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Hay is down

W

webfoot

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 8, 2008
Messages
1,675
Location
NE Oregon
The hay hit the ground yesterday and the day before. It is supposed to be in the 90's with a 10-20 mph wind and humidity in the low 20's. It will dry good. By the time it gets baled it is supposed to be in the 100's. So I get to haul and stack hay in the hot weather. Two tractors. One in the field and one at the stack yard both are open station. AC in the truck. I might drive real slow coming out of the field.

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That field was off about 20%. Cold nights in May. Even frosts. Then when it warmed up it went straight to hot. Grass headed out early and stopped growing. But it is all in the stack now. Nearly 100 degrees out. Too dang hot for an old man. They will bale the other half tomorrow. I get to enjoy the heat on Monday.
 
Was very,very lucky to get an inch and a half yesterday evening on my second growth of hay grazer.Won't make the volume that the 1st growth did,but could be close.Any amount is welcome.

Great looking hay Webfoot!
 
DosArroyos said:
Was very,very lucky to get an inch and a half yesterday evening on my second growth of hay grazer.Won't make the volume that the 1st growth did,but could be close.Any amount is welcome.

Great looking hay Webfoot!
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I haven't had any rain that I can remember in the last 2 months. None coming in the forecast. But in the next 5 days or so I will get 4 or 5 inches of water on this field. Being next to the river and having flood irrigation is a wonderful thing. Got the hay off yesterday and opened the tap this morning.

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Yesterday evening,after the rain 24 hours earlier,most of the grazer had grown 10" to a foot.In a week to ten days I should be cutting again.I'm going to call my hay baler today and tell him.
 
We have been dry and experiencing highs in the nineties with wind the past 10 days. Neighbors are mostly finished haying. We were messing around with a calendar full of events and trying to get the machinery ready in fits and starts. Most of my haying crew are only available Friday through Monday do to real jobs in town. The hay has been declining from the heat and the air has been smoky from numerous fires in the region. We finally got the swather rolling this morning and were rained out by noon. I called my neighbor and said "you're welcome!".
 
I should have mine cut and drying by now,but we had rain in forecast so my baler and I decided to wait and see what happens.Now forecast shows 6 days of rain chances.One field has headed out and has run out of moisture in the soil.Don't get me wrong,I'm not griping about the rain,but I wish it would either do it or go.I have plenty of hay for Winter and this second cutting would be a luxury to have.Now with this whole field headed out I'll have to fence off what hay it does make with panels to keep the hogs out of it since it has seeds in it.They won't touch the other grazer I have stacked,but any hay rolls with seed will be opened and could cause a big mess.Even wheat hay is the same way.The pigs aren't happy with just cutting on a single bale either.Every night they will open as many new bales as they want and forget about the old ones they opened the night before.
 
DosArroyos said:
I should have mine cut and drying by now,but we had rain in forecast so my baler and I decided to wait and see what happens.Now forecast shows 6 days of rain chances.One field has headed out and has run out of moisture in the soil.Don't get me wrong,I'm not griping about the rain,but I wish it would either do it or go.I have plenty of hay for Winter and this second cutting would be a luxury to have.Now with this whole field headed out I'll have to fence off what hay it does make with panels to keep the hogs out of it since it has seeds in it.They won't touch the other grazer I have stacked,but any hay rolls with seed will be opened and could cause a big mess.Even wheat hay is the same way.The pigs aren't happy with just cutting on a single bale either.Every night they will open as many new bales as they want and forget about the old ones they opened the night before.
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Are you talking about wild hogs? We don't have them here, so I'm curious.
6 days of rain...we haven't had that for ages. We did finally get .4 in a thunderstorm Saturday evening. Sorry about your hay.
 
Made 51 bales out of my second cutting.The first cutting was 121 bales.I think I did pretty good.My 2 little fields only add up to about 48.5 acres.Over 3 bales per acre for the year.Considering the lack of rain at the end of the growth cycle and the hail before the 1st cutting,I think I did well.

I've stacked 662 between left over from last year,what I made this year,and have bought the rest.Last year I fed 525 bales.

I'm going to need a bunch this year.My calves will start hitting the ground around the 18th of November.There will be some needy mommas in the cold after Christmas,all thru January,and to the end of February.Last year by this time I had already fed about 25 bales to supplement my pastures,because of the lack of rain.We've had more rain at times that we needed it the most this year so I'm behind a bit of last year's usage.

I hope everyone has a real good rest of this year and a prosperous 2025.
 
Big Muddy, Do you feed a protein supplement along with the oat and peas hay? How will the sparce dried up peas affect your feeding program?
 
I have bought a lot of year old hay grazer before and my protein bill was real high.Last year I had mostly that year's cutting at the start of Winter and I got by with less than a quarter of the protein I had bought the year before,when feeding that old hay.Mainly,that protein usage was what I fed before I knew hard,and long cold spells were coming in.
 
bullwriter said:
Big Muddy, Do you feed a protein supplement along with the oat and peas hay? How will the sparce dried up peas affect your feeding program?
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I think our feeding program just moved to a feedlot in Alberta, Cheaper to haul the cattle than haul the feed in.
Feed isn't as far away as last year as the drought area has shrunk but we are drier than last year.
 
Big Muddy rancher said:
I think our feeding program just moved to a feedlot in Alberta, Cheaper to haul the cattle than haul the feed in.
Feed isn't as far away as last year as the drought area has shrunk but we are drier than last year.
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So sorry it is so dry where you are. I think most of the West is dry.
I think moving the cows to feed is a wise choice. Let us know how it goes.
How soon are you moving them and are you weaning the calves first? Or
selling them off the cow? Regardless, wishing you the best!!
 

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