# Timothy Grass in dry climate



## AgriBux (Sep 1, 2015)

We farm in northern Utah and have raised alfalfa for a long time and would like to branch out into the horse feed market. We have heard good things about Timothy grass. We are fortunate enough to irrigate from May to Sept and our soil ranges across the spectrum from sand to clay.

We want your opinions if

It is good horse feed?

It will yield and grow well in the dry climate?

And what is the longevity of the grass?

What type of soil does it do best in?


----------



## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

to answer your questions

1) Very good grass for most horses, kinda the industry standard

2) It will yield well if it has the moisture available in the root zone, on a dry year with no irrigation yields are not great. Timothy can handle very wet field conditions and thrive.

3) Stands up here last longer than i can handle. Usually the fields get too rough before the stand is not viable. I know of one field that has been in over 20 years now and doing well yet.

4) If the moisture and the nitrogen is there i don't think it matters, seems to grow well for us everywhere but yields are determined by available moisture on our dryland.

Welcome to haytalk, you'll like it here!


----------



## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

In hot dry weather it will go dormant, and just so you know, its a one cutting, two cuttings in a pinch grass. Maybe with your longer season it would continue growing?

The yields can be high per cut relative to other grasses here, maybe 4-6 tons per acre if everything is right.

Our stands of timothy are from 20-30 years old now, one young stand is 3 years old.


----------



## PaCustomBaler (Nov 29, 2010)

It's a great horse feed because it's easy to identify, meaning horse owners are comfortable with it because they know that if it has the spiklet seedhead, then it's timothy.

Like carcajou said, it thrives in wet conditions.  Good in clay/loam soils. Yields are VERY minimal when it's dry. With adequate moisture and good fertility, yields can be tremendous. I'd recommend split fertilizer applications to maintain adequate yields in later cuttings.

No offense to the other guys because they may be right for their region, but here in southcentral PA, a PURE stand of Timothy will last around 4-5 years. After that, the OG and fine grasses start to come in. After that, I don't consider it a Timothy stand. Some people call their fields "Timothy" fields when there's 30%-50% Timothy in the stand. When the fine grasses start to come into the stand around here, yields and quality declines.

Good luck!


----------



## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I have read the further south you go the higher air and soil temps prevent timothy from remaining established for a long time.

Up here clover and vetch will get into timothy stands but its good, reduces nitrogen requirements.


----------



## OhioHay (Jun 4, 2008)

Same thing happens here in eastern Ohio. After four or five years, there is plenty of orchard grass and fescue mixed in. We then sell it as timothy mixed hay. A lot of horse buyers like that almost better than straight timothy in our area.


----------



## shortrow (Feb 21, 2012)

OhioHay said:


> Same thing happens here in eastern Ohio. After four or five years, there is plenty of orchard grass and fescue mixed in. We then sell it as timothy mixed hay. A lot of horse buyers like that almost better than straight timothy in our area.


Same down here. They're nuts for it.


----------

