# To Shred A Field Before Haying - Or Not?



## Anonsky's Hay Service (Feb 1, 2017)

Hey guys, so I'm considering renting a hay field that (I'm told) was used a year ago. But it has some smaller (1/4" to maybe 1/2") saplings growing on it, some various "woody-er" weeds coming up here and there. If I get this thing, should I plan to bush hog it before I hay it?

Super noob questions I know, but I wanted you all's feedback if possible. When would something like this be appropriate to do, under what circumstances for the field, and how soon could/should I do it, if its going to be necessary? I fear shredding too early in the season might delay plant growth and too late in the season would push back how soon I could hay it. The grass here is just starting to turn green.

I dont plan to make anything special, just mixed grass 4x5 rounds. Thanks in advance everyone.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Anonsky's Hay Service said:


> Hey guys, so I'm considering renting a hay field that (I'm told) was used a year ago. But it has some smaller (1/4" to maybe 1/2") saplings growing on it, some various "woody-er" weeds coming up here and there. If I get this thing, should I plan to bush hog it before I hay it?
> 
> Super noob questions I know, but I wanted you all's feedback if possible. When would something like this be appropriate to do, under what circumstances for the field, and how soon could/should I do it, if its going to be necessary? I fear shredding too early in the season might delay plant growth and too late in the season would push back how soon I could hay it. The grass here is just starting to turn green.
> 
> I dont plan to make anything special, just mixed grass 4x5 rounds. Thanks in advance everyone.


Even if you're just making basic round bale hay, if it were my field, I would give it a good cutting and get those woody weeds out of there.
I wouldn't think anyone would want that stuff in their hay.


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## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)

I started a field two years ago where I had to do this. My neighbor had ran some cattle on it in the spring and took them off early in June. By early July it was ready to be mowed again but had a lot of weeds, shrubs, even some thorny bushes I had to go in and pull, and woody stemmed weeds. I brush hogged the entire thing and sacrificed a cutting. That grass came in beautiful for a third cutting and that was some beautiful green grass hay. The guy who bought some of it couldn't stop raving about it and wanted to buy all his hay from me.

The downside: all the residue from chopping remains in the field so expect to rake some of it up in the following cutting. However the grass grew back great and the residue had minimal affect on the quality of the as it wasn't too tall when I had chopped it.

The owner of the field didn't want any chemicals on it so I can't use herbicide, but chopping it down like that really cleaned it up and cleared the way for all subsequent cuts. Had to sacrifice one cutting's worth of yield but in the long term was completely worth it and is now a very nicely groomed field.

I'm just small time so I can take what I can get. It seems like what fields have been offered to me have been neglected for a few years so I'm just always going to plan on chopping it the very first time if it's a new field.

I've been trying to control the Queen Anne's Lace/wild carrots by cutting just the heads off with the brush hog raised high before they go to seed. I'll see how that works.


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## siscofarms (Nov 23, 2010)

Put it this way , If your feeding cows and there is a drought in the forecast ,,,,, well ,,,,, Ive baled some pretty knarly stuff to feed when it gets dry . If your baler will roll it , roll it . Get it off the field and compost it or feed it . no loss either way


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## 506 (Mar 22, 2016)

I'm not sure where you are in TX but we're a couple of months from full green up to start haying in most places. If the grass is dormant, shredding won't knock it back unless you scalp it to stubble with your shredder.

If it were me, I'd shred it as soon as possible. Shredding now (or soon) will at least allow some of the plant matter to start to break down into the soil. If the cuttings are thick you'll pick some up in your first hay cutting but that is better than the alternative.

Leaving the woody matter up and growing until hay season will only make matters worse later. Leaving it alone wouldn't be an option for me. I personally would not run woody matter through my hay mower/rake/baler.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Hayjosh said:


> I started a field two years ago where I had to do this. My neighbor had ran some cattle on it in the spring and took them off early in June. By early July it was ready to be mowed again but had a lot of weeds, shrubs, even some thorny bushes I had to go in and pull, and woody stemmed weeds. I brush hogged the entire thing and sacrificed a cutting. That grass came in beautiful for a third cutting and that was some beautiful green grass hay. The guy who bought some of it couldn't stop raving about it and wanted to buy all his hay from me.
> 
> The downside: all the residue from chopping remains in the field so expect to rake some of it up in the following cutting. However the grass grew back great and the residue had minimal affect on the quality of the as it wasn't too tall when I had chopped it.
> 
> ...


