# When to cut 1st cutting



## Byron Seeds (Jul 30, 2008)

I just got off of the phone with a large alfalfa/o.g. producer about cutting hay. He says not to make your first cutting prebloom. He continues and says that if you cut before the sugars go back into the root then you are jepardizing your future cuttings' yield. When I search the internet it says that is not a big factor in deciding when to cut. Does anyone have proof/ experience that what he is saying is true. I have no reason to not believe this, I was just curious what everyone else thought. I cut mine prebloom, weevil got into it pretty bad and ruined it.


----------



## BCFENCE (Jul 26, 2008)

The first cutting needs to be cut when you can cut it and get it up in good shape. I believe you need to let it bloom once but i do it latter in the year when im not worried as much about rain. Thats just my opinon but if you let it bloom your going to get big stems and then the value goes way down. It doesnt seem to have the big steems latter in the year when it goes to bloom so maybe thats another reason i do it then.
THOMAS


----------



## Hedge tree (Jul 18, 2008)

Pre-bud stage for the first cutting of alfalfa...HERE...will test much higher in RFV than later stages. Blooming 1st cut alfalfa DOES dry down faster...but the quality is less. As BCFence says...it is stemy, woody even.

To have good regrowth into the fall months, it is good to let a cutting from 2-4 (one at least) get some bloom. Bloom here in July means the chance for blister beetles. I let the August cutting get some bloom...maybe 50% or so. Have lots of stands 6-8 y.o. doing it that way. Newer varities with higher fall dormancy values are not as affected by bloom it seems. Lots of producers are on a 28 day cycle....no matter the bloom %.

I key off of the regrowth at the crown. If hay is going to make another cutting....I cut when I can see re-growth and prior to cutting this growth off to any extent with harvest process. Lots of theories....much of hay production is based on historical practices...not university-based studies and quality of product.

If you have an open period of time and can get the first cutting down in the pre-bud stage...you have probably demonstrated some production savvy.....not killed your stand. This hay will be premo in quality if not rained on and put up with the proper moisture content.

Ain't farming fun?


----------



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

I believe your local climate, and the number of fields to be harvested has much to do with when to cut. There is no simple one size fits all answer to your question. 
For alfalfa that is starting it's first season I like to wait until it is at half bloom or later. This gives the roots time to grow. The more and better the roots are, going into our first summer is important. 
Old stand alfalfa I cut when there appears to be window of opportunity in the weather pattern.


----------



## JoshA (Apr 16, 2008)

hay wilson in TX said:


> For alfalfa that is starting it's first season I like to wait until it is at half bloom or later. This gives the roots time to grow. The more and better the roots are, going into our first summer is important.
> 
> Old stand alfalfa I cut when there appears to be window of opportunity in the weather pattern.


Only problem with that, is first cutting of a new seeding has LOTS of weeds in it (at least here there is, because everything is seeded as an alfalfa/grass mix, so it can't be sprayed). Longer you leave it, the more weeds head out and can re-seed themselves.

Don't get me wrong, I do agree with you on the alfalfa roots bit, just saying it's a fight between the two evils.

As far as the bloom stage, I've never really given a whole lot of thought, seems we only get 1.5 cuttings a year in this area.

Here,You HAVE to cut first cutting pre-bloom (usually mid-June here) if you want a chance at anything over 0.5 ton/acre in second cut. A lucky few will get 2.5 cuttings, if everything goes right (off early, adequate rain during summer), but they still won't wind up with much more annual yield (in tons) than the "bad" farmer who takes off fewer cuttings of older, bloomier, taller hay.

For me, first cutting goes off as soon as the weather permits, second cutting goes as soon as (hopefully the day of) we get a killing frost, unless luck permited I get it off 10-14 days before I expect frost. This is ultimately up to the landowner (we rent almost all our hay ground), because if something screws up (frost) and their stand is a gone'er, not my fault.


----------



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

Cutting here prebloom is late March. I have cut early for weed control, but do not like to make it a habit.

My "advantage here is alfalfa grows 9 months of the year and the weeds grow 12 months. Many of our weeds do not die off when cut but come back for a second try. So we make our plans, fully expecting to modify or abandon those plans because of circumstances.

I realize the folks north of here like to have a grass alfalfa mixture. To me it appears to be selecting the weeds you want competing with alfalfa even though it complicates alfalfa production.

Blister beetles, here emerge mid to late June, by which time two cuttings are in the barn. Then in July it stops raining and we go into a summer dormancy. I will say blister beetles are a concern not a problem.


----------



## stevemsinger (Jul 8, 2009)

I am going to agree you need to cut it when you can do it and get it up right. I was farming for a guy from the city that bought the acreage. He always complained that I didn't get things done at the times that the University said it should be done. I explained it to him that I had to do it when I could. Long story short, we parted company. He bought his own equipment, and since then has never got a crop up that has not been wet or way past prime. He is learning that valuable lesson. The time to make hay is when you can.


----------



## rank (Apr 15, 2009)

If you're selling, I think you need to cut early because you can't sell woody alfalfa.

June 2 of this year we had a forecast of 7 consecutive sunny days. (I remember it well because we haven't had one since). We started our first cut that day. It was early bud/pre-bud but the weavil had started.

Would liked to have waited a touch longer but we had a weather window, I had memories of the 2008 monsoon summer still in my mind, and we had 1500 acres ahead of us. It was time to go. Glad we did because it rained most of the following week.


----------



## Barry Bowen (Nov 16, 2009)

My experience has been that once during the year you need to let at least some bloom come in, but not necessarily first cutting. Weather, weeds, and BUGS! have more of an effect on first cutting timing.


----------

