How is everyones crop season going?

JeffNY · #1 06/07/05, 11:18 PM

Curious, how is everyones haying/chopping going? Crops aren't as thick as last year here, but still have feed which is important. Weather has finally warmed up, summer arrived after a cool/dull May. If it wasn't for a problematic forage blower, I would only have 8 fields left to cut then id be done with 1st, but ah well #%#@ happens!

Jeff

unioncreek · #2 06/08/05, 08:30 AM

Haying season has just gotten started here in southeastern Washington state and its been raining off and on for 6 weeks. Forecasts don't look very good either. I have about 10 acres on the ground now, not windrowed. My orchard grass/clover field was so thick that I had trouble cutting it. The orchard grass was almost 5 feet tall and I've never seen anything like it before. We are still having spring like conditions. If the weather will stay halfway decent I'll try and rake on Friday and maybe get it baled on the weekend. I only have small patches to cut and their strung out for 10 miles, so I cut, rake and bale then move to the next. Sure wish I could find enough in one spot to do. Same goes with my pasture, I don't know from year to year how much I will have and it makes it hard to increase my herd size.

Bobg

Christina R. · #3 06/08/05, 02:08 PM

We don't grow our own hay, but our hay prices are still way up there ($11.50 a 100-120 # bale), so I'm guessing there hasn't been much new cutting going on yet (and it's already June). Of course gas prices may be the factor with transport.

JeffNY · #4 06/08/05, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unioncreek

Haying season has just gotten started here in southeastern Washington state and its been raining off and on for 6 weeks. Forecasts don't look very good either. I have about 10 acres on the ground now, not windrowed. My orchard grass/clover field was so thick that I had trouble cutting it. The orchard grass was almost 5 feet tall and I've never seen anything like it before. We are still having spring like conditions. If the weather will stay halfway decent I'll try and rake on Friday and maybe get it baled on the weekend. I only have small patches to cut and their strung out for 10 miles, so I cut, rake and bale then move to the next. Sure wish I could find enough in one spot to do. Same goes with my pasture, I don't know from year to year how much I will have and it makes it hard to increase my herd size.

Bobg

Sounds like our weather last year, I did manage to finish by July, but it rained for 6 weeks straight, 13" fell from mid July to about Late August. It finally broke, and we got 5 day stretches of nice weather, everyone got their 2nd and even 1st done then. Needless to say, tons of hay out there, but a lot was crap. Funny you mention the yield, last year the yield was double what it is this year, but a 5 acre field I chopped today (Wednesday) gave me 5 full loads, surprised me.

Jeff

cloverfarm · #5 06/09/05, 11:36 PM

Praying for rain.

DH got hay made on two of the farms last week and week before but said he's been praying for rain with every round he mows. Thinking there will always be more hay but this is the critical time for the wheat.

I will have to ask him about yields.

Ann

DaleK · #6 06/10/05, 05:37 PM

I wrapped 210 4x4 round bales today and yesterday, we have another 40 acres down and Dad's baling until dark tonight. Would like to be wrapping but the battery is dead on the wrapper and for some reason Mom took the truck to town with the cables in the back. We have another 35 acres to cut tomorrow then done until the barley/oats/peas are ready to cut and bale. Corn and soybeans are all up but thirsty, we've had less than a tenth of an inch of rain since we started planting grain April 20.

petefarms · #7 06/11/05, 04:08 AM

Had a very dry may and although first cutting is getting done, up along the st. lawrence river, yield is down by about 30%. My hay fields are barely up to the knee, and should be waist high now. A cold wet may means a barn full of hay and we had a cool may but below average rainfall.

JeffNY · #8 06/11/05, 11:08 AM

Yield down this way pete is also off about the same, our rye however is up about 6' high or so. I would cut it, to get a nice rye straw without seeds, but the way things look around here, showers and storms untill wed, then soggy through the weekend.

Jeff

Reformed_Farmer · #9 06/11/05, 11:08 AM

Just baled a little field next to the barn last week. Last year we got 26 4x6's off it, this year we got 4. Its dry, dry, dry. We have had a few good rains this week so there is hope for some 2nd cutting. Cows have already grazed off nearly 100 acres of pasture since turn out and we are feeding hay.

evermoor · #10 06/11/05, 09:16 PM

Wish I could send some rain your way! We have had two inches already and sounds like some more a coming tonight. Our first crop has been done for awhile so not too bad other than ploanned on baleage but the wrapper never showed so we made dry after a few wet bales were already made. Planning on doing second cutting around the twentieth or so. WE have 40 or so acres of winter wheat as a cover crop for new seeding, so it will all go at once ( dont tell the rain!) Corn is really grownthis week ,as we are almost in the 90's with a lot of humidty. Weeds are having a heyday as it has been hard to spray between showers. Some corn is almost too tall to cultivate ( as if anyone does that anymore). Beans are just a few inches tall. Things are good so I wont complain about the rain cause it is better than none.

cloverfarm · #11 06/11/05, 10:15 PM

Scattered showers this weekend, but still dry.

DH said the yields on grass fields were down but the alfalfa fields are OK.

Ann

JeffNY · #12 06/12/05, 10:39 PM

Alfalfa fairs better in dry weather, timothy seems to like wet weather. We got a few good showers today, just enough, while south of me 2+" fell today, and about 4-5" in the past week. I am glad we didn't get that, that is TOOOO much. Great thing with the conditions thus far (wouldn't take much to make it wet again), when it is dry again this coming weekend, the hay will dry that much faster. Another thing to consider, more sun will tend to make the hay richer in nutrients, last year everything was low. Protein was so so.. But the fact we got toooo much rain, lots of clouds, things didn't get enough sun. I hope we have nice dry conditions early July, I will get my 2nd cutting alfalfa just right..

Jeff

Hank - Narita · #13 06/12/05, 11:01 PM

We just bought a first cutting alfalfa for $6.50 a bale. It was baled a little wet so we hope it will be OK. Any ideas how to dry it out a bit? We have 78 acres but don't grow hay; wish we could but electricity is too high here in AZ.

lilsassafrass · #14 06/13/05, 07:15 AM

So we here the weather has been afternoon thundershowers possible .. everyday for two weeks , those of us who took the chance have most of their first cutting put away with af ew fields or even rounds getting wet .. we had about 30 acres take a quick late afternoon shower .. just lucky that most of it had been tedded out , and anly about ten acres was raked and ready to bale .. that got spread back out that night .. so current count is 1700 or so nice large heavy square bales put up and about about 60 or so round bales .. they round baled last night till dark .. till teh baler plugged up ...
still have a ten acre field that will get raked today and round baled .. and thank heaven only another 25 avcres to lay down ... far better than last year when we couldnt even think of getting inot the fieldsd till the beginning of july to make fist cutting ...
all in all will do about 70 acres of hay ..
then again have 20 acres of beans yet to plant .. our crop land tends to be very wet .. and dries out late ... so we put beans in the wettest ground as it gives us time .. when the rotation calls for it ..
And they were supposed to plant 20 acres of corn for neighbor yesterday .. if we got the hay up .. but that didnt happen .. looks like they will be palnting corn tonight ...