Peanut hay?

[J]

Ok I think I know the answer to this but I'll ask it anyway. As most everybody knows we are short on rain this year and grass and hay are really in short supply. My uncle used to grow peanuts and he has some OLD bales, I'm talking years old, but they have been in a barn the entire time. Would you feed this to your cattle givin the conditions? He asked me about it yesterday and I told him that I was a little leary about it but told him I would ask some people that might know. What do ya think..... :?:

 

[jersey lilly]

if it's been in a barn where it's dry, I wouldnt see a problem with it, specially concidering how dry it's been here and the hay shortage. Thank goodness we got a couple inches of rain last week, and looks like we are in for a lil more the next few days, our pastures have really greened up and rye grass has taken off ........sure hope the rest of ya'll further west of us get some rain soon......still sendin prayers for ya'll.

 

[bigbull338]

hands down id feed it in a heartbeat.since its in the barn it should be fine.an it will fill their bellies.an ease their hunger.scott

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

A number of the farmers in the Texas Panhandle grow peanuts and bale the "hay" for cattle. It's supposed to have a decent protein level along with the needed roughage.

The only "downside" I've heard from feeding it is that cattle will tend to have loose stools from eating it. "Better loose than none at all..."

 

[J]

He always fed it when he was peanut farming but since he quit for some reason he didn't use this last batch and he didn't know if maybe there was something to worry about. Thanks yall I'll tell him it should be ok. Heck I might even try to get a few off of him for my time and effort on here... :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Lammie]

What about wheat? Like I said in another thread, there was a guy down the freeway that had baled his wheat crop and was selling it. People are so desperate for hey around here that they have been buying it. Plus, he's selling it really cheap.

Would wheat hay be any count? I was leary.

 

[dun]

We've fed wheat hay in the past and as long as it's baled right it's good hay to winter over bred cows and heifers. We make baleage out of a lot of WW every year, dairy cows milk fine on it.

dun

 

[backhoeboogie]

Peanut hay? No one has grown peanuts in my parts for years. Dad used to buy all he could each year. I didn't like it because you literally had to fight the cows off when you went to the barn, through the pasture.

The hay is stemmy. The hay usually has a high sand content and that tends to grind on your cows teeth. Dad used to take about 50 bales at a time and have it ground and feed it. That worked much better.

I don't know where you are in "central Texas" but I'd like to buy some of it if your uncle has more to sell.

 

[Lammie]

Thanks, Dun. I have seen all kinds of stuff baled this year. We did get 25 bales of it just to see of anyone around here would eat it. My donks will root around in it. Guy said that horses won't eat it. I've seen my calves kinda gnawing on it.

My uncle is a peanut farmer in Bokchito Oklahoma. The thing I remember about peanut hey is that it was dirty and it had stickers in it. I had forgotten about it until I read this thread.

Backhoe, I thought that there were peanut farms in Hood County. Soil is sandy enough. There used to be a peanut drier in Granbury. You could hear it running day and night from my house. My dad used to work there nights for extra income. I got really sick of peanuts, too!

 

[backhoeboogie]

That peanut drier is still there but it hasn't run in years. There were so many peanut farmers on the loamy Brazos that the drier had to go day and night to keep up. The peanut farming ceased and the drier shut down. Grass companies have the land now, unless its been broken up and subdivided into housing. Turf farming is big business now. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowes sit on the best farm land in the county.

 

[TheLazyM]

another good feed real cheap is cotton gin thrash. its what they clean up. i got a 16' trailer with plywood side 4' tall and they mound it up, cost me $20

 

[Lammie]

That peanut drier is still there but it hasn't run in years. There were so many peanut farmers on the loamy Brazos that the drier had to go day and night to keep up. The peanut farming ceased and the drier shut down. Grass companies have the land now, unless its been broken up and subdivided into housing. Turf farming is big business now. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowes sit on the best farm land in the county.

I figured it hadn't run in a long time. Couldn't hear it when I visited my folks. I remember it roaring day and night during the harvest.

Don't get me started on Wal-Mart. The store I hate to love and love to hate. I remember the areas around Acton as being big peanut operations.