Hay Making on a Different Scale

[Hay Dude]

I am 1/2 way through 2nd cutting. Now we are about to get a week of rain.
Looks like it’s my turn for wet weather.

 

[Hay Dude]

The final bales of first cutting 2025 done on Sept. 21. 6 more days and I would have tied the record for finishing first on Sept. 27 set back in 2019. That year was similar with wet conditions that proceeded much longer than this year.

View attachment 4114864

So what now?
will you skip 2nd cut since its blended with 1st and just do a 3rd cutting?

 

[LHF2019]

So what now?
will you skip 2nd cut since its blended with 1st and just do a 3rd cutting?

These fields will never make it to another cutting at this point.

 

[Hay Dude]

These fields will never make it to another cutting at this point.

I didn’t think so.
My fields struggle to make a 3rd cutting when they are cut in late September.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I didn’t think so.
My fields struggle to make a 3rd cutting when they are cut in late September.

Rule of thumb down here is you need to be cut and fertilized back by Labor Day if you want a final cutting, that's not to say that there haven't been years where you don't get any cool weather and no frost in November and you can get an extremely late cutting but on average cooler night temperatures and milder daytime temps slows the grass growth considerably.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

First Energy is STILL doing paperwork on the tree that fell. For the 3rd time since tree fell and repairs made guy has been doing paperwork answering all the questions the company has as to why the tree fell and why it was missed during inspections and who is to blame and how can we avoid this in future and was the tree healthy and on and on..................

Just paperwork he said. lol

I imagine they are getting hammered by FERC ( Federal Electric Reliability Commission ) it's a big deal when a transmission line goes out due to ROW issues and they are going to be asking lot's of questions, best I could tell from your pictures that line was insulated for about 115 kv, had it have happened on 230kv or above there would be questions and fines $ .

 

[LHF2019]

I imagine they are getting hammered by FERC ( Federal Electric Reliability Commission ) it's a big deal when a transmission line goes out due to ROW issues and they are going to be asking lot's of questions, best I could tell from your pictures that line was insulated for about 115 kv, had it have happened on 230kv or above there would be questions and fines $ .

He said it happens frequently and he travels doing this for a wide area. Said for whatever reason they have taken a interest in this tree.

 

[LHF2019]

Did a lot of driving but not much hay making. Hit a new low. Couple fields did 6.5 bales/acre. One was good at 10 bales/acre. Knocked out 50 acres last several days and finish today with a couple baleage bales. Then another shot of rain before going over dry again. Took less than 2 hours of baling to cover 34 acres.

 

[Hay Dude]

I’m still battling down here. Automatic greaser took a dump and cost me all day yesterday. Now we have rain coming Tuesday night. I have about 40 acres down and want to get that baled before rain hits.

I hope your fortunes turn around!!!

 

[LHF2019]

Another round of hay today. Going to be baling under sunny skies and in the 50's. The most enjoyable haying weather there is. 25 acres and maybe will see 10 bales/acre but have my doubts.

 

[EddieWalker]

Looks nicer than some public golf courses out there!!!!

 

[LHF2019]

New low 4.96 bales/acre. Not sure if the last 3 fields are worth it if we do get the weather.

 

[Tx Jim]

I feel for your problem. As you're probably already aware 4.96 small sq bales per acre isn't really worth the effort or expenses.

 

[Hay Dude]

I just put $3,000 worth of parts + calibration cost by a tech to make like $4,000 worth of hay.

Bad ending to my hay year for me.

 

[Tx Jim]

Aw just think that $3k is tax deductible!! Parts are extremely high $$$$$ & quality is down!

 

[LHF2019]

I feel for your problem. As you're probably already aware 4.96 small sq bales per acre isn't really worth the effort or expenses.

It absolutely is not worth it but we tend to put the customer before ourselves right or wrong. We will sell these 124 bales then turn around and buy someone else's hay that is not up to our standards or worth the money to make sure our animals are fed. Not sure if we really need to but would rather buy now while supply is good then find out later. Something most customers don't think about. I want 200 bales of baleage going into winter to be comfortable. We only made 140. It is Aug. 1st cutting so not even quality. On top of that I don't normally start feeding hay until about this time of year or for a couple more weeks. I've been feeding some for couple months now. Just a bad year all around. To much rain. Then no rain. One extreme or the other one can deal. 2 in the same season is a recipe for disaster.

 

[Tx Jim]

I feel your struggle. We had too much rain earlier in the year & now it's turned off too dry. I still have good height of grass in my pastures but I've been feeding my cows hay for over a month. My theory is if my cattle eat the hay they must need it. I want my calves to gain every # that they can before I sell them.

 

[Hay Dude]

Today (The Lords Day) is my last day of hay for 2025. I will really miss making hay until next year.
I am going to finish with a few more bales in a HOA that has 2 small “pea patches” and I am DONE.
I don’t like to work Sunday, but with rain coming tomorrow and the equipment ready & waiting to roll, I am going to finish no matter what….unless something breaks

 

[LHF2019]

Today (The Lords Day) is my last day of hay for 2025. I will really miss making hay until next year.
I am going to finish with a few more bales in a HOA that has 2 small “pea patches” and I am DONE.
I don’t like to work Sunday, but with rain coming tomorrow and the equipment ready & waiting to roll, I am going to finish no matter what….unless something breaks

I think we are done. Maybe in November I'll change my mind but the weather pattern is shifting so expecting rain to continue in near future. Just not much growth out there still. The worst thing though that can happen is we get enough rain to cancel out the Sept/Oct Rain insurance. That would hit me hard.

Bought our 2nd load of hay to feed our animals yesterday.

 

[Hay Dude]

I am seriously contemplating some 3rd cutting this year. I went back and looked at my earliest cut 2nd cutting fields, but they’re loaded with the little tiny “baby” foxtail. I wonder if that is a non-starter for feed? The seed heads are so tiny.