Late cut hay

[Pennyhp]

Is it bad to feed late cut hay?

I don't think it is second cut, just cut late.
I responded to an ad for hay for sale and the man said it was clean and dust and mould free, but that it was late cut hay.

I havn't actually seen it and wondered if its worth the effort to go and have a look or just leave well alone?

 

[Zebedee]

Late cut hay tends to be lower in nutritional values than the earlier cuts. It's also harder to get dry because the dews down in the mornings longer, the nights are colder & damper & the sun isn't as hot as it is in June & July.
We made hayalge at the very end of August last year. It was the first dry weather window after the hot spell that we had at the beginning of June!! It's been fantastic with regard to being dust & mould free & the horses have done really well on it.
I would go & have a look at this hay, & if it's clean & smells sweet then go for it.

 

[Zebedee]

Oops.......sorry your user name should have given me a clue to your location!! I'm not sure if the same weather conditions / dews etc apply in Canada!!
You need to PM Tia.......she's from Canada & is a hay farmer.

 

[Tia]

We made one of our fields late first-cut hay last year, and I am using this now. It is fine to feed so long as it is clean and dust-free. The nutritional value is not anywhere like the top-notch stuff but now is a good time to feed it as the horses are all starting to take more grass now that it is growing again. It's great as a packer and a good source of fibre; they will be getting some half decent nutrients in the fresh young grass and you don't want to overload the horses on the grass right now, so late cut is perfect.

Just to give you an idea; no clue as to what price is being charged up your way, but we sold our top quality first-cut hay this winter for $3.80 per small square, 2nd cut for $3.50 and our late-first-cut for $2.50, so you should be looking at a reduction in price for this hay.

Definitely worth a look, particularly as you have to bank on feeding hay most of the year here because once the blazing heat of the summer gets underway you will lose a lot of your pasture down to frizzling away.

 

[Tia]

Yes it is quite different over here Zeb. We are often still baling at 9pm. Hay often only needs to be down for one day, sometimes 2 days and then it is dry enough to bale. We get intense heat here from May right through till early September. It was quite a learning curve for us when we first came here, as we were always used to having just one cut from our hay fields, around May/June time, back in England. Over here, we can easily get 3 or 4 cuts, however on our farm we only ever take 2 cuts maximum during a growing season otherwise you end up with too high a percentage of alfalfa content and the nutritional values sky-rocket to a level which could be risky for horses.

Early first-cut is the cream of the crop, generally speaking. For horses, you have to wait a little longer as you must have the alfalfa in bloom before taking the crop. Cutting always rests on waiting for the alfalfa to be perfect and sometimes that can be a real pain if the rest of your grasses are ready to take but the alfalfa hasn't bloomed.

It may turn out to be a nightmare for us this year as we have about 120 acres in hay this year and I'm not sure about the logistics of taking it all in one hit. What fun!

 

[Cop-Pop]

We are feeding late cut haylage as it was underwater until mid August - we had it analysed so we know what it's lacking.

 

[Pennyhp]

Thanks all for the replies.

Tia very valuable information.
I am going to look at it tomorrow.
Here we definatlely have access to much cheaper hay then up your way.
In the summer I buy straight from the field. First cut hay at $1.65 and that was delivered.
At this time of year the most expensive local hay is $2.50 that I have seen.
This late cut hay is being advertised at $1.25 a bale!
Thats what made me more suspicious as to its quality. He assures me though that is is dry and not dusty or moldy.
Anyway I will go and have a look tomorrow and see what its like.

Thanks again.