Cutting triple mix

[burnt]

I planted a few acres of triple mix this spring and since it's a new experiment for me, I am trying to figure out when the optimum harvest time is. The mix includes oats, barley and peas.

At this point, the peas range from the flowering to flat pod stage and the oats are beginning to get a tiny bit of meat in them. The barley heads are just starting into the milk stage.

I expect to use it for winter feeding the calf crop that is running beside the mommas right now.

I am planning on cutting Monday and then baling and wrapping on Tuesday.

I'm sure that there must be a few others on here who have had experience with this crop?

 

[Grassfarmer]

I would cut cereals for silage at the soft dough stage - never used peas so don't know about them. If you cut Monday and bale Tuesday you must be expecting some great drying. We usually missed one complete day between cutting and baling as a minimum. I really hate baling, wrapping and hauling water!

 

[gcreekrch]

Dough stage is optimum, the peas have a lot of nutrients at any stage. We have baled some at 70% moisture because of bad timing, it turned out to be excellent feed. Would prefer to bale at 45-50%. That real wet stuff is a challenge to bale.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

Nicky asked me to post for her. log in troubles

" I tried to reply to Burnts post on when to cut his triple mix. We let everything get to the dough stage before we cut it. Tell him his critters will love it but be sure to test it for nitrate, and there is an in field test he can do for nitrate before he cuts it"

There you go Burnt.

 

[burnt]

Thanks, everyone! It sounds like I could leave it til closer to the end of the week for maturity.

 

[per]

It all depends on whether you are after quantity or quality. The soft doe is probably the best compromise but the earlier you cut the higher the tdn and protein but the less volume. This year here, fiber is going to be hard to come by so most will be cut too mature.

 

[just a small guy]

we did the same thing last year, with oats ,peas and wheat. Fed it to 600# calves with free choice alfalfa/orchard grass in big rounds. We used wheat instead of barley to keep away from the barley beards. Cut it when the oats was in the milk stage and the wheat had already reached the doe stage. The crop was about 75% oats. Did a small piece of about 3.5 acres,and got 450 small squares off. About 4 tons per acre. Calves loved it. We did the same this year and hope to cut Mon. or Tues. Wheat is headed out and oats is just heading. Maybe a bit earlier than last year, but there are quite a few weeds and want to cut before they set seed. My first posting and my experience for what it's worth.

 

[leanin' H]

Welcome Just! Hope ya get a nice bunch of feed put up. How'd those calves gain on that ration?

 

[just a small guy]

with the hay, a few greenfeed small squares and about 3# rolled barley, about 1.6#'s a day gain on black replacement hiefers

 

[Anonymous]

We've put up a lot of oats and wheat hay and the key is usually to let it dry out enough....Don't bale it too wet- as it spoils/heats in the bale a lot easier than anything else....I'd wait until I was absolutely sure it was dry- then wait another day.. :wink:
Makes great hay...
We've got a new wheat field- that we broke up late- and leveled before seeding, so the wheat is pretty late- and that might end up hay this year...

 

[little bow rancher]

we tried peas with tridcale pretty nice feed the peas climbed right up the stems, should got it tested

 

[burnt]

we did the same thing last year, with oats ,peas and wheat. Fed it to 600# calves with free choice alfalfa/orchard grass in big rounds. We used wheat instead of barley to keep away from the barley beards. Cut it when the oats was in the milk stage and the wheat had already reached the doe stage. The crop was about 75% oats. Did a small piece of about 3.5 acres,and got 450 small squares off. About 4 tons per acre. Calves loved it. We did the same this year and hope to cut Mon. or Tues. Wheat is headed out and oats is just heading. Maybe a bit earlier than last year, but there are quite a few weeds and want to cut before they set seed. My first posting and my experience for what it's worth.

Welcome and thank you for your reply. You must have gotten a lot of good weather to get such a heavy crop dry!! In our part of the country, I'm not sure that we could get it to dry enough to make dry hay out of it. The wheat in place of barley also sounds like a good idea.

 

[just a small guy]

it took about 2 weeks to cure. The wheat and pea kernerals that were more mature than the oats took the longest. No spoiled bales. Lucky to that long with no rain.