# Cutting times per year in Northern Mississippi



## 02July1776 (10 d ago)

Hey all I’m a complete beginner to hay and I have acquired 65 acres of ready to go hay fields… previous owner cut hay and had some cattle on it.. I’m wondering what the cutting schedule would look like for northern Mississippi. Also should I invest in any sort of watering system??? Acreage has a 2.5 acre lake (not sure of depth) right in the middle so I don’t think water should be an issue…. Also not sure of the makeup of the established fields… just looking for some general info. Thanks everyone for your help and patience


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Going to need more info. What type of hay? What are you making? Small squares, Rounds, Large square? Wet or dry? What market or own use? Have the equipment yet?


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## 02July1776 (10 d ago)

IH 1586 said:


> Going to need more info. What type of hay? What are you making? Small squares, Rounds, Large square? Wet or dry? What market or own use? Have the equipment yet?


so the property comes with a round bailer so I’ll be making rounds it also has a tractor, haybine, and the spider looking thing to rake it into rows and the one to spread it out. It also comes with a giant hay barn for storage, as again it was set to do hay and cattle by previous owner. I will probably try to market it for sale at this point as I don’t think I’m ready for cattle or horses. It also has a giant 2.5 acre lake in the middle of the property. As for type of hay I’m not sure what’s planted in the field, I’ll have to get it tested as the previous owners are not reachable… I was just interested in how many cuts I could get roughly in northern Mississippi and what the schedule would be


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Welcome to this forum
In my area normal times between hay cutting intervals for Bermuda grass type hay depending on weather(rain fall) is 28 days. I'm not sure but I think to be legal you need to get permit from your state to irrigate crops. What type irrigation are you considering. I think some types of irrigation are "labor intensive"


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## 02July1776 (10 d ago)

Tx Jim said:


> Welcome to this forum
> In my area normal times between hay cutting intervals for Bermuda grass type hay depending on weather(rain fall) is 28 days. I'm not sure but I think to be legal you need to get permit from your state to irrigate crops. What type irrigation are you considering. I think some types of irrigation are "labor intensive"


so for irregation i was thinking about using the water wheel, i know it has labor to it but my real job i only work 14 days a month so i was looking for a money producer while on the down days. the lake on property (sprung fed) is 2.5 acres and is about 3 foot deep average and maybe a little deeper as i didn't go past the hip waders to find out. according to a lake calculator i shoud have over 1millions gals of water there which i think should be sufficient. 

so without knowing the type of hay that is planted but knowing they used it for hay previously to support 25+ cattle should i be able to get at least three cuts at a minimum a season in northeastern Mississippi?????


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## RockmartGA (Jun 29, 2011)

I would assume the climate in north Mississippi is similar to here in north Georgia and as such, you can realistically expect 3-4 cuttings per year. Since the previous owner grazed cattle on the property, I would guess your fields are fescue or a fescue / bermuda mix with a high probability of some "volunteer" grasses such as crab grass and johnson grass.

You're lucky to have the requisite equipment included with the property. Obtaining that equipment is usually one of the biggest obstacles for new hay farmers. I wouldn't worry too much about obtaining irrigation equipment until you go through a season and see how things work out. In my area, you never see irrigated hay fields.


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