# Oat Hay



## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

I am considering planting maybe five acres in oats for hay. About 20 miles from the ocean with mild winters to bale next May or early June I think. Have been told if baled at right time makes great hay for cows and also horses to mix with coastal in feeding the horses, well my nephew who raises horses said it was. Looking for thoughts on this. Have been told to bale when in the milking stage which "I THINK" (which means may not be near correct) the seed is still soft with milky juice when pinched between thumb nail and finger.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Correct on all counts......do it, worst case scenario you may make 5 acres of straw


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I have made quite a bit of oat hay and for a couple years it was my main hay crop. The only thing I don't like about oat hay is you have a very short window to get it made before it turns to straw. Ideally I would like to get it cut right as it heads out and absolutely no later than early milk stage. Any later than that and you have straw with grain in it and it draws rats from miles around which makes a terrible mess when they dig through the bales and cut the twine. Oats do make really good hay when made right.

Oats should grow well for you and probably ready to cut sometime in mid to late April. Up here in the western piedmont of NC (about 4.5 hours north west of you) oats are usually ready to cut the first of May. I typically plant in late October.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

I bale oats every year. We call it greenfeed here. I have found the best time to put up for tonnage and quality is at late flower maybe just coming into milk. Even had a dairy buy some from me if put up right. 
They say around here to bale at late milk stage early dough. But for dry bales that is too late. Ok if doing silage. By dough stage some oats will already be shelling out and the stem getting a bit straw like. Plus if the weather is not right and have to wait two weeks to cut its ready for the combine. But if target to take at late flower and weather goes bad for two weeks it will still make decent feed.


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## blainalbin (Jun 14, 2011)

In case you didn't already know, you will need a lot longer window to get oats to dry compared to grass hay. I tried to make oat hay this spring for the first time and it didn't work out. A tine conditioner would probably help to get some of the wax coating rubbed off.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

I agree with Hog987. IMHO most folks wait until oats are too mature to cut for hay. Latest I prefer to cut oats is when seed heads have only light colored liquid in them. Weather plays a large roll in making good oat hay.


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

Thanks to each of you. I wonders why oats are not used more here than they are. I know enough cows to feed all that are raised here if nothing else. 3 or 4 years back local grain mill ran out. They use to mix feed not sure they still do. Been long time since I needed to buy feed. Man sad to realize been 47 years since we had hogs or cows. Sold them a few months after my Dad passed. So thankful for my experiences with the land and animals I gained from him. Have said it before but bears repeating thank each of you for your info. Means a lot to me.


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## Bishop (Apr 6, 2015)

You'll need time to get it dry if you live in a humid region. A lot of oat hay around here gets wrapped because it is darn hard to get dry. I baled some this summer at around 30% moisture with acid and it kept, but it cost quite a bit.

Animals love it btw.


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## Swv.farmer (Jan 2, 2016)

I bale 10 acres and I try to cut it be for it heads out makes good feed.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I have read quite often on here about people having trouble getting oat hay dry but I have never had an issue here. For me it takes only a little longer than first cutting Timothy or orchard and is faster than alfalfa. I typically ted oat hay twice so maybe that's the difference.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

I find the oats take about a day longer than the hay to dry. But I do have a wide swath about 90% of cutter bar width. The guys around here that cut 16 feet and put into a three foot swath always complain it takes a long time to dry. Thats some of the reasons why they cut later maturity so they have a hope of getting it dry.

Another piece of advice. Use a forage oat not a grain oat. The grain oats yeild good but the animals dont like eating the stems. A good forage oat put up right the cattle will eat first before good alfalfa.


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

I am in SC near the NC border and near the Atlantic Ocean.. Anyone have an idea when to plant here for hay? I was told this week to wait till about the last of October if planting for hay.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Palmettokat said:


> I am in SC near the NC border and near the Atlantic Ocean.. Anyone have an idea when to plant here for hay? I was told this week to wait till about the last of October if planting for hay.


 End of October to early November would probably be about right. The last week of October is about perfect here. I have planted as late as Thanksgiving and got a good crop but that is risky planting that late here.....in a cold winter I have had them freeze out planted that late. Being on the coast I'm sure that would be less of a problem for you but I still would not recommend planting that late.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

If made right I've never had any issues getting rid of oat hay.

