# Alfalfa -Before or after bloom



## Stitch (Jul 21, 2016)

When i was a kid we had close family friends that had over 300 acres in alfalfa, which i helped bale quite a bit. As soon as they saw the first blooms wed run out and cut it. Ive read a bunch recently that its better to let it all bloom and then mow it for the first cutting. How do ya'all do it?


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Bud stage, with first blossoms, then about ever 30-35 days (depending upon weather, naturally).

Everyone can be different, if you want more quantity, cut later, quality cut earlier, happy medium cut in the middle.

I try attaching a piece by Hesston, see page 15 for (what I think is) a nice chart.

This is in MY area, YOUR area could be different.

Larry


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

r82230 said:


> Bud stage, with first blossoms, then about ever 30-35 days (depending upon weather, naturally).
> 
> Everyone can be different, if you want more quantity, cut later, quality cut earlier, happy medium cut in the middle.
> 
> ...


X 2


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

I start at 1/10 th bloom and by time I'm done cutting its full bloom.I'm after tonnage not high test dairy hay.

It's good to let one cutting go to full bloom for longevity of the stand is what They say.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

But before anything focus on cutting with a good weather window. Bloom comes second to weather.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

swmnhay said:


> I start at 1/10 th bloom and by time I'm done cutting its full bloom.I'm after tonnage not high test dairy hay.
> 
> It's good to let one cutting go to full bloom for longevity of the stand is what They say.


If its true about letting one goto bloom then with the weather we've had the last few springs all my fields should outlast me&#8230;


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## Beav (Feb 14, 2016)

only have 20 acres if weather is good bud stage to 10% bloom. At 10% bloom still tests pretty good but after that starts to get a little woody


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

We don't cut any first cutting in early bud you just lose too much tonnage.. For our Dairy herd we start at the first sign of Blossom and then we continue and we bust our butt to get it all made buy full bloom. You can talk about quality versus maturity forever. I always think where the most money is lost if you do not get alfalfa made buy full bloom and it stands in the field fully mature. Everyone always realizes the quality is going downhill but the big income robber at that point is your losing growing season if you got a mature crop stand in the field


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## jedp (Mar 18, 2017)

Depends on how I'm getting paid????. If I'm in at $0.85 per point them it gets knocked down at >10% bloom. If by the ton, I might let it get pretty tall and rank, approaching full bloom. Always chaps my hide a bit custom cutting for certain customers who buy standing. I guess they buy it standing so the can have it cut when they want but the grower often gets screwed as the buyer pays by the ton yet cuts for highest quality/test. I've seen standing algalfa go for $50/ton...after, we made it into a bale that tested 260 RFV....i just felt like shame on somebody!


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

jedp said:


> Depends on how I'm getting paid. If I'm in at $0.85 per point them it gets knocked down at >10% bloom. If by the ton, I might let it get pretty tall and rank, approaching full bloom. Always chaps my hide a bit custom cutting for certain customers who buy standing. I guess they buy it standing so the can have it cut when they want but the grower often gets screwed as the buyer pays by the ton yet cuts for highest quality/test. I've seen standing algalfa go for $50/ton...after, we made it into a bale that tested 260 RFV....i just felt like shame on somebody!


If I had to guess, most of the land owners don't have a clue what is happening either. It is their responsibility to know the circumstances and the market.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Lostin55 said:


> If I had to guess, most of the land owners don't have a clue what is happening either. It is their responsibility to know the circumstances and the market.


Yeah that is true. It kinda happened to us with a neighbor. Before we got a big baler we would sell 1st and 4th cutting alfalfa to the neighbor standing. He claimed he was going to feed it to his cows and horses. He was hauling it up the road to get weighed at the dairy up the road. But the hay didn't leave the dairy. Found out he was getting double what he was paying us. Although we never sold for less then $90/ton it was in the years that hay price was very high. He didn't even have to cut the hay. Just rake, bale and haul. That was the tipping point into getting us into big squares.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Quite a few people think once alfalfa is budding there is no more growth or increase in tonnage.SMH

"THEY" told them that.


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## Farmineer95 (Aug 11, 2014)

I was recently asked the question" when do you make your hay"? Well it it proportional to the confidence level in the majority of the local weatherman and the maturity level of the crop and how soft the fields are.

When I feel like it! haha. I can't see forcing a crop to keep by adding acid and I can't see rutting up a hay field. It never fails that it rains on the day it would be perfect to put up.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Farmineer95 said:


> I was recently asked the question" when do you make your hay"? Well it it proportional to the confidence level in the majority of the local weatherman and the maturity level of the crop and how soft the fields are.
> 
> When I feel like it! haha. I can't see forcing a crop to keep by adding acid and I can't see rutting up a hay field. It never fails that it rains on the day it would be perfect to put up.


I never fail to confuse non farmers when they ask how i like the rain or if we need rain. Usually when they ask if I like the rain I have hay down or need to cut.


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## nathanhrnicek (Mar 6, 2013)

Depending on the end use for the alfalfa, that will determine my recommendations for producers. If chasing high quality, I recommend utilizing scissor clippings method to take a predictive and proactive approach to the quality parameter. If strictly chasing tons, I think some of the above mentioned posts are spot on!


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

Teslan said:


> But before anything focus on cutting with a good weather window. Bloom comes second to weather.


This year, I agree with Teslan. Alfalfa may be more than 50% in bloom and haven't dared make first cutting. But, finally may get a week-long rainless window beginning this coming Thursday and if that doesn't change, we'll initiate the first cutting then. Normally, we go for 10% bloom, or so, if we have a good weather window.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Ideally I would like to cut at early bloom. Unfortunately the weather doesn't always allow that here. The past two years alfalfa has been full bloom before I got the weather to cut and this year it look like its is going to be the same. Even though first cutting has larger stems it seems like the alfalfa holds its quality in the field at a later maturity better this time of year than it does in the middle of the summer.


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## muffntuf (May 1, 2017)

Depends on what you are cutting for- bovine dairy, bovine beef, equine.


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