4th Cutting Alfalfa 8/18

[Mountain Cowgirl]

It is down and drying and looks about 2 1/2 tons per acre. Since no frost or cold weather is predicted until late Oct., so it is possible there may be 6 cuttings this year. I see no reason that there won't be a 5th in the middle of Sept., but one never knows what turn the weather may take.

Photos to follow when it is baled and stacked if anyone is interested. I didn't have my cell to get a photo of the windrows, but can tomorrow if it isn't boring to you all. It appears lighter to my old eyes.

 

[Mountain Cowgirl]

Here is the 4th cutting. It looks lighter than the 3rd to me.

 

[Haytrucker]

It sure looks like it's worth putting up, the pivot on well or surface water? Our hay was extremely short this year, just like all of it between us. Irrigated alfalfa here will have to hustle to beat 4 tons an acre, most will by shy of that. Beautiful quality, but we could sure use more bales. Nice picture, thank you.

 

[damengineer]

That looks great to me. Here in central OK, there is not much alfalfa grown. Blister beetles just about shut down alfalfa production. I cut hay Monday with the old Gehl swather for about 6 hours. Then baled for another 6 hours yesterday. got about 80 4x5 bales. It was a field that had not been cut in 10 years. Old stuff and weeds. I wanted to get it baled together and as wet as possible, but my old body could not go after cutting without some rest. Some was pretty dry at the last, but it is done. Bluestem and Bermuda with weeds... If they can't eat it this winter, they can bed down on it...

 

[Evans]

May 30th we got snow and killing frost. Then it got hot and didn't rain all summer. There isn't even ditch hay. I custom baled one quarter for a guy but even with two 16 foot swaths put together it wasn't really worth it.
Haha we almost had frost the other morning so I guess now its winter again. Hope it doesn't hurt the grasshoppers and gophers.

 

[Mountain Cowgirl]

It figures out much lighter than I thought. 1.75 tons per acre. @Haytrucker It is pumped from a large sump that is ditch fed and from a mountain reservoir. I wonder if an application of fertilizer after the 2nd cutting might have been worthwhile? I am not up on the cost of fertilizing around here, but it seems to me that another 30 tons of hay at today's price might have more than paid for it. The water is back on the field and there will be a 5th if the weather forecasters are right with no frost until late October.

The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cuttings. So far just the first was trucked to a dairy since their pasture wasn't ready and their hay was running out. It went for $250 a ton. I wonder if the price may drop?

So far this 30 acre field has produced 11 tons per acre for 2021. That would be 330 tons of fine alfalfa.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

Pretty nice. I can't see the price dropping much or it will be on a truck to Montana.

 

[damengineer]

I don't see the price dropping on anything for thenext 3 years....