[Fleecewife]

Through a mixture of me being in and out of hospital this year and the weather being unsympathetic to haymaking, our crop is still lying sodden in the field a week away from the end of August. This will be only the second time in almost 30 years that we have not cropped our hay to feed our sheep.  It doesn't really matter this year as we will not be lambing them next spring, so our supplies of last year's hay plus Willow branches will probably be enough, unless it's a particularly severe winter  (plus a few judicious sales).


Is anyone else in the same boat?  I'm wondering what you do with the fallen grass?  One year our neighbour cut his to 'tidy up' between Christmas and New Year  .  I wondered if our Superpowered Hebrideans would manage to eat it off or would it be safer to cut and compost it because of the length?

[Backinwellies]

Nobody has been able to make any here this year ....  it has rained every 2 days since end June .... and grass didnt start growing till July!   

My few cows are getting fatter and fatter!

[Rosemary]

Nobody has been able to make any here this year ....  it has rained every 2 days since end June .... and grass didnt start growing till July!   

My few cows are getting fatter and fatter!

Oh well, they'll get thinner and thinner over winter 

[SallyintNorth]

For once we got the biggest hay field shut up earlier, and were ready to make hay in June.  But the combination of weather and our contractor didn't happen.  By the time he had some space in his schedule, the rains had started, and now the crop is as thick as I've ever seen it here, the ground is moist and soft underneath it, so it'll take at least 3 probably 4 dry days to make hay.  (Usually it's quite a thin crop and we can often get it baled - small bales - on the second day.)  We had a 2-day window in the weather recently, but the contractor said that small bale haylage wasn't an option either, as with only 2 days drying, the bales would still be too heavy for his baler. 

So I am definitely feeling that I don't want to shut up the biggest hay field early again!  (I shall go back to lambing in there, and I lamb second half of April, so the field doesn't then get shut up until well into May.)

We've made small bale hay here in September before, but that was with a much thinner crop, so we will be lucky to get any hay this year now.  However, I remember one year we managed to make small bale hay in September up on Hadrian's Wall, so I shan't completely give up hope yet!  Also, we could make big round bale hay if we had to, which can be baled a bit damper and left to air in the field if necessary.  (We can just about manage to use big round bales of hay, although it's a faff, but we don't have enough stock to get through a big round bale of haylage before it goes off - plus we don't feed haylage in the fields as it destroys the soil structure.)

I am fairly confident we should still get some small bale haylage from the smaller field, which was shut up later (expecting to be a second crop, but we've not managed a first crop yet...)  So hopefully we'll get the haylage we need for the cattle (who we house over winter.)  But I am ruefully expecting to be keeping the bigger hay field as winter forage for the sheep, and buying in hay for the ponies and some for the sheep when they need a bit extra towards the end of winter.   Thankfully there's a local farmer makes rough old untreated hay which is perfect for the ponies, and the sheep will eat when they need it - and the farmer always has hay if we need it, he's been a godsend many times!  He charges a sensible price too.  But it's going to be galling buying in poorer hay for more money than it would have cost to make our own, when we should've had more than plenty of our own...

[Forestlens]

We’re still using up 3-yo hay from our first summer here! Just as well as hay harvest has been disastrous so far. Apart from an early cut in June haymakers in Devon are struggling and as a result the quantity and quality will suffer and prices will rise! We have a few bales left that will see us through half the winter but fully expecting to pay high later. Unless we have a fantastic autumn, but even then you need twice the time to make hay than in the summer as temperatures fall and dews make drying slower. We made the decision not to make our own hay due to the investment in machinery required. Consequently we’re prepared to pay if we have to. Fortunately horses don’t require high nutritional value hay and the sheep live on air!

[twizzel]

Ours is on the ground, OH just got back from turning it. Balers are coming tomorrow. It has a lot of 2nd growth and feed value not going to be great but it’ll have to do. It looked cracking in the dry spell in June but we’d spread fertiliser on it so couldn’t cut 

[Fleecewife]

@Forestiens it's interesting what you say about having taken the decision not to make your own hay because of the cost of equipment.
When we came here nearly 30 years ago, our housewarming present from a brother in law was a rather the worse for wear David Brown tractor, which had been in a crash!  My husband is skilled with mechanics, so we gradually bought lots of last-legs machinery in the local sales and he did them up.  They included a small square baler.  Since then we have learnt how to make hay and how to do it in Scotland where it's a constant battle against the rain and, in our area anyway, there's no such thing as a second cut! All the grotty old machinery has lasted the course apart from a hay bob which had to be replaced a few years ago - with a NEW one 


I have noticed that quite a lot of folk on TAS get contractors in to make their hay so I thought that I would mention that it is possible to buy second (5th) hand machinery if you can do the repairs yourself.  Not only does this save money but it ensures that yours is the only crop being cut at the time ie your contractor isn't trying to cut several other peoples' crops that day.  We never thought we would be able to buy a baler but it cost only £500!  Not much spread out over 30 years!
So for people new to smallholding, it is possible to do things yourself, especially if you take the long view.

