# What to do with mature hay



## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

With rain in my area and lack of experience, I got a late start. Only 2 of 5 fields cut. What remains is browning and headed out real bad. Once hay customer pointed out that he thought it was too mature to feed to horses.
Question: Do I still small aquare bale it, or do I take the round baler to it and sell it as mushroom or cow hay?
Thanks.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Roll it....horsey folks can give you a bad rap....only takes one to give it to you, IMO .....besides still have more hay to make this year


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## Texasmark (Dec 20, 2011)

My hay patch is finally coming alive after late planting for me too......but that's ok tool Enjoyed the benefits of a mild, cool winter, and plenty of moisture. So I will have some mature hay in waiting for the late bloomers to get up to cutting size.

I don't have a crimper any longer and will surely have some big stems so what I decided to do was to get the hay on the ground with my drum mower, which by the way makes windrows, and come back maybe the next day with my shredder and run down the windrow and chop it all up. Then let it dry and roll in conventional fashion.

I don't attempt to cater to the horse market....too picky. Mine will be for my cattle and will sell some to friends if I have excess.

On nutritional value, I realize the stems could be hard to digest, but not for a ruminant and they will be chopped up so that they can get them down. With the seeds mixed in with the stems seems to me that the nutrition just changed places but is still there.

Additional boost, is that I will do some pasture reseeding in the process which is ok fine with me.

That's the way it's looking from here.

Mark


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Depends what you have for markets in your area.Here there is good market for grinding hay for feedlots or stock cow hay.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

What type of hay is it?
If it is a hay with a large stem then I might roll and sell as cow hay.

If you can get it cured, have a place to store and do not need the cash flow then you might hold on to it until winter. Hungry horses can get a lot more feed value out of mature hay when their belly is empty.

One of the things I have learned is to never apologize for hay when selling it. I tell them Mother Nature dictated the maturity of the hay. Tell them it was cured and put up with out rain and let them make the decision.


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## mulberrygrovefamilyfarm (Feb 11, 2009)

I'm with somedevildawg but also Tim/South. I don't sell to horse people anything that isn't my best unless they're hurting for it. What I've found around here is that cattle folk will complain to others about the price they paid for your hay that "wasn't worth it", but most cattle folk figure that it's on them for being poor negotiators. But horse people tell everyone about the "bad hay" that they got from you and horse people pin that on you for selling poor quality hay. Doesn't have to make sense, they're horse people. In late winter if I get a call from a horse customer and if I don't have any horse quality hay, I say that I only have cow hay. If they're hurting for it they'll buy some "just to get by" until they can find some, and I'll still have them as a horse customer next year.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

mulberrygrovefamilyfarm said:


> In late winter if I get a call from a horse customer and if I don't have any horse quality hay, I say that I only have cow hay. If they're hurting for it they'll buy some "just to get by" until they can find some, and I'll still have them as a horse customer next year.


Never hurts to use a littlle psychology on the psychotic....it just makes for good horse sense..









Regards, Mike


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

*I give up trying to figure them out.Horsey people.*

*Horsey lady tells me I brought them the best hay they've had in a long time.No waste or weeds in it.Then she doesn't call for 3 months and tells me how bad the hay that they got was from another guy.Said they had to use it for hog bedding,horses would not eat it.Said she lost my number.LOL.They know where I live 5 miles away.Well she got 2 more loads of hay but musta lost my number again,lol.they shoulda been out a week ago.*


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## OneManShow (Mar 17, 2009)

I would bale it if it is at all green. It might look bad now, but it will look much better next February. I find even the more discerning horse hay customers become much less picky as supplies dwindle. Plus it'll make your nice hay look even better. We're sold out of everything-I would like to get some new hay in the barn but we can't get around the rain.


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

Horsey people don't know crap about hay. Only what their vet told them and he don't know crap about hay either unless he farms on the side. JMHO


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

It's thinner stemmy orchard grass timothy mix. Plenty of fine grasses in there, too. I did get a call back about one load that a customer picked up from me. She said "they ate it for 5 minutes, then they stopped eating it".
I told her repeatedly to take a free bale and feed it to see if yourr horses like it, but she looked it over and decided to buy 65 bales. Now I feel like she doesn't like it and_ might _bad mouth me, but I'd doubt it.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

I am from central Pa and in my neighborhood at least one thousand acres of orchard grass was baled in the last 3 days and most still has a good color I am sure much of it will end up as horse hay .As was said before that hay will look good this winter if it gets dry later in the season .The mature hay will dry in less than 2 days now . mature hay that is left in the sun after it is dry will quickly lose quality and color. At the Lancaster county hay auctions, Mature Orchard grass that is bailed properly will still bring a good price in small bales.. In round bales it will not sell well at auction . THE Mushroom guys will currently pay $80 .


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## Nitram (Apr 2, 2011)

JD3430 said:


> It's thinner stemmy orchard grass timothy mix. Plenty of fine grasses in there, too. I did get a call back about one load that a customer picked up from me. She said "they ate it for 5 minutes, then they stopped eating it".
> I told her repeatedly to take a free bale and feed it to see if yourr horses like it, but she looked it over and decided to buy 65 bales. Now I feel like she doesn't like it and_ might _bad mouth me, but I'd doubt it.


If your worried offer to take it back and tell her, her business is important to you and want her satisfied. This gives her the opportunity to see you stand behind your product. She should have tried a bale that is on her cause you offered. I'm thinking that the horses either weren't hungry or she is working an angle. Martin


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Great responses. I still cant decide. I thought this might be a great opportunity to learn how to use the round baler.
Hay looks brown & headed out up top. Decent amount of green undergrowth.
Cutter is down for 4 more days awaiting parts, so it's only gonna get worse.
I was thinking of rolling it because it would be faster once I drop it and no indoor storage is necessary.
Maybe I'll do some of each depending on weather.


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## whitmerlegacyfarm (Aug 26, 2011)

The end of this week looks good here in PA. We made about 700 bales Sunday and Monday. Sold half right out of the field to a big horse stable up our way, they loved it said they will take it all. It was my neighbors field very nice timothy but i feel it needed another day to dry. I baled 400 bales for him and he used my SP NH 1469 to cut it that he stores for me. I got a 100 bales in return and he helped me with loading my hay up out of the field when we bale. Seems like he wouldn't of got anything accomplished w/ out my equipment and the wife and i's help, but man it's a lot of fun.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I did 600 bales last week. Custom 200 bales. Sold 75. still have 300 on hand.
Good luck with your 1469. Mine is a flippin money pit. All profits from hay have been wiped out by repairs to my 1499.


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## whitmerlegacyfarm (Aug 26, 2011)

Yea i have yet to use my 1469, but he used it said once he got it running it cut the hay very nice. He wants to buy it off me, but i only got 750 in it and the head on it it in mint shape, roller are great cutter bar is brand new. It's old but seems to work well. I want to run it and then decide whether its to much to handle on my hills. I think it's worth 1500 probably. I like my 479 that i've used to cut about 12 ac so far.


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