Can you fertilizer and/or lime? Queen anne is a sign of poor soil and multiple cuttings can help however it would be good to soil test if your able.


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## Dan_GA (Dec 29, 2015)

I just acquired another 45 acres, and the person that had it before me left standing grass (and weeds) on it over the winter. I'm going to bushhog it down tomorrow. Same thing I did with my fields at the house last year. Worked like a champ and first cutting was better because all of the year old stuff wasn't still hanging out. We are starting to green up here and I don't want to wait too much longer. I typically don't leave more than 6" on the field at the end of the season.


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## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)

IH 1586 said:


> Can you fertilizer and/or lime? Queen anne is a sign of poor soil and multiple cuttings can help however it would be good to soil test if your able.


Not on this particular field, but I will have manure spread on it from a dairy farm this year. However, even on the field I own which gets fertilizer every year (and has had a heavy application of lime) I still get a spattering of QAL.


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## Ranger518 (Aug 6, 2016)

If it was me I would get some soil samples, mow it down, burn it off if posable in your area if not I would spray it with a round up and pre-emergent herbicide but you are kinda running out of time to spray round up in your area so your best bet may be to just mow it down and spray it with a post emergent herbicide and Fertilize according to soil sample.


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## Frantz (Feb 18, 2018)

I'm in a similar situation, though the landowner doesn't want any herbicide used. What I've decided (based in part by responses on this thread), is to mow the 4 acres I want to make small bales with as well as about 8 acres that are heavy with little cedar trees. The rest I might go though and spot hit trees and a few multi-floral rose areas. Most is going to be mulch hay this year so I figure it will be more mass. Yesterday I walked the field and just cleared out the logs/sticks near the edge. I'm going to run two passes (12') on the outside with a bush hog just to try and clear anything under the thatch near the trees. I'll keep ya posted as to my results.


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## Northeast PA hay and beef (Jan 29, 2017)

We just got 44 acres back that have in the CREP program for 14 years. So it is pretty weedy, sapling heavy. My plan is to bush hog it and rake it into windrow let it dry and burn it. We cant burn whole stand but a row we can get away with. I have spent to much on equipment to run trash through it. I would say get it off the field though. We have also brush hogged and raked a field of brush and then pished windrows to end of field with a fel tractor, keeps trash out of next cutting.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

If you have a flail mower available I’ve found the shorter residue from them is less likely to get picked up by rake.


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## Frantz (Feb 18, 2018)

So after my experiment I think it's definitely worth cutting. My soil starts with a lower pH of 6.0 and low nutrients across the board so this may have made it more dramatic. The mulching the old dead grass seems to have really helped the fresh grass grow thick. I think the organic mater and the better access to sunlight helps. Poison ivy is growing great in both sections. I also had a section left uncut due to wet soil and you can really see the milkweed. IDK how much of that is due to the wetter soil compared to what I cut, the line is pretty much my cut line and the wet line. I posted a gallery of pictures, hope this helps others decide.

[sharedmedia=gallery:albums:706]


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## Frantz (Feb 18, 2018)

I really don't have enough data or previous experience with these fields to provide solid data... but the field that I DID NOT CUT was much THINNER than the other fields I did cut. The uncut field is the highest and has the steepest slopes of "C" so that is a factor too. Still I think the dead standing grass shadowed a fair amount and what was knocked down thatched against new grass too. None of the fields have good fertility so far as soil tests go... working on that. I hope this helps others trying to choose. I for one am sold on the idea of cutting/mulching whats dead and there early and getting a good first cut.