I'm planting 22 acres back to hay in the spring, I'll plant oats for a nurse crop, mow it then plan on baling wet and wrapping it.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

The fields that I fixed I had put oats on with the new seeding and the original plan was to mow it right along with 2nd cutting but weather had different idea and it was drying down before I got to it. Round baled it and steers could not get enough of it. Never thought they would eat it.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Sorry--fat fingered the entry and I don't know how to delete a post.

Ralph


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

IH 1586 said:


> The fields that I fixed I had put oats on with the new seeding and the original plan was to mow it right along with 2nd cutting but weather had different idea and it was drying down before I got to it. Round baled it and steers could not get enough of it. Never thought they would eat it.


Not surprising actually, I've had cows eat more oat straw than they ended up laying on.


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## Ray 54 (Aug 2, 2014)

Oat hay or alfalfa hay where your to choices in California until we got such fancy horse people cost doesn't matter. Now feed stores bring in orchard and timothy from how ever far and cost $15 a bale on up into the $20+.

Raised by a father that would of rather not had to give up horses to tractors. After draft horses where gone still keep horses for cow work. Wanted seed on the oats that would grow before cutting hay.Generally horses would go after it like candy. But every so often get some they really did not like. Never really worried about green color,if anything wanted purple in the slower stems a sign of high sugar. No problems drying it as cutting happens as are rain season ends. Leave it as long as needed and bale with dew on it.

I have been told by a women giving lessons in riding hunter jumper horses her students get along better if she feeds orchard or timothy with no grain in it like the local oat hay has. Says she likes feeding oat hay if she did not have the novas riders. And many of you talk of the "new" thing with the horsey set wanting low carb hay mine would never fit that description.

As for the timing on planting any time now that it rains to get a flush of weeds killed to late Dec is considered good. Our rainy time could start any time now till Dec,but have seen a year it didn't rain until March(only 1 in 60 years). I have planted as late as March and had excellent hay but less than 1/2 of normal crop because it puts more effort into making seed. I really like Dec planted as then it is not ready to cut until May and are rain is over then.

As our winter is similar to yours I would think you would need 4 to 6 months from planting to cutting but maybe a little less as your short days may have a little more sun than ours. So hopeful you get much closer to home hints as to when to plant ,and you can get cutting at what should be drier time for you.


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

hog987, Another piece of advice. Use a forage oat not a grain oat. Suggestion on a forage oat or rather how to find it other than a google search?


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

Planted the field yesterday. Planted with spreader and then disked lightly in. Had cold front to come through with maybe couple of tenths of rain last night. Thanks for the input. Oh, I did find a forage oat seed.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Palmettokat said:


> Planted the field yesterday. Planted with spreader and then disked lightly in. Had cold front to come through with maybe couple of tenths of rain last night. Thanks for the input. Oh, I did find a forage oat seed.


 What variety did you plant?


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

FarmerCline, this may not be the best answer but all I can tell you is bought it at Tractor Supply. It is Plotspike Forage Oats. Only other choice I found was Croker seed, think have that name correct. The Croker was higher and not as convenient.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Palmettokat said:


> FarmerCline, this may not be the best answer but all I can tell you is bought it at Tractor Supply. It is Plotspike Forage Oats. Only other choice I found was Croker seed, think have that name correct. The Croker was higher and not as convenient.


 That sounds like one of those oats that are planted for deer food plots. Probably more of a grazing variety but they should still make hay though. I would have recommended the variety Rodgers. I usually order my seed though to get the variety I want.....ends up costing not much more than buying local anyway. I have been reading about a cosaque black forage oat that sounds interesting that I may give a try.

Next time you might want to try somewhere else than Tractor Supply.....around here they are the highest priced place for almost anything......and don't have much of a selection of seed. I had to run to Tractor Supply the other weekend to pick up a roller chain (was on a Sunday afternoon so I didn't have any other choice) and I was reminded why I don't shop there.....everything was priced high as a kite....for imported junk.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

In my area the two forage oats are baler oats and morgan oats. The morgan oat is actually a forage/grain oat. The baler oat is my first choice unless I cant get seed locally. Also have seen on heavy ground at a distance where the baler oat looks like a short type of corn. It can have very wide leaves over 1.5 inches There is a new oat I would like to try. Its called haymaker. It is a cross between baler and morgan. Its suppose to have more grain in the heads like morgan does. The wide leaves like baler and its suppose to have close to ripe grain in the heads while the rest of the plant is still green.


