Hay not been cut yet!🙈

[Ali27]

I’ve got three acres that desperately needs cutting. The guy who said he was going to do it told me last week to trust him but weather this week isn’t looking great! Wish I’d just topped it a few times and not tried for hay.
Anyone else in the same position?
I’m starting to think that I might be better off getting rid of the grass by getting sheep on and buying in hay! Or has anyone got any other ideas on how I can get rid of the grass? I’ve got three very good doers and it’s way too much for them to go on

 

[Tiddlypom]

I feel your pain. I've just given up waiting for a suitable weather window to make small square bales. My land is so wet that it would take a week of good drying weather before it could even be cut, let alone made. I have offered my 2.5 acres of standing hay to my neighbour. He is going to make big square wrapped haylage off it. They are no use to me, but as far as I'm concerned, it gets my hay field cleared.

I'll have to buy in at considerable expense - first time we've not successfully made hay in 36 years. Virtually no hay made this year in these parts, there has just never been a long enough dry spell.

It's too tall to put sheep on as it is.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Yes … our fields were supposed to be cut by now but looking good here for this week so fingers crossed

 

[cauda equina]

Could you leave it as foggage and strip graze over the winter?

 

[Auslander]

My hay man asked if I could have as many as possible on haylage this winter - as he is having so much trouble trying to get his hay in

 

[twiggy2]

I would leave and feed as foggage

 

[w1bbler]

Strip graze as foggage over winter. Buying in hay will be a struggle & expensive if you can find any.

 

[setterlover]

We cut for haylege in the 3 to 4 day window of dry last week with the stuff we made in June that gives us enough for our own use ( nothing to sell which we usually have about 20 big bales to sell) One of our 3 has mild COPD so moved over to mostly haylege a couple of years ago .Still have 10 large bales of meadow hay from 2022 .
Never known it this difficult to make hay /haylege .Thinking I will try to close off one field over the winter to make a bigger early cut in May/June next year as the last 3 years we have made brilliant hay / haylege at the end of May/June.

 

[palo1]

We have managed to make 2 lots of good haylage this year; the second being this last week. No chance at all to make hay but thankfully we don't have to use hay and our horse haylage has worked really well for our horses previously. It's been a very difficult year and hay will be difficult to come by and expensive this winter. Very difficult if you have to feed hay tbh but the bigger haylage making companies should be able to offer information and analysis so that people can find some fodder that works if hay really isn't available. I suspect that many people will have to turn to haylage this winter because of the summer weather.

 

[Orangehorse]

I’ve got three acres that desperately needs cutting. The guy who said he was going to do it told me last week to trust him but weather this week isn’t looking great! Wish I’d just topped it a few times and not tried for hay.
Anyone else in the same position?
I’m starting to think that I might be better off getting rid of the grass by getting sheep on and buying in hay! Or has anyone got any other ideas on how I can get rid of the grass? I’ve got three very good doers and it’s way too much for them to go on

Strip graze through the winter, save you buying so much hay.

 

[Orangehorse]

We made a lot of hay in June.

We have still got well over 100 acres still not cut, and some that nearly got baled, but the baler broke down and it is still in the field.

We have combined the winter barley and wheat though!

 

[Melody Grey]

Strip graze as foggage over winter. Buying in hay will be a struggle & expensive if you can find any.

This- use what you’ve got!

 

[reynold]

Lucky to get your arable crops done. The 3 large fields of barley surrounding the stables have now gone from yellow to dark brown and won't be of much quality. Were ready for combine 3 weeks ago but too wet.

Farm where OH works still has 100 acres of hay to do but luckily it's 95% round bales needed so with luck they'll get a lot done in the hot spell this week.

 

[irishdraft]

Could you leave it as foggage and strip graze over the winter?

This is what I would do x

 

[dorsetladette]

We've cut hay the first week in september before now. Ours all did well on it. I know some say that the goodness has gone once the seed heads fall but it worked fine for us.

Our hearts were in our mouths until it was all baled and in the barn but it was lovely hay in the end. We all had a few grey hairs that autumn.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Slight hi jack, but how long does black wrapped big square bale haylage last when opened? How do you know that it is safe to feed to horses?

My neighbour (who would make it) was asking why I can't use it. I'm very risk averse and my 3 horses would take a long time, 10 days at least, to eat their way through a whole bale even in the middle of winter.

I've only fed hay before.

 

[blitznbobs]

I have a field standing(accident rather than design and im going to feed it as foggage over the winter

 

[YourValentine]

Could you leave it as foggage and strip graze over the winter?

100% this. By winter it will have lost even more of its nutritional value and basically be standing hay.
If you have wet ground, either strip graze with a back fence or move them round in a small cell. So that they aren't repeatedly going back over the same ground amd trashing it. Looking at regenerative grazing, and people that out winter the idea is graze 1/3, trample 1/3, leave 1/3 as you move round the grazing. If we have a mild winter you might be able to do 2 'laps' of your grazing as it recovers with rest post installation graze.

 

[SantaVera]

Raining here now but due to clear later today when we hope to mow,we got some last week and this is the last batch.

 

[dorsetladette]

Slight hi jack, but how long does black wrapped big square bale haylage last when opened? How do you know that it is safe to feed to horses?

My neighbour (who would make it) was asking why I can't use it. I'm very risk averse and my 3 horses would take a long time, 10 days at least, to eat their way through a whole bale even in the middle of winter.

I've only fed hay before.

