farmerjan
Herd Master
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2016
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- Location
- Shenandoah Valley Virginia
Hi and welcome. I think that the basic suggestions have been covered. Yes, go to the county ag office; your taxes pay for them to come out, give you advice and recommendations. Every state has different programs, and there are also some that are national. Find out what is available. There are different requirements for "land use taxes" and the difference between that and just regular taxes is usually significant so you want to make sure you do what is necessary to qualify for land use or ag taxes.
GB is right. FIRST get a soil sample that tells you the PH as all the fertilizer is useless if the PH is too high or too low. Again, the county extension agent can help you with that.
Was the land fertilized for hay in the past? There are so many that think they can just keep cutting hay with nothing put back into the land. The stand of grass gets thinner, weeds work in and the land gets poor from taking all the nutrients out in hay and never putting anything back. Got a few farmers here that do that and then complain that they don't get much hay.
My son and I do make alot of hay. We have about 150 acres that we cut, and try to make 2 cuttings off much of it except where there are fences. Those fields we make first cutting then try to graze the later growth. We fertilize hay fields every year. Often with poultry litter as it adds back organic matter, also with conventional fertilizer. We soil sample every year. We do renovations with fields that get weedy with a 2 year rotation. There is no magic bullet. It costs money and time to keep hayfields productive and in good shape. This year our first cutting was late getting started due to rain right when we should have been making hay. And our production is off mostly because of our very cold and dry winter. For example. We have a 4 acre hayfield that is mixed grass. Normally makes 13-14, 5x5 round bales first cutting. We got barely 11 round bales. The other field above that is about 6-7 acres and we didn't get 20 and normally get about 25. Our well established orchard grass 10 acre field was about 6-8 bales short of normal, but I cannot tell you off hand how many we got. We are making our bales bigger too, 5x6, but it will only account for about 1 bale for each 4-5 acres. We roll them tight. The amount of rainfall will determine the hay obviously, and this year it was dry and cold early, then alot of rain, then it is over mature, and now we are getting some more rain so there will be some decent 2nd cutting we hope.
We want to get 3 5x5 rolls to the acre on an average field. There are alot of variables that go into that. That is minimum for first cutting. 2nd cutting is always less although it should be a little better quality hay.
Again, we are talking here in Va. Different area, different grasses/hay, different rainfall/climate. You should be able to get a better idea of what is normal there from the extension agent. And the guy who did your hay, should be a reliable source of average yield. 1 roll per acre is just not worth the time and effort to travel the field a minimum of 3 passes. Cut, rake, bale. That is if conditions are right and you don't have to do any tedding, to get it dry.
The field could be fenced, in different sections and grazed. But you are looking at not only fencing; with prices in the $3.50 to $4.50 per foot...that is complete with the fencing guy supplying everything, except gates. Then you are looking at needing water....and that even if you have to only put in one well and then pipe it, it isn't cheap. A field like that should be cross fenced in order to utilize the grass for grazing efficiently. You can use electric for cross fencing, that is portable and moveable, but I never suggest electric for perimeter fences.
I think that getting it renovated and cut for hay will be your best bet. Owning your own equipment, for maybe 2 cuttings a year, with no livestock to feed it to, is a waste of money for someone who doesn't "know what you are doing". No disrespect, but you say you are not farmers. Around here, due to the cost of equipment, most of us will do hay on shares and it is 70/30. With us getting the 70%. Years ago it was 50/50 then 60/40, but is now 70/30. We just had a shaft and splines go out on a less than 3 yr old discbine, to the tune of $2,000. Can't cut hay without it. We traded in our older discbine the end of 2015 when it started to need alot of little things that were adding up to alot of money, and still would have an 8 yr old machine. So we traded it on a new one, that costs over $25,000 new, figuring we would have 5 good trouble free years. WRONG. Seems like 3 people in the area have had problems this year, 2 with the same problem we had but not all the same model/year machine. So you are looking at alot of money as you priced it, then there is fuel, and the time involved. Add fertilizer to that, and it is not worth it to most of us doing any custom work anymore, unless the yields are good. That is why we try to keep our fields well fed and productive. Seed is expensive and the rotations we do, are to try to clean up any weedy/junk that is growing, get a usable crop to feed and then get it back into good orchard grass which is what sells best here. We use sorghum/sudan grass, wheat or barley for the winter crop, then repeat and then put orchard grass back in the third year.
You might talk to the guy who made the hay and see if he has any suggestions. Has he made the hay in the past?
I think that hunting rights might be an economical way to utilize it if you are not wanting to put alot of money into it. But realize, that it will need some maintenance like bushogging to keep it open or the weeds and scrub will grow up in it fast.
