No Fertilizer

[bigbull338]

we could take the 2nd cutting off the 60acs we baled about 2 months ago.but we dont need the hay so we are just going to let it grow.so you see you can get 2 cuttings a year if you get enough rain.

 

[1982vett]

we could take the 2nd cutting off the 60acs we baled about 2 months ago.but we dont need the hay so we are just going to let it grow.so you see you can get 2 cuttings a year if you get enough rain.

That solved my problem of having to much hay. :frowns:

 

[bigbull338]

you cant give hay away here in northeast texas right now,theres alot of hay for sale for $15 to $25 a bale.an ive even seen some free hay as well.

 

[George Monk]

My banker and I were talking about fertilizer and hay production. In our area the decrease in stocking rates with out fertilizer will shock people! (could increase with more MIG) I cut some hay for a fellow who thought he had his land sold and did not fertilize the stuff. The deal fell through and he asked me to hay it for him. I baled one field at 9 miles per hour with four windrows pushed together. 10 acres only made 6 bales (1500#/bale). He had another area that he wintered his cows in and had quite a bit of manure. This was a lot better but still only made 2 bales per acre. I have found that 40# of N can give 3-4 bales per acre and 50# can (potentially) get you 5.
If these numbers were translated to stocking rates then you would have a tough time raising 1 cow/ 4 acres in our area. Hopefully with more management of both pastures and plant type you could improve that but still the stocking rate would be significantly lower.
George

 

[EAT BEEF]

I have been feeding my hay back on the same ground I take it from,unrolling each bale in another spot.along with adding some clover I hope this works out ok.Then I won't turn cows back on these pastures until late spring or early summer and I won't hay it that year.The last couple of years hay has been cheaper than fert & fuel so I don't see much point makeing much hay on my land anyway for now,plus I get someone elses nutrients with the hay.

Soils and areas are so different,moving to Oklahoma from Ohio is night and day.It's kinda like the cows themselves everyone going to need to find a system that works for them.