My friend has a bale open currently that she plans to take to the Sunshine tour in September. She's oppens it fully and shakes it out so it drys and doesn't go mouldy.

I think winter she doesn't shake it as it is used a lot quicker. But her rule of thumb is 7-10 days if kept out of direct sunlight and unwrapped fully.

I only use hay as mine are all natives so no extra calories/rocket fuel needed over here!

 

[Merrymoles]

Still not down here, for reasons too complicated to go into but partly because of the lack of any long enough dry spell. For the first time, someone else will be doing it for the yard this year but he has a lot of arable land so will also have to fit it in around combining if we do ever get a long enough dry spell. So we might still be on foggage at this rate and having to buy in for the stables.

 

[Fransurrey]

Our YO just pressed in this week regardless. It was rained on before, during and now after cutting. Needless to say I'll be buying haylage in this year!

 

[palo1]

Slight hi jack, but how long does black wrapped big square bale haylage last when opened? How do you know that it is safe to feed to horses?

My neighbour (who would make it) was asking why I can't use it. I'm very risk averse and my 3 horses would take a long time, 10 days at least, to eat their way through a whole bale even in the middle of winter.

I've only fed hay before.

It takes my 3 between 7-10 days to eat a large round bale of haylage in mid winter. I don't have any problems with that length of time but would not go much longer. I do haynet it though so whilst they never run out, it is not totally free access. That is because I loathe seeing fodder wasted by being trampled on etc and also allows me to check that the haylage in each net is good. I am particularly careful because my mare has a sensitive respiratory system. I know whether it is good or not by the smell and look of it. Haylage can have a variety of smells most of which are 'good' (banana'y, lovely fresh hay-y, slightly fruity etc) but bad haylage is pretty unmistakable; either 'wet/rotten' or mouldy; you can simply smell vile mould. I don't find it difficult to remove any patches I am not sure about. There is quite a bit of information about how to tell which smells etc are good on the interwebby lol.

None of mine have had digestive or foot issues from feeding haylage; my OH makes it for his sheep and for my horses and it is relatively 'dry' rather than being silage which is definitely wetter on the whole. I am totally converted to haylage; the horses winter so well on it and it is less risky for me than hay which is generally more likely to cause respiratory issues. I find it easy to tell if a particular bale of haylage is 'good' and whether any patches are not good enough for horses.

ETA: I am considering using a haylage bale net this year to cut down on hay-netting but not yet convinced that is either 'best' or necessary.

 

[Ali27]

Thank you everyone for all all the replies/ advice I guess I could leave it as standing hay if necessary as mine stay out 24/7 most of the year. The only issue is that it’s the top end of field which gets really wet. I was supposed to be getting it mole ploughed to help with drainage Got go love British weather

 

[JackFrost]

Advice please - I have never fed haylage and always been wary of it, much preferring hay, but this year I might have to!

What are the risks, what to look out for etc?

I've never found standing hay lasts like dried baled, and mine seem to want the dried summer hay regardless of how much foggage there is.

 

[Muddy unicorn]

We have a six acre field which I’d been hoping to cut for hay but so far haven’t had a dry enough spell and I’m not convinced we’re going to get it done at all now.

It’s their winter field so at some point I will need to get them onto it. Would we be better off flailing it and letting it rest for a few weeks or be leaving it as standing hay? They tend not to eat the long seedy bits when they’re still in the ground so wondering if they’ll just trample it?

 

[Landcruiser]

Slight hi jack, but how long does black wrapped big square bale haylage last when opened? How do you know that it is safe to feed to horses?

My neighbour (who would make it) was asking why I can't use it. I'm very risk averse and my 3 horses would take a long time, 10 days at least, to eat their way through a whole bale even in the middle of winter.

I've only fed hay before.

I have used it very successfully through winter for 3 horses, a big bale as you said lasting about 10 days. It lasts fine.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Slight hi jack, but how long does black wrapped big square bale haylage last when opened? How do you know that it is safe to feed to horses?

My neighbour (who would make it) was asking why I can't use it. I'm very risk averse and my 3 horses would take a long time, 10 days at least, to eat their way through a whole bale even in the middle of winter.

I've only fed hay before.

We use big round bales of haylage from a trusted farm source, they last our 2 x 16 hh horses about 10/12 days and are usually fine. If there is a bit at the end that has got too warm we just don't use it. We pay £45 per bale (might go up this year) and think it's worth throwing a bit away to avoid the price if small bale hay, we have nowhere to store big bale hay.

 

[Melody Grey]

We have a six acre field which I’d been hoping to cut for hay but so far haven’t had a dry enough spell and I’m not convinced we’re going to get it done at all now.

It’s their winter field so at some point I will need to get them onto it. Would we be better off flailing it and letting it rest for a few weeks or be leaving it as standing hay? They tend not to eat the long seedy bits when they’re still in the ground so wondering if they’ll just trample it?

I’ve always fed the standing hay strip grazed- I think they’d just trample it otherwise, though depending on your setup, this might be tricky if it’s just one big lot?

 

[Melody Grey]

Advice please - I have never fed haylage and always been wary of it, much preferring hay, but this year I might have to!

What are the risks, what to look out for etc?

I've never found standing hay lasts like dried baled, and mine seem to want the dried summer hay regardless of how much foggage there is.

Mine have always eaten the foggage, though I tend not to put any hay out until we’re pretty much through it, though they do come in and have hay in the day.