It looks like nice land. We would give our eyeteeth to have most all our hayground in one or two parcels like that. WE MAKE MOSTLY 4-10 ACRE PIECES....with a few that are 20 acres.
GB is right. FIRST get a soil sample that tells you the PH as all the fertilizer is useless if the PH is too high or too low. Again, the county extension agent can help you with that.
Was the land fertilized for hay in the past? There are so many that think they can just keep cutting hay with nothing put back into the land. The stand of grass gets thinner, weeds work in and the land gets poor from taking all the nutrients out in hay and never putting anything back. Got a few farmers here that do that and then complain that they don't get much hay.
My son and I do make alot of hay. We have about 150 acres that we cut, and try to make 2 cuttings off much of it except where there are fences. Those fields we make first cutting then try to graze the later growth. We fertilize hay fields every year. Often with poultry litter as it adds back organic matter, also with conventional fertilizer. We soil sample every year. We do renovations with fields that get weedy with a 2 year rotation. There is no magic bullet. It costs money and time to keep hayfields productive and in good shape. This year our first cutting was late getting started due to rain right when we should have been making hay. And our production is off mostly because of our very cold and dry winter. For example. We have a 4 acre hayfield that is mixed grass. Normally makes 13-14, 5x5 round bales first cutting. We got barely 11 round bales. The other field above that is about 6-7 acres and we didn't get 20 and normally get about 25. Our well established orchard grass 10 acre field was about 6-8 bales short of normal, but I cannot tell you off hand how many we got. We are making our bales bigger too, 5x6, but it will only account for about 1 bale for each 4-5 acres. We roll them tight. The amount of rainfall will determine the hay obviously, and this year it was dry and cold early, then alot of rain, then it is over mature, and now we are getting some more rain so there will be some decent 2nd cutting we hope.
We want to get 3 5x5 rolls to the acre on an average field. There are alot of variables that go into that. That is minimum for first cutting. 2nd cutting is always less although it should be a little better quality hay.
Again, we are talking here in Va. Different area, different grasses/hay, different rainfall/climate. You should be able to get a better idea of what is normal there from the extension agent. And the guy who did your hay, should be a reliable source of average yield. 1 roll per acre is just not worth the time and effort to travel the field a minimum of 3 passes. Cut, rake, bale. That is if conditions are right and you don't have to do any tedding, to get it dry.
The field could be fenced, in different sections and grazed. But you are looking at not only fencing; with prices in the $3.50 to $4.50 per foot...that is complete with the fencing guy supplying everything, except gates. Then you are looking at needing water....and that even if you have to only put in one well and then pipe it, it isn't cheap. A field like that should be cross fenced in order to utilize the grass for grazing efficiently. You can use electric for cross fencing, that is portable and moveable, but I never suggest electric for perimeter fences.
I think that getting it renovated and cut for hay will be your best bet. Owning your own equipment, for maybe 2 cuttings a year, with no livestock to feed it to, is a waste of money for someone who doesn't "know what you are doing". No disrespect, but you say you are not farmers. Around here, due to the cost of equipment, most of us will do hay on shares and it is 70/30. With us getting the 70%. Years ago it was 50/50 then 60/40, but is now 70/30. We just had a shaft and splines go out on a less than 3 yr old discbine, to the tune of $2,000. Can't cut hay without it. We traded in our older discbine the end of 2015 when it started to need alot of little things that were adding up to alot of money, and still would have an 8 yr old machine. So we traded it on a new one, that costs over $25,000 new, figuring we would have 5 good trouble free years. WRONG. Seems like 3 people in the area have had problems this year, 2 with the same problem we had but not all the same model/year machine. So you are looking at alot of money as you priced it, then there is fuel, and the time involved. Add fertilizer to that, and it is not worth it to most of us doing any custom work anymore, unless the yields are good. That is why we try to keep our fields well fed and productive. Seed is expensive and the rotations we do, are to try to clean up any weedy/junk that is growing, get a usable crop to feed and then get it back into good orchard grass which is what sells best here. We use sorghum/sudan grass, wheat or barley for the winter crop, then repeat and then put orchard grass back in the third year.
You might talk to the guy who made the hay and see if he has any suggestions. Has he made the hay in the past?
I think that hunting rights might be an economical way to utilize it if you are not wanting to put alot of money into it. But realize, that it will need some maintenance like bushogging to keep it open or the weeds and scrub will grow up in it fast.
It looks like nice land. We would give our eyeteeth to have most all our hayground in one or two parcels like that. WE MAKE MOSTLY 4-10 ACRE PIECES....with a few that are 20 acres.
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