# Timothy seed price



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Just wondering if anyone had bought any Timothy seed and what price you paid? Reason I ask is I ordered some Crest and Summit Timothy from Seedway and it came in today. When I ordered I didn't actually ask the price per pound just was given the total.....I thought it sounded rather cheap for how much seed I ordered. Looked at the invoice today and the Timothy was $69 for a 50 pound bag which works out to $1.38 a pound. That seems really cheap for improved varieties considering a couple years ago I was paying nearly between $2-$3 a pound for improved varieties from a different company. Almost wondering if they didn't make a mistake and it was supposed to be $169?


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## Farmerbrown2 (Sep 25, 2018)

I priced Timothy about a month ago some of the varietys where that cheap some where $3 per pound . I learned this fall you have to shop around big time . I could buy triple 18 bagged from one guy $100 per ton cheaper then bulk from another company. So I called back and second company wanted $60 per ton to bag the fertilizer so it was actually $160 a ton difference in price .


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## Dadnatron (Jul 24, 2017)

Summit was $80/50lb bag.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Titan Timothy $1.30 lb


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

I recently paid $66 for a 50 lb bag of Clair Timothy.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I knew the older varieties like Climax and Clair were pretty cheap but Im very surprised to see some of the new improved varieties priced about the same. I have never been one to cheap out when it comes to seed.....typically I will choose the variety I want to use and not worry as much about the cost per pound compared to another variety. That's why I didn't think to ask the price per pound when I ordered because I wanted to try those varieties anyway.

Just out of curiosity what seeding rate does everyone use on a pure stand of Timothy?


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I use 10 lbs to the acre if I remember right. Keep it in my notes.


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## 2ndWindfarm (Nov 11, 2014)

Your prices are low enough I should be stuffin' some in my underwear on my next trip down south! (Be almost worth it just to see the expression on the faces of the TSA folks!)

University recommendations for rates in Alaska are 10-15lbs. I've been planting at the upper end with the expectation that the yield drops off normally as the field ages but I'll get a few bumper yields in the first couple of years.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I've never seen yield in timothy drop off with age if it's managed well. We have some fields that were last planted 30 years ago.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

slowzuki said:


> I've never seen yield in timothy drop off with age if it's managed well. We have some fields that were last planted 30 years ago.


IDK how much Timothy varieties have improved over 30 yrs but anything else I grow I would want newer genetics then 30 yr old stuff.

I do have a 4 acre patch of mixed grass that's older then I am.Thought about redoing it but worried about erosion.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I've watched the trial results here, almost no differences in the varieties in our cool climate at least not consistently.


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## 2ndWindfarm (Nov 11, 2014)

slowzuki said:


> I've never seen yield in timothy drop off with age if it's managed well. We have some fields that were last planted 30 years ago.


I have fields that are closing in on 30 years of age. And the plant densities per acre do lessen over time...with a corresponding drop in yield per acre.

Winter kill, tree root encroachment along the field edges thins the plant population, wetter areas or drier areas in a given field, unequal fertilizer applications. Plants get stressed and you end up with bare spots.

So, I do manage my fields. Like a hawk! Several of my fields are "certified" weed free. Folk's that are shipping horses or critters south through Canada can feed our hay and be assured that there are no invasive or noxious weeds.

A key element to that management is re-seeding the thinner areas by broadcasting seed either in Spring or late Oct.-early Nov. just before a heavy snowfall.

onetheless, there's the "normal" variations in yield with the vagaries of each different season and there's


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

slowzuki said:


> I've watched the trial results here, almost no differences in the varieties in our cool climate at least not consistently.


I don't watch Timothy to much because none is grown here.But Orchardgrass,Brome and other grasses sure have improved over the yrs.Yields,and disease ratings.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

I just looked back and Timothy price really dropped from last yr,must be a seed glut??

Titan went from 2.40 down to 1.30

Climax went from 2.00 down to .90


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

2ndWindfarm said:


> I have fields that are closing in on 30 years of age. And the plant densities per acre do lessen over time...with a corresponding drop in yield per acre....
> 
> A key element to that management is re-seeding the thinner areas by broadcasting seed either in Spring or late Oct.-early Nov. just before a heavy snowfall...


This is EXACTLY what we are doing this year.

I posted a topic a few weeks ago regarding Timothy and how it reproduces. Basically seed and that's it. Absent letting it go to seed and no roots/rhizomes to count on, I don't know how anyone can grow a Timothy field and expect to live very long without annual overseeding. Given Timothy seed is relatively cheap, we are going to broadcast seed every fall into our Tinothy fields.

Question - how do you get certified weed free label - especially in Timothy where it goes dormant in the summer and all manner of pesky weeds and grasses grow-in, i.e. foxtail, fescue, purple top, etc? How do you manage these intrusions?

Thanks!
Bill


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## 2ndWindfarm (Nov 11, 2014)

leeave96 said:


> This is EXACTLY what we are doing this year.
> Given Timothy seed is relatively cheap, we are going to broadcast seed every fall into our Tinothy fields.
> Question - how do you get certified weed free label - especially in Timothy where it goes dormant in the summer and all manner of pesky weeds and grasses grow-in, i.e. foxtail, fescue, purple top, etc? How do you manage these intrusions?
> Thanks!
> Bill


There are some significant differences between growing conditions in Alaska-Canada and the rest of North America.

One - Timothy doesn't go dormant up here. This place is (still) relatively cool and Timothy is a strong competitor for space and nutrients against other species. Case in point - Timothy has been invading our Kentucky bluegrass/Fescue pastures where they border one another. It is not as good a pasture species as the bluegrass varieties so, I will likely have to turn the pastures black and replant one of these days.

Two, we don't have all that many weed species up here - Yet! Every few years we are finding one or two bad ones from another part of the world - but, we've managed to keep most of the real noxious plants out.

Three, my weed competition is nearly all broadleaf. So, a blend of 2,4-D and Dicamba every few years has been working real well for us.


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## Swv.farmer (Jan 2, 2016)

I don't raise Timothy but I over seed ochard grass at a rate of about 10 pounds to the acre keeps it thick and good yeild


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

yes if you take two cuts a year off timothy here so no seed is developed it will thin quickly vs the other grasses. We've talked about this before that it's not the same in some areas due to the length of the dormant period.


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