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RyeGrass hay?
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<blockquote data-quote="bird dog" data-source="post: 1474644" data-attributes="member: 5381"><p>I am trying something this year and so far it seems to be working very well. I baled up enough Rye grass last spring to where I wouldn't need to bale any summer hay. The grass had fully seeded out but was still lush. My fall and winter calving cows have been on it since November with 30% protein tubs. I did not have it tested but I knew it would not test out enough for lactating cows. I am pretty sure it would yield about 8 or 9 % as vett noted. It was fertilized but not heavily. </p><p>My thought was to abandon the summer Bermuda hay route to reduce costs.</p><p> </p><p>There is a lot of Winter left but so far the cows are in much better shape than last year. I can buy a lot of tubs for what I was spending on fertilizer trying to get the protein up on the Bermuda field to the 12% range required for lactating animals.</p><p></p><p>So far what I have learned</p><p>I could increase the stocking rate a little bit by not cutting summer hay and use the pasture to retain some forage to extend the grazing season a few weeks.</p><p>The Rye grass hay kept very well under a pole barn and when rolled out, puts a bunch of seed in the soil base. </p><p>I have very little waste on this barn kept, rolled out hay. I think around 5%. The baby calves love the sweet taste.</p><p>It easy to establish with my rinky dink equipment.</p><p>You can spot graze it up until February and still make a good hay crop.</p><p></p><p>The major con is trying to get it dry enough to bale. The grass and the ground. </p><p>Last year I used a bottom land pasture. This year I am using a hilltop pasture that should help with this problem.</p><p></p><p>I love Bermuda grass but the input costs to get the protein where I want it for hay are just to darn expensive.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="bird dog, post: 1474644, member: 5381"] I am trying something this year and so far it seems to be working very well. I baled up enough Rye grass last spring to where I wouldn't need to bale any summer hay. The grass had fully seeded out but was still lush. My fall and winter calving cows have been on it since November with 30% protein tubs. I did not have it tested but I knew it would not test out enough for lactating cows. I am pretty sure it would yield about 8 or 9 % as vett noted. It was fertilized but not heavily. My thought was to abandon the summer Bermuda hay route to reduce costs. There is a lot of Winter left but so far the cows are in much better shape than last year. I can buy a lot of tubs for what I was spending on fertilizer trying to get the protein up on the Bermuda field to the 12% range required for lactating animals. So far what I have learned I could increase the stocking rate a little bit by not cutting summer hay and use the pasture to retain some forage to extend the grazing season a few weeks. The Rye grass hay kept very well under a pole barn and when rolled out, puts a bunch of seed in the soil base. I have very little waste on this barn kept, rolled out hay. I think around 5%. The baby calves love the sweet taste. It easy to establish with my rinky dink equipment. You can spot graze it up until February and still make a good hay crop. The major con is trying to get it dry enough to bale. The grass and the ground. Last year I used a bottom land pasture. This year I am using a hilltop pasture that should help with this problem. I love Bermuda grass but the input costs to get the protein where I want it for hay are just to darn expensive. [/QUOTE]
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