[oor wullie]

Got mine made 2 weeks ago, about half the yield of last year and the weather window was a few hours too short for the second field so that had to be wrapped.

It's easy to see why most people here wrap, it must save a lot of nerves!

[Forestlens]

@Forestiens it's interesting what you say about having taken the decision not to make your own hay because of the cost of equipment.

[member=4333]Fleecewife[/member] cost of equipment is not the only reason. We rarely have more than 6 acres available to make hay and the risk of ending up with a load of rubbish with limited storage facilities is such that we’d rather buy what little we need in and let others take the risk! We don’t like relying on contractors either, I’d hate to be one, especially this year! We’re fortunate that we can keep the animals out all year without them making much mess! So the hay is really just bulk fibre for the horses and the sheep get any duff or dusty bales to eat/ bounce on!

[landroverroy]

Nobody has been able to make any here this year ....  it has rained every 2 days since end June .... and grass didnt start growing till July! 

We did!!
Grass grew well this spring and we made hay in mid June when the weather was perfect. Then the intermittent rain and sunshine since has meant the grass has kept growing amazing - even into August when it normally slows right down.
We are in the middle of Yorkshire, so don't have a unique climate. So I can't understand why so many people have been unable to get a hay crop. June hay is the most nutritious. You might get more in July (weather permitting) but it is more stemmy and has lost digestibility. So to me - any time after the end of May if the weather is right then we cut it. As they say - make hay when the sun shines! No good waiting for a heavier crop and good weather in a few weeks because (as this year), it may never happen. 

[SallyintNorth]

We are in the middle of Yorkshire, so don't have a unique climate. So I can't understand why so many people have been unable to get a hay crop.

For once we got the biggest hay field shut up earlier, and were ready to make hay in June.  But the combination of weather and our contractor didn't happen.  By the time he had some space in his schedule, the rains had started.

Is why.

[twizzel]

We are in the middle of Yorkshire, so don't have a unique climate. So I can't understand why so many people have been unable to get a hay crop.

We spread fertiliser in late April/early may which thanks to the drought didn’t soak in properly, so when we wanted to cut, we couldn’t.


Our hay got wet last night and today, it’s a sore subject in our house

[Fleecewife]

Nobody has been able to make any here this year ....  it has rained every 2 days since end June .... and grass didnt start growing till July! 

We did!!
Grass grew well this spring and we made hay in mid June when the weather was perfect. Then the intermittent rain and sunshine since has meant the grass has kept growing amazing - even into August when it normally slows right down.
We are in the middle of Yorkshire, so don't have a unique climate. So I can't understand why so many people have been unable to get a hay crop. June hay is the most nutritious. You might get more in July (weather permitting) but it is more stemmy and has lost digestibility. So to me - any time after the end of May if the weather is right then we cut it. As they say - make hay when the sun shines! No good waiting for a heavier crop and good weather in a few weeks because (as this year), it may never happen.

Ah yes, I lived in Yorkshire for a while - tropical    Here, there was NO rain in spring so by June the grass was perhaps 3-4 inches long, so nothing to cut, not just that we wanted to wait for more.  In fact in our part of Scotland we rarely cut hay before late July anyway.  It poured for the rest of the year and there is still no sign in the forecast of more than a dry day or two together.  We're still hopeful 


So if we need to buy in hay, Yorkshire's the place to come?

[Backinwellies]

Nobody has been able to make any here this year ....  it has rained every 2 days since end June .... and grass didnt start growing till July! 

. So I can't understand why so many people have been unable to get a hay crop. June hay is the most nutritious. 

Lucky you!!

We had a spring drought alongside some very cold winds ... there was no grass to graze never mind cut here in June!

[KirinChris]

We could have done it in June but our horses were still on the field and by the time we got their summer field ready (it’s our first year here and the place had not been well kept for a while) it was too late.

Their summer field is in a worse state than the winter field ever was !

We have a friendly farmer who was going to do the hay. He took the grass off the summer fields for silage before the horses went on. He came around the other day and was very pessimistic about getting it off now so he’ll take it for haylage and will give us hay as he has plenty.