JimHam
Bronze Member
I have 55 acres that is mostly grassland, former pasture and I have it enrolled in a conservation stewardship plan which means right now I cannot mow it until after Aug. 1. The grasses are fescue, orchard grass, switchgrass, lespedeza and some timothy. I mow about 2 acres around the barn and future house site and I get to it about three times a year because I live out of state right now. What I am seeing around the barnwhere I mow is that the fescue is taking over. I hope to start haying a good part of it when I retire and get settled there. My hobby is training and running labrador retrievers in hunt tests and field trials so I need a lot of open area. To maintain that open space I was going to have the hay cut off it. The problem is I do not want a fescue monoculture in my fields. I'm not a farmer but my grandfather and relatives are so I grew up working on the farm and helped put up a lot of hay but I don't know much about growing a good hay crop. I didn't think fescue was the best hay to feed. How do you folks that raise a lot of hay keep a diverse crop of different grasses for your hay? I want to combine wildlife cover and natural hay because right now I have a couple covies of quail on the property and want to provide a place for them too. Open to suggestions.
