Topping Fields

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HelsB

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I have been let down making my hay, so now have told the farmer I cannot have the 2 acres standing grass which he offered me.

Unfortunately I had also saved an acre of my own grazing for hay, which has grown to long for the horses to eat now, and cannot graze one of the 2 horses on it due to a grass pollen allergy!!

If I have it topped what do I do with the surplus grass (hay!) I would Imagine there to be approx 30-40 bales worth on there which could be pretty back breaking work raking up....and then what to do with it??

If I leave it on the field would I have to harrow or anything? How long til I could graze the field?

Any advice appreciated, thanks!
 
Please dont worry about the long grass/standing hay. We make our own hay each year but choose not to mow all the hay field. We use electric tape and strip graze it during November and December, moving the tape a foot or two into the long grass every couple of days or so, once the horses have eaten off the long grass to which they were given access. [ think dairy cows strip grazing].
If I owned more acreage I'd leave even more "standing hay" than I do at present. We tidy up by topping in April when the horses are moved off onto another pasture and after topping we appy fert for the next hay crop.
 
Sorry to high-jack the thread but : Does 'standing hay' work?

Thats is hopefully what we'll be doing this year. We've had the 6 horses confined to a near side of the field (river splits it in half) and have about 7acres of long grass that's been ungrazed since spring.

Only problem is it's about 40% weeds (butter cups, clover etc)
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Does that stuff die back? I'm sure buttercups are non-poisionous when dead?

Also, is letting them graze it flat going to make the grass growth and % better or worse next year?
 
yes it does work--up to a point!
the feed value wont be as good because the grass has "gone back" and you wont get the same bale number equivalent as if you had mowed it. probably something like about half,eg if your field yields 100 bales and this lasts you for 2 months, by leaving it standing and strip grazing it you might only get it to last for 1 month.- 6 weeks.
where it works out well is if, like us, you shut up field to mow but regulally get too many bales. we now leave some "standing hay" as we call it and strip graze it. usually lasts us til end of Dec so dont need to feed hay until then.[ our horses live out 24/7].
you do need to tidy up though or you'll eventually get rough or lank areas. we either top the area in April when the horses are moved off, or just fertilise and mow that area the following summer, leaving a different area standing. this keeps the field tidy and even in its type of grass distribution.
If i had more land I'd leave more "standing hay" and try to make it last all winter, but I just dont have enough land to do this.
re buttercups, they do die back, never rally thought about them,we do have them in the field. other weeds,depends on what they are,docks and thistles need spraying with weedkiller IMO to get rid of them.
the field gets mowed at some point in the year so tht helps with weed control.
 
Ooh that's interesting, never heard of grazing "standing hay" before!!

Have put my boy on half of it but will try strip grazing him on it from tonight and see if he puts a better dent in it that way....also will be able to find the poo's better!! LOL!!
 
The only downside for me of this approach is its harder to find the poos for poo picking and also harder to be sure there arent any little ragwort plants coming up beneath the long growth.

And it gives me hayfever. Ive just topped mine, lost it all, but didnt top it very short so theres still 3-4 inches for the horses to chew on.
 
Well I started to strip graze the bit with my boy on last night (he's out overnight) He is on a half acre patch at the mo so I put the fence about 8 metres in to it, I should think it will take him about a week to eat it almost bare then I will move it a foot every day or 2 depending on how fast he eats it & how fat he's getting!

It is making poo picking easier than having him on the whole half acre! Besides which he is very tidy
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I intend to follow him with our very old ride on mower (which has grass collector box) once he has eaten all he will off it, at least there is lots less waste then than topping the lot.

If this works will get him on the next field, which is almost double the size.

It is also making me ride more, am making sure we work pretty hard to counteract the extra grass....also saving me hay when in during the day even though I feel a bit stingy!!

Thanks so much guys for giving me this option, I really had never ever thought of it and had never heard of it being done!

You learn something new every day....specially on HHO!!
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Why dont you offer the field to another farmer - he can cut it and take it away? he will be getting some free bales, and you wont be paying for him to top it etc?

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Quite possible if there were 10 acres or something but is only an acre of a fairly thin crop.....they won't even turn out for it even if I pay more than the hay is worth
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well it seems to be working! Harley is on a patch about 30m x 10m and is doing a pretty good job on it! Will be able to go round with our ancient ride on mower after him with hardly any waste....and far cheaper than hay making!!
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