# Getting Started with a Hay Field



## Robert1617 (Nov 13, 2009)

I have a small plot of land in NE Texas that I would like to plant in some type of hay. I assume this would be bermuda grass, but are there other types of grass to consider?

Can you broadcast the seeds or do you have to prepare the soilbed?

How high does the grass need to be before it is cut?

How soon after you cut it, do you rake it?

How dry does the grass need to be before you bale it?

How much fertilizer and how often does this need to be applied?


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

I suggest you contact your *County* Extension Office, they will have a good supply of information for all your questions. 
At Overton there is an Extension Experiment Station with a good supply of very knowledgeable people. The State Forage Extension Specialist there is DR Vanessa Corriher [email protected]. From time to time they have an open house or field day where you can see and feel what they are talking about.


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## Customfarming (Oct 8, 2009)

The main grasses that are planted in NE TX is a variety of bermudagrass. Coastal, Tifton-44, and Tifton-85 are your main varieties. T-44 and coastal is about the same but T-44 yields a little more and T-85 yields the most with the highest protein. We try to cut every 21 days but weather is a big factor. To plant these varieties you have to prepare your soil for planting which is done by sprigging which is planting the grass roots. These grasses cannot be grown from seed.

For little squares the moisture needs to be less than 16% and round less 18%. Coastal, and T-44 during the summer you can cut one day let it lay a day and bale and rake at the same time on the 2nd day after cutting. T-85 is a little different you need a mower conditioner preferably tine conditioner and a tedder to fluff the hay out. T-85 takes a day or two longer to dry than coastal or T-44. T-85 is thicker and harder to cure than the other grasses but produces more with higher quality. If T-85 is fertilize correctly and have rain it is not uncommon to have over 100 60lb squares testing over 17% protein. Fertilize after each cutting. These grasses need about 60-65 lbs of nitrogen per acre after each cutting. Pot ash helps the roots grow and makes it the stands thicker. We fertilize 250-300lbs of 25-0-15 per acre after each cutting.

Where are you located in NE TX? How many acres are you planning to do? I am located in that area. We can prepare, and plant those three grasses depending on how many acres and your location. We have a 20 acre minimum.


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

*T-85 is thicker and harder to cure than the other grasses but produces more with higher quality. If T-85 is fertilize correctly and have rain it is not uncommon to have over 100 60lb squares testing over 17% protein. Fertilize after each cutting. These grasses need about 60-65 lbs of nitrogen per acre after each cutting. Potash helps the roots grow and makes it the stands thicker. We fertilize 250-300lbs of 25-0-15 per acre after each cutting.*

The first thing that caught my eye was his harvesting on a *21 day interval*. 
According to the people in Georgia, a 21 day interval should result in a 17.5% CP & 65% TDN. He is right on. . 
*17.5% CP *is *2.80% N* or *56 lbs N/T* of hay removed.

I try to have a 42 day interval which results in roughly a 12% CP. HERE 12% CP is about as high a protein that people will pay for. This is because 12% CP is the highest a cow can process in the rumen. For a horse 65% TDN is like feeding a kid candy.

All the above is contingent on managing the harvesting to preserve the leaves. 
_Upon reflection East Texas bermudagrass hay is to a great extent is grown for the dairy industry. Therefore there is a market for a grass hay cut on a 21 day interval. _ 
It is a proven fact that T-85 will provide more pounds of milk or muscle than the industry standard, which is coastal bermudagrass. The reason is with it's thick stems the feed quality for the stems is close to the feed quality for the leaves. It is for this reason that Tifton 85 does so well as a standing dry forage. It is also more forgiving when it comes baling too dry and loosing too many leaves.

For baling during the daytime we need to start when the humidity is at or below 65% but above 55% or even 50%. This is for the humidity measured at the windrow's level not eye level and for sure not at some Weather Station. 
There is some interesting reading at http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/pubnwsltr/TRIM/5811.pdf

As mentioned one drawback for T-85 is the thicker stems need conditioning for timely curing. Coastal cures very well without conditioning, if left in a wide swath and has little or no johnsongrass or other weeds.

Coastal bermudagrass is the grass that all bermudagrasses are compared to. Not mentioned bermudagrass is Jiggs. Jiggs is superior to coastal at the Overton Station. It is the fastest spreading of all the bermudagrasses used in East Texas. 
Here Jiggs is only appropriate on wet ground. It can be a real turkey, on dry clay ground, in the Blacklands.

300 lbs of 25-0-15 is 75 lbs of nitrogen and 45 lbs of K2O. A little more Nitrogen than & about right for the amount of potash removed by a ton of hay.

A 100 bale/A cutting is just over 3 T/A. on a cutting. A real challenge to bale into small square bales. You will find you will need to bale a round and pick up that round before baling the next windrow. With a windrow large enough to have room to bale may require a tractor with a creeper gear. 
A 100 bale cutting will use the fertilizer in 1,000 lbs of the blend. When I have a 3 ton cutting, I round bale the hay. That is 4 to 5 RB's/A.

There is a tendency for all of to impose our hay growing onto that of another market,climate, and soil. From what I have heard of the ground in East Texas nitrogen will persist maybe 6 weeks, but the grazing dairies see the nitrogen starting to play out at 3 weeks. Here we can fertilize during the winter and concentrate on harvesting during the summer. Nitrogen persists for years rather than weeks, here. Here bermudagrass yield is still improving 42 days after the previous cutting. 
Here summer drought is much more of a problem. For drought tolerance a higher level of potash is advised.


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## Customfarming (Oct 8, 2009)

Hay wilson why do you say there needs to be humidity over 50% for baling during the day? Grass hay has a totally different method then baling alfalfa or soybean hay. Grass hay does not have the leaf loss like in legumes. If you rake grass hay before it is completely cured out then good luck getting it to cure out correctly before baling. Most of the time if the windrow is left over night and have some dew in the morning that windrow will never dry out unless turned. We dont start raking unless we know that we can start baling shortly after no matter the humidity. The rake usually starts about an hour ahead simply for the fact the balers will catch the rake hand and rakes just enough so that it can be baled that day.

The reason we use 25-0-15 is because we dig our roots every year and we are in deep sand. If you don't dig T-85 the stems will get smaller and become just as soft as coastal in a couple of years. Never really had a problem baling little squares in the 3T/a hay. If we let our grass go for over 42 days we will have a major problem getting it cut and baled. All of our grasses will be laying down with second growth growing through.

Have seen jiggs and T-85 side by side and T-85 will out produce it. Jiggs up here can get rust on the leaves. Bermudagrass will spread quickly if kept short without cutting the runners. If sprigged at 40 bushel per acre in a decent year and managed decently you can get at least two cuttings off the field. We sprigged some new land this year had a wet spring then turned dry during june and most of july and got three decent cuttings off of it.


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## drummincowboy (6 mo ago)

Howdy everyone! I have a 2.45 Acres of land in Burton,Texas and I want to grow some Hay on it...Is it possible and how can I get started? Sincerely,Bill


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Welcome to HayTalk
One needs to soil test, apply fertilizer, till the soil, distribute Bermuda sprigs then cover sprigs with soil.
2.45 acres is not large enough for a custom hay baler operator to realize a profit to harvest or for land owner to purchase hay equipment & be profitable. Do you have a close neighbor that owns hay equipment?


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