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## StxPecans (Mar 3, 2018)

Have questioned this on 4 different fields this year. The residueis the issue for me. But biggest thing is is there a hidden tpost or worse. I would ratherhave the batwing find it than my mower. 
But I screwed up on one this year. It was waist high thick thick thick tiffton85 that was from lastyear. I mowed it twice in one day and still had residue like crazy. Then raked it thinking i would burn it well it got dry and i couldnt burn it. Now its still out there and wet and super thick windrow. Itwould have made 3-4 tons an acre. Ishould have just baled it. But who knows if i would have hit somthing. But atleast i could stackthe bales up and burn em.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

SixPecans

I think it is illegal at least in county where I live to intentionally set hay bales on fire & burn them. With the hay shortage in Texas you would be better off to bale it & sell it. Hungry cows would probably have eaten it.

Jim


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## StxPecans (Mar 3, 2018)

I had 2 people tell me to bale it and sale it. No way it is going in my cows. But we were to dry to burn the field down shouldhave baled it and burned the bales.
I had to burn 50 bales of hay a previous renter had left on a property this spring. They were over 7 years old. Once you got to the middle of them they still had some good hay in them. Trust me my cows were hungry but i wasnt feeding that crap.


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## Anonsky's Hay Service (Feb 1, 2017)

Update: OP Here. I ended up NOT shredding this field, another forum I posted on talked me out of it, and that mixed with the fact that I didnt have a shredder at the time overruled the "go for it" responses here, and then spending money to buy a shredder.

I regret this decision, my first cutting was full of this dead brush and other filth, I ended up selling it as sheep & goat hay for $20+ less than I could've gotten for it, if it was "clean". Second cutting is coming in nicely, basically none of this brush and only some of the weeds are recovering. The money I lost in hay value would've paid for a good chunk of the shredder that I had to buy anyway, later on.

WHEN IN DOUBT, BREAK THE SHREDDER OUT. Is what I learned. Thanks to everyone who responded.


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## Texasmark (Dec 20, 2011)

I don't like sticks or weeds in my hay. If a field is badly neglected, I'd cut (whatever works), bale it and set it aside. One of the problems in leaving it in the field is that the rake will pick it up when you bale your following hay crop. I didn't like to feed sticks to my cows. On what to do with it, use it for erosion control.


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## StxPecans (Mar 3, 2018)

Anonsky's Hay Service said:


> Update: OP Here. I ended up NOT shredding this field, another forum I posted on talked me out of it, and that mixed with the fact that I didnt have a shredder at the time overruled the "go for it" responses here, and then spending money to buy a shredder.
> 
> I regret this decision, my first cutting was full of this dead brush and other filth, I ended up selling it as sheep & goat hay for $20+ less than I could've gotten for it, if it was "clean". Second cutting is coming in nicely, basically none of this brush and only some of the weeds are recovering. The money I lost in hay value would've paid for a good chunk of the shredder that I had to buy anyway, later on.
> 
> WHEN IN DOUBT, BREAK THE SHREDDER OUT. Is what I learned. Thanks to everyone who responded.


If you sold the hay how can you regret baling it? You were not going to sell anything from shredding it. Plus you got rid of all that debris that even shredded would have found it in your hay eventually. 
I shredded a field in march that was waist high bermuda that was brown from freezing that was super thick. Biggest regret of the year. Still have old grass clippings galore. Baled it yesterday lots of old grass in the bales. 
Sounds like you paid to clean it up by selling the hay. Wish I was as smart as you.


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## Texasmark (Dec 20, 2011)

Tx Jim said:


> SixPecans
> 
> I think it is illegal at least in county where I live to intentionally set hay bales on fire & burn them. With the hay shortage in Texas you would be better off to bale it & sell it. Hungry cows would probably have eaten it.
> 
> Jim


Had that happen more than once. Bad/old bales, put them in a wash, put out nice new bales of a desirable grass.....next thing you know, they're over eating the erosion control.....must ferment and turn to booze and they get drunk! Grin.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

StxPecans said:


> If you sold the hay how can you regret baling it? You were not going to sell anything from shredding it. Plus you got rid of all that debris that even shredded would have found it in your hay eventually.
> I shredded a field in march that was waist high bermuda that was brown from freezing that was super thick. Biggest regret of the year. Still have old grass clippings galore. Baled it yesterday lots of old grass in the bales.
> Sounds like you paid to clean it up by selling the hay. Wish I was as smart as you.


Ditto if hay rake is to be utilized on this hay field IMHO it's much better to cut/bale old crop than shred with a brush cutter.


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