just looks out there and cusses as he knows its going to be the same deal this year.

Wisteria just think how fast that grass will grow back after you cut it. I'll take too much rain over not enough anytime. Course none of us are Supt. of the rain dept. :)
Only if it KEEPS raining...last year we got it cut and then seemed like we didn't have rain FOREVER... :mad: We bought some large squares early spring as we weren't possitive we'd make it til spring on our stores and I'll tell you what...those are NICE. We're tempted to sell the haying equipment, turn everything into grazing pastures and just buy the winter hay...

Careful Wisteria before you sell your equipment. The problem is that everyone has hay or no one has much. You can buy hay and follow your temptation if you have adequate storage facilities to buy surplus hay in the good yrs. I hire my own hay processed and have considered buying and grazing more cows. Problem is that I don't have adequate storage and at this late date don't want to build facilities.
 
We're tempted to sell the haying equipment, turn everything into grazing pastures and just buy the winter hay...

I wouldn't sell the equipment yet.... you might be able to graze your pastures this year because lots of folks got double their hay yields last year and couldn't sell it for the high prices that they got in 2007/08 so there's still plenty left. This past winter there wasn't any hay shortage for a 300 mile radius and if they get double yields this year then I imagine the drought states could get it pretty cheap.

Looks like, according to channel 3, we're supposed to get rain tonight and more rain on friday and as muddy as everything is I doubt anybody will be able to cut hay at least for another 2 weeks.
 
Cut the first hay today since last May. 10 acres of bermuda/oats. I guess it can rain now since none is in the forecast. :lol:
 

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