# Alfalfa Hay in North Carolina Mountains? Small scale



## B-Edwards (Jan 3, 2013)

I have thirteen acres and access to 30 more (my Dad) . I need to do something with the land so it can be listed as farm for taxes.

I grew up on a dairy farm and at one time we grew Alfalfa. We bailed it dry and also bagged it green, the cows would go crazy over the bagged stuff. I never seen them as excited over any other type of feed.

I already have a tractor (85 hp JD) , square bailer, round bailer, rake and disk mower. Other than the tractor the hay equipment is my dads. I will have to buy a 135 or something similar to rake with and am considering an accumulator to handle the bales. I have storage and plan on using my rollback to haul with a trailer attached. I have a skid-steer to pack the barn with using the accumulator. I have a good friend on the inside of horse racing so if i can grow a fine product I am sure I can sell it but I have no idea on numbers. I would want to produce the best possible but know that weather here can be frustrating. Elevation is around 2800 to 3000 ft.

I dont want to lose money but will not depend on this to make a living as I am semi-retired and have other things going on but not so much that I cant mow when i need to. I'm in a pretty good situation to do this but I do like to go on vacation when I want.

Just some thoughts from your perspective might open my eyes to something I've missed. I would really appreciate any thoughts or advise you have. Thanks in advance.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

I started growing Alfalfa last year for the first time ever.....it has a terrible learning curve.....but three major things that I learned here in East Tennessee....

1. In this region of the Southeast, it is very difficult to get Alfalfa to dry before it loses a great deal of color. One needs to use a preservative of some sorts to reduce number of days in the sun/dew exposure. Humidity HERE is extremely difficult to deal with as being at the foot of the Appalachian Mountain Range in the South, our humidities can be horrendous for very long periods of time due to the extremely dense vegetation in the region....millions of acres of dense hardwood forests, laurel, and rhododendron.

2. Alfalfa does not sell as well HERE as I had expected.....I am not sure why.....but I expect that the economy has alot to do with this.....and the lack of dairies in the South.

3. Alfalfa has to be babysitted.....alfalfa is like rabbits....everything in the world wants to eat it. Here in the Southeast, we are plaqued with leafhoppers.....the little devils come early in the year and stay late HERE. They are a destroyer and a variety resistant to these heathens is a must.

I think you would be better off in this area of the country with a nice stand of Orchard grass with some Timothy mixed in for good measure.....I have sold this combination here for over 35 years and it always sells at a good price.....I also believe that Teff grass has a good future, but must be planted every year. Once established, there is much less maintenance to Orchard/Tim than with many others.

Regards, Mike


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## Bob M (Feb 11, 2012)

I would agree with Mike, Alfalfa can be a great crop, but it does take alot of management. Timing is alot more important with Alfalfa. I think you are wise in that you are checking to see what the market wants and needs. You can make the best hay, but if there is no market not so good.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

With your background, you realize much less than 100 acres may not yield enough to justify your equipment enventory.

I can not talk to your cool season Northern Grasses, but quality bermudagrass hay is as challanging as alfalfa quality alfalfa hay. 
The thing is a bale of bermudagrass stems looks good, while a bale of alfalfa stems looks like a bundle of sticks.

If you NEED a mower conditioner, I suggest one of the NH disk mower conditioners. That you take the windrow shaping doors off and maybe install their after sale option that can spread the hay out the full width of the mowing machine. Then if you can expose the hay that first day to 5.5 hours of direct sunshine, the hay can cure down to less than 48% moisture. This is the magic moisture level where respiration stops. You also knock a full day off the time to cure. *[sup] [/sup]*
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I suggest you study the W V Forage Publication http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/pubnwsltr/TRIM/5811.pdf *PROPER HANDLING AND CURING OF HAY[sup]1. [/sup]*An Execllent publication![sup] [/sup]PIf you have any questions e_mail me direct at [email protected] after Wednesday the 9th. In the mean time I will be at the AFGC conference Bill Wilson


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## blueridgehay (Dec 25, 2012)

I live here in these mtns. and I can tell you from experience that it is extremely difficult to grow quality Alfalfa. I would not even waste my time trying. We can, however, grew some of the prettiest orchard/Timothy mix you will ever see. Bermuda will not survive up here either. I am at the same elevation you are and have no problem selling all the orchard/timothy mix I can produce.


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## jturbo10 (Feb 28, 2011)

I totally agree with those suggesting a crop of timothy/orchard grass versus alfalfa. If you are semi-retired you need a crop that is easier to manage and with more flexibility in production and marketing. I produce bermuda vice alfalfa for that reason and it has been surprisingly profitable. I have plenty of horse customers who appreciate a high quality bale at a reasonable price. One piece of equipment I would suggest purchasing if you have problems getting reliable help is a New Holland stackliner which I think is more efficient than a bale accumulator and I don't like dragging equipment behind my baler. I have put up over 1200 bales by myself in one day which is only about 11-12 round trips to the field. Luckily my fields are all near my hay barn. Stackliners can be purchased from several refurbish dealers for about 5-7000 dollars for pull types. For some customers I have picked the bales up in the field for them and stacked it by their trailers and let them use my skeleton conveyor to load their trailers. Once of the reasons I don't like accumulators is the compaction factor as you make a lot of trips over the field to the barn or to load trailers. Figure it out...a ten bale accumulator dump in a 1200 bale field means a lot of back and forth compaction with loaders and trailers. JMHO


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## blueridgehay (Dec 25, 2012)

I agree that in a east Texas, a stack wagon, pull or self-propelled, would make more sense than a accumlator. But the one thing that we have to deal with in these parts, is the terrain. Most of my fields are steep or have some type of elevation change. Yes, we do have some creek and river bottoms, but they are few and far between. For me, the accumlator system works the best. I find a level spot, park my trailers, then bring the hay to them. Strap them and I'm done. A stack wagon could be interesting up here.


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## jturbo10 (Feb 28, 2011)

My stackwagon has no problems with hills or terrain if you slow down in rough conditions which really surprised me. I do have a few bales not stay on their side coming out of the quarter turn baler chute when the baler is going through a depression and has side to side motion.


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