Author Topic: How much hay from3/4 acre? (Read 6268 times)

egglady · « **on:** April 02, 2011, 07:54:51 pm »

We've got an unploughed and unseeded field that we want to plough and seed so we can take our own hay from it. Having never done anything like this before, I'm wondering if anyone can advise us:

is this the right time to plough
how much grass seed - we have horses, sheep, goats (soon)

and most importantly, how much hay are we likely to get? i know its weather dependant and all that - just looking for a rough idea

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many thanks

robert waddell · « **Reply #1 on:** April 02, 2011, 08:10:49 pm »

you wont get hay from it this year with your plan

silage or haylage is a possibility(round bales)
not much from 3/4 acre 15 round bales or 75 small square bales

a lot of factors depend on your seeding rate ideal one seed at the corner of one square inch is sufficent

egglady · « **Reply #2 on:** April 02, 2011, 08:35:18 pm »

lillian thanks.

i know we wont get anything this year - unless anyone can tell me how to?

and i cant work out on square inches........?

15 round bales/75 square are still a big help and will save us quite a lot of money over the years. not enough for us to sell anything, but certainly enough to feed our animals through the winter. anymore winters like the last 2 and we'd be bankrupt me thinks!

piggy · « **Reply #3 on:** April 02, 2011, 08:40:19 pm »

Hi.
Dont want to put a downer on things but will you be cutting and bailing yourself as we had about the same to cut and i asked my neighbour who cuts all the fields around us and he said after his fee we would be left with very little and wouldnt be worth it.

egglady · « **Reply #4 on:** April 02, 2011, 08:42:22 pm »

yes i think, with a little help from some friends, we will be able to do it ourselves. hopefully anyways.

belgianblue · « **Reply #5 on:** April 03, 2011, 07:24:42 pm »

10 big bales to the acre.

woollyval · « **Reply #6 on:** April 04, 2011, 11:02:53 pm »

I have a question.....when you say unploughed and unseeded.....do you mean its been arable land or is it old grassland? If grassland DO NOT plough it and reseed....just use what you have already got!

ellied · « **Reply #7 on:** April 05, 2011, 08:40:13 am »

Word of caution re counting bales per acre, that is in a good year - the reason hay is so expensive is the last 2 summers either hay hasn't been made due to weather or it's been thinner growth and in some cases I've been told there were as few as half the expected bales per acre cut..

That said, if the weather doesn't let you make hay, at least you will have decent standing grass for the ponies to go on over winter (standing hay!) and the sheep behind them to tidy it up

egglady · « **Reply #8 on:** April 05, 2011, 07:23:04 pm »

hi ellied, yes thats what i thought - though no fencing and as its not our field i doubt i'll pay to get some!

and itsbeen ploughed in the past, old chap with a tractor that simply enjoys ploughing it up every so often! so yes, it will need seeded.

daddymatty82 · « **Reply #9 on:** April 06, 2011, 08:35:33 am »

i heard local farmers last year was getting to big bales an acre on a good run most was about bale and half. on our field we use about 4 ish acres 3/4's of our field we fenced off a little bit more this year than we did last year and got over 100 bales less so depending on how it grows when its done you will get your answer. how many animals you got to feed from it?

egglady · « **Reply #10 on:** April 06, 2011, 09:54:00 am »

2 horses (though one wil sadly be PTS before this winter); 5 ewes & whatever lambs they produce this year & 2 gimmers & couple of goats by then - so not that much but every little helps and hay costs cripple us every winter...takes the whole of the following year to recoup!