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First Cuttin.....

T

the_jersey_lilly_2000

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Joined
Feb 16, 2005
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11,308
Location
South East Texas
This is just moments before Mr Lilly came thru with the cutter. The vetch is really thick in places.
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And the rest is as tall as the hood of my lil Toyota Pasture truck...and thick thick.
2010-04-24-074.jpg


He didn't quite get finished cuttin last night. Got dark on him. He ran with the headlights for a while. Will go back out this afternoon once it dries off some from the dew and finish up. . (plus a minor repair to the cutter)
 
That looks like a great crop. How many tons per acre do expect it to go?
Imagine how much faster it would grow down there if it didn't get dark so early!
 
I never know what it's gonna produce. It's so inconsistant...with havin rain one year...and none the next. Altho I will say...haven't seen it this thick in a good long while.

On a good year we get about 4.5 tons per acre, per cuttin. On a bad year....1.5 per cuttin. This should be a good cuttin. Usually cut this field 3 to 4 times. The last couple years we've only been able to cut twice a year due to no rain.

Thank goodness it's stayin light longer....sun don't go down till almost 8 pm now. Course...it comes up an hour later than it did before the time change too :wink: We are a lil more than 13 hours of daylight right now.
 
I hate cutting vetch with a sicklebar bit it sure makes nice feed.

My grass is heading out already. I usually cut around Memorial Day but may go sooner this yr. I like to cut grass before it pollinates.
 
He's usin a disc cutter this go round.

We have had it tested in the past. But we don't test ever cuttin. Seems what we had tested was consistant each time, protein wise. We use chicken litter to fertilize once a year. I like it because it goes in gradually thru out the year, instead of havin to fertilize more frequently. Also it bein free is a bonus too. LOL
 
What amazes me is the difference between what it looks like here....and ya'll up there still dealin with snow. I know ya'll will get green grass sooner or later.....But me bein a southerner(wus when it comes to winter :wink: ).....I much prefer sooner.
 
:oops: ...So where do ya get Chicken Poop..besides a Hen House?? What about People Poop..bet it would smell bad....lolol..How bout Pig Poop...I know worse... :shock: :P :) ..really Fertilzer is just not in the budget this year..may be a good alternative.. :)
 
Mr Lilly's uncle has two big houses for Sanderson Farms. Plus he does all the clean outs for all the houses in the Brazos Valley. He cleans them out......piles it up. Then after it's sat there a while, he has spreader trucks he loads it in and delivers it to different ranchers. Just so happens his chicken houses are across the road from our hay field. So it's quick and easy for him to sling it for us.
 
mmmmmmmmmm...I'm in northern Navarro County...to far for a spreader ... :???: Would he know of any Poop collectors up here?? course if it does not stop raining?? We won't have to worry bout getting the Rye Grass baled... :(
 
I Know he doesn't go that far north with his cleaning and spreading. Only way I'd know is to maybe contact Sanderson Farms and ask if they have any growers in your area that might have chicken litter. Normally it's not free.....he charges. But I don't know how much. But I do know it's no where near what fertilizer prices are. Since we are family...we get it for free.
 
On a good year we get about 4.5 tons per acre, per cuttin.
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Wow! That's amazing! 9000 lbs. per acre? I might see vetch producing more because it's hard to cure and gets put up with a high moisture content, but Ryegrass?

We never average above 3,800 lbs per acre on Annual Ryegrass on about 300 acres and can never get the big 5' X 6' bales to weigh over 900 lbs. when properly cured.

Have you ever weighed your hay bales?
 
Our bales usually weigh between 1200 and 1500 lbs. That's at baling time. I'm sure they don't weigh that after they sit. There's a family that custom bales here...and their bales weigh in at 1500 all the time.....Course they use new equipment which probably puts a tighter roll together. I know theirs don't squat after puttin em in the barn. Ours don't usually squat very much from bale to feed time.
 

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