Oats for hay?

[bdw593]

Been reading some articles on hay crops and come across an article on oat hay... Just wanting opinions/experience growing oat hay...
After the drought in Kentucky last year and the lack of a good hay crop, I am looking for a earlier season harvest that would produce a high quality hay.

One question I have is, can I seed/ drill the oats in with existing fescue/clover and pasture grass? So once I got a cutting of hay with the oats I could cut pasture grass later in the season?

Thanks in advance for all the advice, there us a wealth of knowledge in here and I have learned alot reading the forums here.... Thanks again..

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

One question I have is, can I seed/ drill the oats in with existing fescue/clover and pasture grass? So once I got a cutting of hay with the oats I could cut pasture grass later in the season?

That should work.
Oats aren't too hard to grow

 

[Loren49]

The challenge with oats for hay is if you need to get it dry and the weather doesn't cooperate. Young oats contains a good deal of water. In the past I cut it daily and fed it green. Of course I was dealing with the climate in Northern NY so you may not have the same issues.

Loren

 

[oldnslo]

I have chopped it for oatlage but like Loren49 stated, never tried baling it due to moisture here in the north.

If you get a wet spring will the oats grow that much faster than the fescue/clover? Or did the drought kill the clover?

I have used oats as a cover crop for reseeding clover.

Roy

 

[dieselscout80]

Out west in Montana and North Dakota I've seen it done a bunch, but moisture/humidity isn't an issue out there.

 

[bdw593]

Weather in Kentucky is.... To say the least unpredictable.... Last year we had a good spring with adequate rain... Then it didnt rain for months... So for the most part in a normal year I think it would b able to cure out fine...

I had a few friends that had clover that got rained on after cutting and ruined their hay crop. Then after their cutting the drought killed out their clover stand... Most farmers I know are using all there hay reserves, and right now hay is in very limited quantities so if I dont get a good crop this year we are in trouble... Have looked into teff hay to buy have read mixed reviews... They say it is very drought tolerant but hard to cure out... Just really trying to plan ahead so I ain't stuck with starving animals next winter..

Any suggestions appreciated.... And thanks for the replies...

 

[flusher]

Been reading some articles on hay crops and come across an article on oat hay... Just wanting opinions/experience growing oat hay...
After the drought in Kentucky last year and the lack of a good hay crop, I am looking for a earlier season harvest that would produce a high quality hay.

One question I have is, can I seed/ drill the oats in with existing fescue/clover and pasture grass? So once I got a cutting of hay with the oats I could cut pasture grass later in the season?

Thanks in advance for all the advice, there us a wealth of knowledge in here and I have learned alot reading the forums here.... Thanks again..

I grow Kanota oats on my 6-acre hayfield (plant in Nov, harvest the following May). Makes good hay. I drill it with my 10-ft wide (20 drops) restored Minneapolis Moline P3-6 drill, mow with a 7-ft sicklebar (plan to buy a drum mower next season), bale with a Massey Ferguson 124 small square baler and clean up the stubble with a 68" wide flail mower.

No reason why you couldn't cut pasture grass after the oats are baled. Can't do that here because the only stuff that grows in triple digit summer temperatures is yellow star thistle, wild mustard and a few other weeds.

Good luck.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Oat hay is premium horse hay, that doesn't cause the health problems like clover or alfalfa. To help it dry faster, you might run a tedder over it. I don't think it is so wet but the stems are thicker and dry slower. Mashing them should help.