No till drills?

[pdfangus]

I work at a SWCD and we have both a Haybuster 77 and a Haybuster 107.

bought the 77 about 3 years ago as we are getting more smaller horse farm clients. Big producers all have their own no till stuff now. 107 still gets more acres but the 77 has more clients and bookings. We put the rental profits (Income over repair cost) into our education fund for scholarships.

Looked at as many brands and models as we could.

bought the haybuster again because of the simplicity and the durability to stand up to a rental environment.

But the best price we could find new was well over 10K.

 

[pdfangus]

I broadcast some rye and some rygrass in different areas last fall.

We did not have a meaningful rain until mid October last fall so I thought I had wasted my money.

did not see much of the rye at all until this sping when all of a sudden it shot up and I had a pretty good stand.

the rye grass i saw signs of in the late fall and then this spring it also took off. I have a small area where I mixed ryegrass and vetch and I am grazing it for the second time right now with the horses.

It is so lush that I let them out there for about an hour or two every evening for about a week. it is getting very hot here now (upper 90's )and the ryegrass and vetch probably will not recover from this weeks grazing.

I think I have some pic somewhere from a few weeks ago. If I can find I will post.

 

[agmantoo]

1982vett

Your question "Just wondering... That much material on top and laying over...do you have problems with it smothering out the understory?"

I was back in the same location just today and I took another pic. I knew I was going to turn the herd on the clipped rye grass before I ran the bush hog. 98 cows/heifers and about 64 calves can make short work of consuming the clippings and the forage plants. Had I not followed the clipping with the herd I would have experienced smothering the plants under the windrow. I have tried numerous methods of clipping but cannot achieve the results with the clippings that I would like. Other than rotary cutters, flail mower and sickle mower what could you recommend. Remember, I want to cut level and high. Thanks......PS That is Alice clover and Red River crabgrass coming back in the pic.