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

hog987 said:


> In my area the two forage oats are baler oats and morgan oats. The morgan oat is actually a forage/grain oat. The baler oat is my first choice unless I cant get seed locally. Also have seen on heavy ground at a distance where the baler oat looks like a short type of corn. It can have very wide leaves over 1.5 inches There is a new oat I would like to try. Its called haymaker. It is a cross between baler and morgan. Its suppose to have more grain in the heads like morgan does. The wide leaves like baler and its suppose to have close to ripe grain in the heads while the rest of the plant is still green.


I like Morgan, last years avg 13% protein and 44 lbs/bu. Very good lodging resistance too.


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

It is used for deer. If it turns out to not be good for hay maybe it will be good for deer hunting for rest of the year, would still be a winner. I did check with the only seed store that sells oat seed I know of and they only knew the brand they had and still higher.

I do agree TSC is high, local tractor dealer is almost always lower on anything the two handle. I also agree they have some very low quality items and I also agree they are terrible in being out or miss-stocked.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Palmettokat said:


> It is used for deer. If it turns out to not be good for hay maybe it will be good for deer hunting for rest of the year, would still be a winner. I did check with the only seed store that sells oat seed I know of and they only knew the brand they had and still higher.
> 
> I do agree TSC is high, local tractor dealer is almost always lower on anything the two handle. I also agree they have some very low quality items and I also agree they are terrible in being out or miss-stocked.


Ah... TSC... the "dog, pony, -n- lawnmower store... and they don't do those very well.

Used to get a lot of stuff from TSC, now I don't hardly go in there... Usually they're either out, it's all screwed up, or if they do have it and you can find it, it's three prices.

Last time I tried to buy a lawnmower belt in there, I swear they'd have done just as well to dump them all in a big pile on the floor and let people kick them around looking for what they needed-- no two belts on a peg had the same number, and almost none of them matched the SKU number on the pegs anyway...

Tried buying some "tubs of feed" there and it looked more like sawdust than cattle feed. Sure a far cry from the black molasses king blocks I get at the local feedstore in Shiner. Basically, they were SO crappy that they rotted-- the cattle nibbled on them but never would eat them til they finally rotted. No more.

About like "Progressive Farmer" anymore... more for citiots than actual farmers...

Later! OL J R


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## farmersammm (Nov 2, 2017)

Here in Oklahoma, Jerry's are the seed of choice. Leastways, they work for me.

10" rows, seed population about 12 to the row foot. Plants in March if you gamble on no frost. Bales in May.

No more than 30# Nitrogen preplant, otherwise they will lodge, and you'll play hell swathing it.

Cut in the boot to milk stage.

Makes less hay than the field looks like it will make. Not really a good haymaker if you need tonnage. Maybe 5 round bales to the acre on a good stand. It's a hollow stemmed plant, and has less goodies than you'd think.

Feeds about as well as Native Bluestem

Been years since I planted it. My crop ground is dedicated to Haygrazer, which gives me 2 cuttings, and about 10 bales to the acre.

Not sure about your area as far as temps go, but Haygrazer needs 140 degree growing days.


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

Cut today for hay. My friend who is my hay mentor said they looked good and clean and my nephew who we raised it for his horses was impressed also. Plan to bale about next Wednesday.


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

Well guess I really raised some very good oat hay that my nephew who raises horses bought. Well will be bought it when I get him bill for it. lol

Learned he is planting oats on my brother's land for oat hay for next year. Guess that is called being successful, you plant the crop, raise the crop and sell it and it is liked so well they now raise their own. Really full cycle in farming. Being very fair my oats were planted totally for him and really was helping prepare him and his son to be comfortable in raising their own. I really think it is a success. Yes income is important but next to that the working together is the biggest reason to farm.

Thanks to each one who helped me with this.


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