# Squares - Yield per 1st vs 2nd vs 3rd Cuttings????



## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

What is a typical percentage of yield per 1st, 2nd and 3rd you typically get when making small square bales?

Example:

Orchard grass:

1 acre were to give 150 bales total per year.

From that, 70 bales 1st cut, 50 bales 2nd cut and 30 bales 3rd cut.

I'm assuming a 50 lb bale, 14x18x36ish inches or a tad smaller to get at the 50 lb number.

How do your field's yield break down in bales per acre as you move from one cutting to another through the summer and in what kind of hay?

Just curious.

Thanks!

Bill


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

leeave96 said:


> What is a typical percentage of yield per 1st, 2nd and 3rd you typically get when making small square bales?
> 
> Example:
> 
> ...


I would say my ratio for hay production is similar to that. Different bales though and different production levels though. Also depends on if the weather is very hot and dry before 2nd cutting and the grass just doesn't grow very well.


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## PaCustomBaler (Nov 29, 2010)

If you maintain an adequate soil fertility through fertilization and average rain fall, it'd look something like this for southcentral PA:

1st - 100 bale/ac

2nd - 50-60 bale/ac

3rd - 50 bale/ac

We'll try to apply fertilizer after each cutting. Like Teslan said, all depends on weather, bale size, productions levels....


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## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

I grow a timothy mix and for the past couple of years, the weather has made it hard to get the first cutting finished before August (normally want to get it done by early July in our area). The fact that we haven't gotten the second cutting for the last two years has been offset by the fact that we've gotten 101 bale per acre average two years ago and a 106 bale per acre average last year (I'm an engineer, so yes I have the numbers down to the per bale level... spreadsheets are a wonderful thing  ).

In years previous to that, we would typically get around 60 to 70 bales to the acre on first cutting and 20 to 30 bales per acre on second cutting. These values were also previous to me starting to do soil tests every spring and applying fertilizer.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Completely different here.....

1st cutting......50bpa
2nd cutting.....60-70bpa
3rd cutting......60-70bpa
4th cutting......60-70bpa
5th cutting......30-50bpa. (If you get a 5th)

All of those are IF good haying weather......if an extended wet season, more....if an extended dry season, less


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

I do timothy, orchard and mixed grass (orchard, KY31 and KY bluegrass) with high fertilization rates and rarely get under 100 bales to the acre average, actually fairly similar across the three types of hay. the difference is in bale wt as I don't go mucking with my bale length for every field. Orchard normally runs 50-60#, timothy 45, and mixed grass 42-48 depending on how much blue grass gets in the bale. Hydraulic chamber on baler set at 1.25 atm.

Second and third cuttings when I got one used to be largely cleanup operations for weed control. every so often I got really good yields on second but thirds were almost always in the 10-15 bales per ac. Started top dressing last year and what a difference a little added fertilizer money makes. Also started leaving around 3-4 inch stubble when cutting, another huge difference for me.

For you guys adding fertilizer after 1st and 2nd, are you just doing N or are doing complete like say 50-50-50? According to soil test data, I am good on p and k so I assumed that I was not going to see a response to complete fertilizer mid season, but am interested in others observations. I am usually in the 120-170 #K range with each early spring app.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Hayman1 said:


> I do timothy, orchard and mixed grass (orchard, KY31 and KY bluegrass) with high fertilization rates and rarely get under 100 bales to the acre average, actually fairly similar across the three types of hay. the difference is in bale wt as I don't go mucking with my bale length for every field. Orchard normally runs 50-60#, timothy 45, and mixed grass 42-48 depending on how much blue grass gets in the bale. Hydraulic chamber on baler set at 1.25 atm.
> 
> Second and third cuttings when I got one used to be largely cleanup operations for weed control. every so often I got really good yields on second but thirds were almost always in the 10-15 bales per ac. Started top dressing last year and what a difference a little added fertilizer money makes. Also started leaving around 3-4 inch stubble when cutting, another huge difference for me.
> 
> For you guys adding fertilizer after 1st and 2nd, are you just doing N or are doing complete like say 50-50-50? According to soil test data, I am good on p and k so I assumed that I was not going to see a response to complete fertilizer mid season, but am interested in others observations. I am usually in the 120-170 #K range with each early spring app.


If fertilizer is put on in between cuttings here it is just Urea.


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

Thanks everyone - GREAT info!

Bill


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

From way out side the box.

Grass hay should be 12% CP which uses 40 lbs per ton of hay.

I like a 55 lb bale which is 35 bales to the ton. I like try for a 34" bale length for good tight bale. My bales may be 35" or on occasion 36" but no longer as I pick up the hay with a NH bale wagon and a total of an extra length for three bales wide will mean I must get down and bump the bales in some, or the bales will bend metal, or break bales

I expect a ton and quarter to a ton and a half for the first and second cutting. Third cutting may be a ton. may be less or more.

I have baled a 6 ton cutting, but anything over 5 tons makes for a difficult day. Actually the 6 ton cutting was not too bad as I ran out of hay moisture for baling half way through. So I picked up and stored half the fields hay and the next day baled the remainder, & I had room to manouver.

Now my soil is a heavy clay that can store 7 years of nitrogen if I tried to push my luck. I will fertilize for 7 tons of hay. Expect 5 tons/A. It is not unusual to harvest 6 tons of grass hay/year/ acre. Some years I do not get to fertilize but still have a normal yield. Fact two fields did not get any nitrogen for 4 seasons. It was only the last ( 4 th ) season that I saw a fall off in yield and a little less green color, growing.

This may not be an option for you all. A low CEC Sandy Loam may NEED nitrogen every 4 or so weeks.

A 34" bale baling at 12 strokes per bale is just under a 3" charge in the bale. At 18 strokes per bale I go up a gear. I will have less than a 2" charge.

At 11 strokes per bale I have a 3" deep charge. At 11 strokes per bale I go down a gear.

I actually plan on putting 80 bales/A on the ground each cutting.

Alfalfa I like to see 60 bales/A/cutting but realistically 40 bales is more common.

Please realize drought is our normal climate. Occasionally we see flooding.

Bill Wilson


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