Not cutting late

[BryanM]

Will it hurt anything if I dont cut my 4th cutting? It probably stands 8inches high, Which will probably not give me very much but I square bale and dont beleieve I can get it dry this late. So if I just let it go will it hurt anything for next year?

 

[kwswan]

nope, won't hurt a thing.

 

[Thomas]

If anything might be good bedding hay.

 

[blueriver]

I don't know where you are located ... around here everything is selling. If I had it I would cut rake and round bale it.

Either way it won't be hurt.

 

[Duffster]

It will winter better with that much cover on it.

 

[Niji]

There's nothing wrong with not cutting the hay, like folks are saying. However, if you have certain weeds getting into the field, like milkweed, it can be beneficial to get those clipped off to keep from going to seed and spreading the weeds worse for next year. The local extension guy explained to me last year when we were in a bad drought, that it would be worth a little fuel to clip off my pitiful second cutting (it was hardly worth chasing the clippings around with the rake) just to help control some weeds that were starting to show up.

In the last week here, I've had a sudden spike in interest for people wanting to buy hay. So like Blueriver said, it might just be a little more money in the bank, too.

 

[Hoosier Hay Man]

Depending on where you at and what it is. If you are in the midwest and it is alfalfa I would say definitly let it go. Odds are you wouldn't get enough growth back before a hard freeze to prevent heaving and freezing it out. I have some now like that I have refrained from cutting. I have let it go in past years because getting it dry this time a year is near impossible and taking the chance of it not getting enough growth back before old man winter arrives (early this year in some locations).