Rye Hay

[Devin Sparks]

I planted somerye last fallto cut for straw. When should I plan to cut it? Should I wait till it heads out or cut it before?
This is the first time bailing straw.Usually I plant it or wheat as a cover for the fall. With seed prices the way they are I could not stand to spray it with round up as I have done in the past.
Thanks

 

[haysaver]

You want to cut it when you see the pollen blowing off. Here in NY that is usually end of May. Let it get rained on to bleech the green out of it.

 

[Chad Franke]

Do you want straw or do you want hay? Straw is what is left after it is harvested (no seeds) and used for bedding, hay is typically cut when the seed is just forming and used for feed.

 

[hayray]

When I used to do that I just waited until it headed out and was ripened like when it would be ready to be combined and I just mowed it, let it dry for a day or two and baled it.

 

[Anonymous-0]

if your going to use it for hay, watch the grain, when its in milk cut it.
for straw, when its dry enough to suit you.

we do alot of rye hay, i drill it in the hay fields in the fall, then the first cutting has a mix

 

[Devin Sparks]

Well, I have not given much thought about hay vs straw. I am going to try to sell it for straw but who would be in the market for the hay? I square bale it. Would those horse people use it? I guess it depends onwhat market I have as to which way I would go. I dont have access to a combine so I wasgoing to cut with my conditioner let it dry and then bale.

 

[Dave from MN]

With Rye at $6 a bushel, possibly more, are youy sure you dont want to harvest it and just sell the straw>?

 

[GeneMO]

We do wheat straw here in MO.

Straw here is what is left after the grain is harvested. I would think you would get the most and best straw if you let it get completely mature, harvest the grain, then bale the straw.

Generally we take the straw chopper or spreader off the combine, then run the pickup on the baler as high as it will go and just bale the straw that went through the combine. If you want the most straw, you can run a sickle bar mower, over the field. Usually the windrow of straw that went through the combine will be held up by the stubble, and the sickle bar mower will just scoot underneath the windrow. Then with a side delivery rake, you rake it all up. You get a lot more straw this way, but it does require a lot more time and equipment.

If you have a way to get it combined, the cash from the grain sounds pretty good. The straw is just a by product.

Good luck,, Gene

 

[keh]

I've never had horses, but a horse person told me he didn't want rye hay because the beards on the rye heads got stuck in the horses throat. Cows eat it fine.

KEH