Has anyone made any hay?

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canteron

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No rain for weeks here (east of England) and very little grass growth, so no hay to cut.
Any parts of the country which have actually managed to have a May hay crop? I guess too early to panic, but it’s looking at the moment as if there could be a hay (and wider food?) crisis if this continues.
 
It's a little bit early for hay in the North East, we are thinking of cutting for haylage in the next week or so.
We cut about 800 acres of grass for hay and haylage over the Summer and late May is our usual first cut time.
 
I sat having lunch yesterday watching a couple of tractors spreading muck on fields which had obviously recently been cut, presumably for silage, as there was a field of dairy cattle close by. Our own grass just isn't growing.
 
We've made silage, but we are struggling to keep our sheep with grass. We ordered 5 tonnes of creep for the lambs to keep them growing and lessen the burden on the ewes.
We got a bit of rain yesterday but it evaporated before the ground had chance to drink it in!.
Thankfully we have a shed full of last year's hay but if we have a bad winter we will need more.
 
Where OH works they cut hay in May last year after cutting silage late april.

This year they are only just thinking about silage for next week and hay with luck in June. Hay fields have been fertilised and the grass is still less than 12inches high on fields that haven't been grazed since last autumn.

The rain we had sunday night should with luck put on a growth spurt but that was the first in weeks.

North Sussex/Surrey border.
 
My clients are just cutting silage. They are all still feeding the cattle, and most have said they will be running out of last years silage and be moving on to their hay. Which doesn't bode well for those that buy in from them. We have had no rain and are watering our summer paddocks willing them to grow. Ours are still on the winter ones and having full crates of hay each day. Had a delivery of hay at the weekend and luckily for us he has plenty and my hayalge man keeps it back for me!
 
Looking to do wrapped hay at the end of June, as mine don't need it so good. Fields looking ok after having cattle on them before Christmas, lots of herbage popping up when I walked the dog through it the other day, so fingers crossed the weather holds to do it! (ETA in West Wales)
 
My Son in Law is cutting silage this week. It is drier than I have ever known in this dairy farming corner of SWScotland but the silage fields look great. They have had plenty of slurry out on them so have grown well. Second crop will depend on some rain though, I would have thought and the cows grazing fields may suffer if it continues so dry. We buy in haylage for the horses so we wait to see how that goes this year. I am sure this weather will break eventually.
 
Growth is very, very slow in the SE but we had rain yesterday so fingers crossed. They grow super speedy rye in the field next to the bridlepath and he'd had silage off it this time last year (he got 3 cuts 2024!) but its not quite there yet.
 
It’s silage around here just now, too early for hay.

Weathers to break next week for some rain. Grass will sprout after that more than likely. I’m lucky my farmer makes lovely hay and haylege on site 👌🏻🙂
 
We are on the edge of the fens on clay. The lawn is still growing well, and we mowed the paddocks middle of March to tidy the weeds, and that has grown slowly, it's normally cut June. Its rough pasture and will probably make cattle hay.
I have had to track graze as they are all too fat really, and that is like a cricket pitch.
 
The dairy farm across the fields have started their 2nd cut silage, however their acreage is like painting the Forth bridge when it comes to silage making. The grass drier on the other side is still doing first cut for grass nuts/dried grass. Our hay fields are starting to get going now, the grass has got to the stage where it can trap overnight dew/moisture and use it for growth. The sheep however are having to graze some of the hay grass.
 
Got one field ready to be cut in June. It’s very wet underneath in the winter as has an underground spring under it but it’s growing like mad now in the hot weather! The other field is growing but not ready yet but will cut it end of the summer and possibly be able to cut the other one again at this rate if it grows again as much as it is at the moment!
 
We had thunderstorms yesterday and a good deluge.
I was at work and everyone (most of whom I guess are not overly concerned about grass growth) exclaimed Rain!! with glee as the heavens opened.
We need more than 1 deluge though.
 
We are in Northern Ireland and a farmer near us cut hay this week- he has lots of well rested fertilised land. This is the first time ever that I have known it done in May here. In days gone by, getting first cut of silage before this week was the target, and that was done weeks ago in many places.
I'm a bit concerned that he has done it as he just doesn't feel like we will get another dry week now until August... which would also be typical for NI lol
 
Hay being cut as we speak .Looks lovely and yield seems okay .
Neighbouring farmer doing it and taking it as we are in the process of selling up and moving . It will tidy up the fields and knock money off what I owe him when we finally settle up.
 
My farrier who helps manage a large farm, cut my hay, it was wrapped, says hay yields are 50% down and he thinks the cereal harvest will be the same. On the positive side the field he cut at the start of June is show green growth so perhaps there may be a second cut.
 
Grass at home is zero.
We do however make our hay from low lying water meadows which seems to grow grass in any conditions so we have been incredibly lucky to have made some great hay already.
There are 3 meadows, one isn’t in a scheme so we did that one and I *think have made enough to get me through winter. We have the other two to do. That can’t be done until mid July. There’s a lot of grass, it will
Take some hot weather to make it nicely so I always worry about that and the weather.
 
canteron said:
No rain for weeks here (east of England) and very little grass growth, so I no hay to cut.
Any parts of the country which have actually managed to have a May hay crop? I guess too early to panic, but it’s looking at the moment as if there could be a hay (and wider food?) crisis if this continues.
Click to expand...
Have a read through the farming press?!
Yields considerably lower than last year or than usual, right across UK.
So yes, prices and availability aren’t going to be user friendly.
We’re on second cut silage, have had to do it because the grass has already headed up, although the density is dire. Nephew’s mown some this morning which is so thin and dry he’s just raking it straight up for the forager. First cut quality was very good (May), but a ridiculously light crop.
If you see anything decent for sale, grab it, you’ll easily sell on if your own does ‘come good’.
 
Yes, I would be looking at making sure your supply is secure for this winter.

Our silage was 100 loads down and we just baled the hay for the neighbour, with half the usual number of bales.

We simply haven't had enough rain.
 
Eeek on the back of this thread I checked with my local farmer on my winter supply. He hasn’t managed to make any haylage squares yet for commercial sale and has had to concentrate on his own stuff.
Praying for a decent 3rd cut or I’m going to have to rapidly find alternative supply!
 
We've not got grass to cut, but YO has just secured 2 big loads of small bale meadow hay to see us all through winter - and has warned us it's going to be pricey.
 
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