# When is the best stage too cut the wheat or oats to make hay?



## fmfracer44 (Jan 19, 2012)

I'm wondering when is the best stage to cut wheat or oats to make for hay. Usually I see it cut down when the milky part of the seed turns to a soft grain. Can someone explain to me?


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

That is what we do around here. At this stage you get max tonnage. But to make sure at this stage you dont end up with just straw and grain you need to plant a forage breed. That way you will have some grain in the head but the plant will still be green. We call it greenfeed around here not hay. Done right can make good feed. done wrong can end up with not much more than straw


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## panhandle9400 (Jan 17, 2010)

Wheat hay depends if it is beardless or bearded ? The best wheat hay is layed down in late boot stage for best quality . I will let beardless go just a little longer to get more tonnage . Oats , I like to lay them down soon after headed out , if you let them go to long they will produce too much seed, which dont hurt if you are grinding them into a feed ration. If you want tonnage let them go a while .I prefer not to let either crop get too far along due to grain can be a issue for some people in their hay.


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## fmfracer44 (Jan 19, 2012)

I hear ya I jus wanted to make sure I was on the same page. And what way do u guys check if its ready to bale? Do u check the knuckles so there dry?


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

hog987 said:


> That is what we do around here. At this stage you get max tonnage. But to make sure at this stage you dont end up with just straw and grain you need to plant a forage breed. That way you will have some grain in the head but the plant will still be green. We call it greenfeed around here not hay. Done right can make good feed. done wrong can end up with not much more than straw


Same here hog. I used to let it sit a bit and bale it and wrap it. I backgrounded alot of calves on that and supplement licks. They grew great but I cant really answer the question about baling it dry.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

For the very best quality boot stage is when it needs to be cut....I feel that a good balance of quality vs quantity is when it first heads out and is pollinating. Even if you plan on cutting as soon as the heads emerge it may end up being to the milk stage before you can cut if the weather doesn't cooperate. It seems like you have about a 10 day window to catch it right. If you wait any longer than the milk stage you will end up with grain in the hay and the stems will be more like straw. You do not want grain in it if it is going to be in square bales as it will draw every rat in the county and they will chew the twine when burrowing into the bales for the grain. For bearded wheat it needs to be cut before the heads emerge in the boot stage.


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## LaneFarms (Apr 10, 2010)

My market for oat hay is a little different in the horse market wants some grain in it. We cut ours just before it starts to dry down. It does make it easier to dry down.


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## fmfracer44 (Jan 19, 2012)

FarmerCline said:


> For the very best quality boot stage is when it needs to be cut....I feel that a good balance of quality vs quantity is when it first heads out and is pollinating. Even if you plan on cutting as soon as the heads emerge it may end up being to the milk stage before you can cut if the weather doesn't cooperate. It seems like you have about a 10 day window to catch it right. If you wait any longer than the milk stage you will end up with grain in the hay and the stems will be more like straw. You do not want grain in it if it is going to be in square bales as it will draw every rat in the county and they will chew the twine when burrowing into the bales for the grain. For bearded wheat it needs to be cut before the heads emerge in the boot stage.


What exactly do u mean boot stage?


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## Guest (Jan 9, 2014)

Boot stage is when the head of the wheat plant first starts to develop. It just becomes visible as it comes out of the leaf of the plant. This is when I've always understood to make wheat hay or wheatlage. It is also a very tight window where it can become too late as the head will become to developed into grain and the plant starts to dry out


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## panhandle9400 (Jan 17, 2010)

bbos said:


> Boot stage is when the head of the wheat plant first starts to develop. It just becomes visible as it comes out of the leaf of the plant. This is when I've always understood to make wheat hay or wheatlage. It is also a very tight window where it can become too late as the head will become to developed into grain and the plant starts to dry out


Wheat starts the head as soon as it goes into joint stage, it is located deep in the stem right below 1 st joint, you can always tell where the boot is by the flag leaf .


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

The easiest way I have found to tell if it is in the boot stage is be looking for the flag leaf....it is the last leaf to emerge from the plant....at this point the head will be inside the stem right below the flag leaf and you will normally see a swollen bulge where the head is. In a few days the head will emerge and the boot stage is past.


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## fmfracer44 (Jan 19, 2012)

FarmerCline said:


> The easiest way I have found to tell if it is in the boot stage is be looking for the flag leaf....it is the last leaf to emerge from the plant....at this point the head will be inside the stem right below the flag leaf and you will normally see a swollen bulge where the head is. In a few days the head will emerge and the boot stage is past.





FarmerCline said:


> The easiest way I have found to tell if it is in the boot stage is be looking for the flag leaf....it is the last leaf to emerge from the plant....at this point the head will be inside the stem right below the flag leaf and you will normally see a swollen bulge where the head is. In a few days the head will emerge and the boot stage is past.


could someone post a picture by what u mean by flag leaf??


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## gradyjohn (Jul 17, 2012)

We do it in the doe or boot stage. When a plant heads out the leaf to stem ratio changes. Rule of thumb is 60-40 to 40-60. Of course, that is based on optimum conditions.


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

What we've seen here if you let Oats go to the dough stage the seeds will drop off the stems and the cows will burrow deep to get to the seeds and waste a lot hay doing so. This past season Oats hay here was near perfect, still looks like new money when you open up a bale and no mold, dust or caramelizing. The cows eat like it was candy and dang it smells good.

This has a bit of grassy crap in it.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

fmfracer44 said:


> could someone post a picture by what u mean by flag leaf??


 I would but I don't have a picture.....you might be able to find one on the internet.


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

If someone could find a picture of that I'd like to see it.

Article on Oats for Forage:

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2011/0621barnhart.htm


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