# When to mow alfalfa.



## gerkendave (Jan 8, 2014)

When is the proper stage of plant life to mow my alfalfa? Do you all wait for it to start blooming or do you mow just before it blooms? Mine in central Nebraska is thick and over knee high right now just getting buds no blooms yet.


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

This has been covered in several really good threads. The answer to your question is that it depends on your goals. The earlier that you cut, the higher the rfv will be. The later you cut, the higher the tonnage per acre. 
I try to cut at 10 to 15% bloom.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Lets not forget weather as well, if the forecast is iffy and it's just starting to bloom no need to get in a hurry.

Year after year, at least here I have a easier time and make more money on getting rid of mature hay compared to rained on.


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## MT hayer (Mar 1, 2014)

I sure like to start cutting at the 5% stage because the end stuff gets mature. If a guy waits to long, you just get stems.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

If your stands are a mix and are strong percentage of grass you probably do not need to be in a hurry much of that type of hay here gets made 3rd week of June . If you have mostly Alfalfa 85% or better 10% to 80% bloom occurs within several days and once it is fully mature the rains affect quality even while it is standing .


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

That's a loaded question for sure. Different final goals=different answer. Do you want more tonnage or more quality? For many years, Dad wouldn't let me cut till 35% bloom cuz he wanted more tons. When I started taking over the management aspect, I started going for better quality. We don't dairy but instill like to put up dairy quality for my beef cows. I get less tonnage, but actually end up with more tonnage if that makes sense? I can make a hotter ration using less purchased feed stuffs due to the higher quality. Just the way I do things different than my Dad did. Of course he won't admit he likes my idea better... :/


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

If it's rr alfalfa your Monsanto agreement tells you. Or like above your goals of production vs. feed tests.


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## gerkendave (Jan 8, 2014)

Awesome thanks for the input. I knew it surely was covered somewhere else but I'm on my mobile and for some reason I never get the search to work well. But thanks again for the help now I don't feel quite so rushed with the rain coming in we have no blossoms yet so hopefully it just keeps growing taller until we get a break from the rain!


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

I dont know if it applies to alfalfa here but saw some interesting research on barley silage from western Canada. A lot of places cut in the flag leaf or early heading to get the highest quality. It was found thar here the best time to cut was just when the plant started to turn yellow. This got the highesr quality and being cut later had more tons too. The research found that because of our longer days there was less linagin(sp) the fiber in the plant. It would be interesting to see if that applied to alfalfa too.


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## astropilot (Jun 3, 2008)

I like the peaq stick from University of Wisconsin. It really allows the users to get and accurate measurement of the RFV & RFQ thus making better hay.


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

Cut before the ReGrowth Buds on the crown become tall enough to be clipped by your mower.

All the Rest is noise.


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## Liberty1 (Jun 17, 2014)

I use the PEAQ stick from UW. It's awesome and makes it very clear what the RFQ is on an average. $15.00 and it sure helps.


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## shortrow (Feb 21, 2012)

I mow mine when I have a good feeling about the weather, and just can't stand it anymore. Sometimes I'm right, sometimes wrong.


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