I live in SW Alberta and am at a high elevation with strong winds so soil conservation is important. The last couple years have been hard on the hayland with a drought and late frost last year, then a hot dry winter (chinook winds) the deep snow and frost until mid June. The field I am looking at is a grass mixture with mostly orchard grass. But these grasses seem worst hit by the weather. In much of the field the regrowth is below 25% - a cutoff for just giving it a rest. There are lots of volunteer weedsappearing and some quack grass is re-appearing. I plan on seeding alfalfa, meadow brome and pubescent wheatgrass which are more hardy.
So is it necessary to remove the existing-encroaching varieties or will the new varieties be competitive? I have thought about renting a unit but the only ones available are a long ways away and have long waiting lists so seeding at the right time is vary hard.