Make Hay in late Sept?

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 5:35 pm

My grass is 5-6" high and growing very slowly. What chance hay late Sept / early Oct? Ever done it that late?

Post by **Mark Bowles** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 5:45 pm

In a word....no!
I would have thought haylage may be possible, definately silage.
Mark

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 5:57 pm

days are getting too short. Haylage?

Duncan

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 9:52 pm

September hay is possible but difficult as you normally get heavy dews at that time of year. I have made hay in early September, I don't think after the middle of the month though.

Martin.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 8:05 am

Thanks. I'm going to top the seed heads and then graze it down instead.

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 8:21 am

Why not make big bale silage, with the shortage of fodder this year it is bound to come in useful and/or be salable to someone. If you were going to top the seed heads anyway it isn't that much more work.

Stephanie

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 8:35 am

The low down grass (about 5-6" tall) is OK for grazing but the tall seed heads bits are very thin, so I'd get about 1 big bale per acre max, so too costly. I've also got 2 years worth of big bales haylage and can't store much more because a lot was thick in clover and won't stack.

Louisa Gidney · Post by **Louisa Gidney** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 2:46 pm

I don't know when it was cut, but I've been reliably told of a bad year in the 50's when hay was led from the fields (in pikes in those days) with snow on them. Which, even up here, suggests rather later than September. Plenty of hay still being made up here now. Prices not as bad yet as Broomcroft's prediction, up 65p/bale on last year at the moment. Just had some heavy bales of oat straw delivered at a very reasonable price.

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:42 pm

Louisa,

I am not used to the term "pikes", would that be similar to West of Scotland "ricks" which were small stacks 7 or 8 ft in diameter or less, and started 9 or 10 feet high but settled, they were build in the fields and taken in on ricklifters to the stackyard where large stacks containing 10 ricks were built, hay made June July or even August and the ricks built into stacks maybe a month or two later. I am just wondering if the pikes you talk about would have stood in the field for several weeks before being led in.

I have seen a silage field, on 2nd June 1975 or maybe it was 76, with the headriggs cut and silage lifted, middle of field untouched, and a snow fall left the outside white as could be but the inner bit mottled white and green being rougher. That was near Falkirk, quite high up, about 1000 ft above sea level

Duncan

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 4:18 pm

The pikes we used on my farm Duncan were long handeled 2 prong forks with which to lift the bales up onto the trailers etc. we called it pitching the bales.

Previous generations here pitched the stooks up onto the wagons and then onto hayricks.

I have some lovely pics somewhere of stooks, ricks and binding.

Stephanie

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 7:00 pm

THat's a pitch fork to me I think.