# Alfalfa acres for 2012?



## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

I noticed alot of alfalfa got sprayed out with roundup this fall HERE.Looks like mostly stock cow or feedlot guys.The dairies look to have kept the same acres.

I think most figure on growing corn and buying the hay.Or using more stalks for feed.

I'm thinkin less acres myself.Have enough hay for my good customers and the heck with the rest.

A couple fields are thining out and need to be tore out anyway.So I will need to decide to reseed or not next spring.I may just have a heck of alot of corn next yr.


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## Dolphin (May 21, 2010)

Just got a few beef cows so I'm looking to plant some alfalfa.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I'd like to tear a bunch out, but after going thru a bunch of my leases, alfalfa is what the landowners want there. I suppose I could just drop the leases, but I do still get a year of corn and a year of beans once they need tore out to be reseeded.


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## mulberrygrovefamilyfarm (Feb 11, 2009)

I dropped a 1/4 of my hay and will put it to corn in 2012. The stands were thinner than I wanted - only 3 years old, but with corn still looking like it will be at least $5/bu in '12 I said to heck with it and killed it out. Cows are cleaning it up now, then I'll rip it just before freeze-up.


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## haybaler101 (Nov 30, 2008)

Looks like 56 acres for next year. Just drilled O-grass into 40 acres of reclaimed coal ground to try and make it another year and will have 16 acres of pure alfalfa. I would take it out, but landlord likes to see the road from her house. This is down from 180 this year and 250 last year. Wanted to seed 40 acres this fall, but rain came too late, postponed for another year. Lots of corn and beans next year.


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## downtownjr (Apr 8, 2008)

Going from 79 to 16-20 acres of hay ground, 16 if the landlord will let take part of a field for a corn test plot on the way to the fair grounds, allow me to show case some seed I am selling. Part of the change is rising rent, costs more to put out alfalfa right now from scratch, corn and beans are cheaper to plant and if the prices stay up, it is just not worth the time and effort. Just baling what I need for the cows and using rotational grazing to get the most of of what I got in pasture ground. Cheaper to buy hay right now around here as long as you shop a bit. Also, the droughts of late pushed me to forgo planting alfalfa each August for the past two years. Even selling a bunch of duplicate hay equipment I no longer need. Kinda looking forward to an easier summer with less hay.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

haybaler101 said:


> I would take it out, but landlord likes to see the road from her house.


That's pretty much the situation I'm in. Several are too odd shaped or steep for row crops. Some the landlords don't want any herbicides or insecticides used. Several they like looking out the window and seeing a big "lawn". A couple just wash way too bad even with no-till and cover crops to do anything but raise hay on em.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Had 3 dairies call last week.Typicaly 3 call all yr.One realy ticked me off he wanted to pay $125 for dairy hay.Some of these guys are growing corn and selling it and wanting to buy hay back cheaper.Per acre.They are going to have a rude awakening there isn't going to any alfalfa left in the area.I'm not going to grow hay and work all summer for less $ either.And niether are other hay producers in area.

Gettin tired of BS like this.

Heck I heard of $500 rent down the road from me.Rent it out and go on longggg vacation,LOL


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

swmnhay said:


> Heck I heard of $500 rent down the road from me.Rent it out and go on longggg vacation,LOL


Have the same around us already. Seed corn, green beans and cucumbers. The green bean guy rented around a 250 acre farm for 10 years, $500/acre and he's installing new wells and all new pivots. Bad enough we can't compete with the rent, but any land that he can buy, he does. So not only can we not rent it at those prices, but it takes it clear out of the picture once he buys it then that jsut raises the rent on the area's remaining ground. He has his own brand name and packaging facilities as well as to completely eliminate the middle man.


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## nwks baler (Jul 18, 2008)

I hope you guys keep killing alfalfa. We bought some more ground this summer and will plant it to RR alfalfa next spring.

Cy if you are not careful you will have to change your name to swmncorn. (GRIN)


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

nwks baler said:


> I hope you guys keep killing alfalfa. We bought some more ground this summer and will plant it to RR alfalfa next spring.
> 
> Cy if you are not careful you will have to change your name to swmncorn. (GRIN)


Yea its looking that way.Feedlot just offered to but 300 acres of high moisture corn for 2012.I plant it spray it and they harvest it.

What the heck am I gonna do with all my free time.


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## nwks baler (Jul 18, 2008)

swmnhay said:


> Yea its looking that way.Feedlot just offered to but 300 acres of high moisture corn for 2012.I plant it spray it and they harvest it.
> 
> What the heck am I gonna do with all my free time.


You still got a girlfriend Cy..................


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

nwks baler said:


> You still got a girlfriend Cy..................


Some days.She is for giving up some hay to free up some time to have more summer time off.


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