Small acreage hay advice

[Crem]

I have about 5 acres that has been in hay for many years. It is in a valley and a lot of it is hillside. My neighbor would cut and bale it every year and I gave it to him for free. This year he informed me that due to the high prices for fuel, twine etc, he could no longer justify cutting it. I have noticed when he didn't make the second cut that in the field near the woods, small trees would start growing. I believe that I should mow it for this reason. I have mowed it before with my 5' King Kutter and it works well but in the heavier stuff it will tend to windrow the grass behind the mower which isn't good. I have a sickle mower that I could probably get running. Would it be better to cut it with this and just let it lay. Any suggestions on how often I should cut it. I don't want to burn any more of that $4 gas than I have to either. Is there anything else that I could plant that maybe good for the deer or turkeys? I did have corn on it many years ago but don't really want to do that again because of the hillside erosion.

 

[dubber]

Sickle bar mower will knock it down in an even swath. Once a year is enough in my area to keep it from growing up to brush. You just need to never let it get brushy enough you can't mow it easily. For deer, I don't know the best thing but I see a lot of deer in clover and alfalfa fields. For turkeys, I don't know the best thing to plant but if you mow the wrong time of year you can kill eggs or poults in the nest. I do this every year. You can mow up fawns too in early summer, a discbine works well for that. You should not bother them much with your sickle bar.

 

[JoshuaGA]

This may or may not help, but you might want to read up on food plots. Sounds you would have a good location for one. Knowing absolutely nothing about food plots, you could probably rent a no till drill and plant without eroding your land. Seems to be most convient to me. That said, like I stated before, I have no experience with food plots.

JoshuaGA

 

[Lanse]

find the maximum efficiency on your tractor, where fuel meets power. On the kubota which runs 1000-2400rpm, that curve is sixteen to eighteen hundred RPMs. It is extriemly efficient and fairly powerful. At that speed, planting and mowing can be done quickly eliminating load/hrs as well. I dot pay for the diesal for that thing, but i feel for the one who does. Good luck

 

[John S-B]

Why not just bale it yourself? I started out with mower for $75, a very ugly but good running 24t baler, and an old hayrake on steel I dragged out of the woods for free. And all this for 1 acre. I'm now doing about 40 acres, and I still only have about 8-9K in equipment. Granted, I do a lot of praying that stuff doesn't break down, and I have backup equipment.






+++d aeel I dragged out of the wo

 

[dangerdoc]

I have about 3-4 acres in hillside that is a pain to mow. I've been burning it off every other year which seems to work out pretty well.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Put an add in the farm classifieds--Free hay to anyone who will put it up. If anyone takes you up on the offer, insist that they mow all the way to the edges. If no one takes you up on the offer you already have the best thing to take care of it. A brush hog. MOw it one time in late summer and that will keep it looking nice. The piles the brush hog leaves is not going to hurt it. Mowing thick hay with a cycle bar mower is nothing but aggrivation.