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Author Topic: Anyone still to cut hay?  (Read 27780 times)

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #15 on: August 03, 2015, 01:33:09 pm »
<<<Hay doesn't go off like silage, so yes you can use a big bale over a long period of time.>>>

But if it's from a big round bale it can be horrible to pull off enough.  I suppose you could lie it on its side and unroll a bit each time.

Sally, that's an advantage you have as being part of a large farm.  You can use silage.  But having a small number of sheep means silage or haylage goes off too quickly for us to use.  A couple of smallholdings hereabouts in past years have used contractors who didn't try too hard to get the crop as hay, so wrapped it as big bales, and those expensive bales have just sat in a corner and rotted.  We don't have a mini bale wrapper, and the nearest one I've seen is on Mull.  I know there must be some closer, but no-one we know.  So for us it's hay or nothing  :farmer:  Maybe we should hold off until early September to finally give up on it.
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #16 on: August 03, 2015, 05:36:54 pm »
Yes, I realised bale silage wasn't an option for you, FW.  There was a chap using a converted regular small baler to wrap small bales in Devon to sell to horsey folk - he lived off the proceeds! 

The only thoughts I had about your crop that's gone over were (a) have it made as big bale silage and sell it.  At least the profit would make a contribution to the hay or straw you would need to buy in, and (b) BH talks about them making silage in bags, like big strong dustbin bags, years ago.  I don't know any more about it than that but can ask, if required.

And I agree that it's not at all as easy using hay off a big round bale as using small bales, or even big slices off a Heston or mini-Heston (big square) bale.  If you've got the room, then standing it upright and walking around and around unwinding is the best way, and even then it's a palaver.  But frankly it's easier and less 'orrid than using stinky staining silage ;)
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Old Shep

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • North Yorkshire
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #17 on: August 03, 2015, 10:56:05 pm »
We have yet to make our ha also, there was one week that we could have done it but two of us out of three were crippled with bad backs so it wasn't do-able!

Helen - (used to be just Shep).  Gordon Setters, Border Collies and chief lambing assistant to BigBennyShep.

Hevxxx99

  • Joined Sep 2012
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #18 on: August 03, 2015, 11:10:32 pm »
I know a couple of farmers here in North Yorks who never cut before the second half of August.  Personally, I think it is horrible stalky stuff but it's better than nothing and one, at least has a very good flock of sheep living off it.

We have cut in September when the grass was very slow, but made haylage rather than hay and even that was rather wet.

Penninehillbilly

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • West Yorks
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #19 on: August 04, 2015, 12:16:21 am »
And I agree that it's not at all as easy using hay off a big round bale as using small bales, or even big slices off a Heston or mini-Heston (big square) bale.  If you've got the room, then standing it upright and walking around and around unwinding is the best way, and even then it's a palaver. 
Unwinding it is the idea someone suggested, so thats the way I'm thinking.
Thanks

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #20 on: August 07, 2015, 05:33:07 pm »
Well we've taken the plunge and cut it.  The forecast is a bit iffy, but if we don't make it now then it's lost, so it seems worth taking the chance. The ground is still very wet, so tomorrow instead of spreading it we'll row it up and let the ground between the rows dry out, while the breeze starts the drying.  Same again the next day but the hay will be moved onto the dry stripes.  That's worked for us before  :fc:  Then we can spread and dry normally  :farmer:
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

waterbuffalofarmer

  • Joined Apr 2014
  • Mid Wales
  • Owner of 61 Mediterranean water buffaloes
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #21 on: August 07, 2015, 06:01:22 pm »
My mower is playing up I've had to spend hrs fixing it, I just hope it really works. :tired:
the most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, loving concern.

devonlady

  • Joined Aug 2014
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #22 on: August 08, 2015, 08:31:19 am »
Sally' I remember those big black bags for silage! I wish I could find some now. They were so useful, opened out and put on manured/composted ground as a mulch. You could plant through them.
As for hay, down here in South Devon we haven't had the quantity but all saved by July. Also wheat, barley ,oats being harvested now and straw baled. Then, though I hate to say it, we need RAIN!! We have had the odd days of showers but nothing like enough.

Carse Goodlifers

  • Joined Oct 2013
  • Perthshire
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #23 on: August 08, 2015, 09:50:14 am »
A lot of folk up in Angus still to cut.
However, the forecast is looking fine so folk were cutting it yesterday and hopefully will get it bailed before the weather changes.

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #24 on: August 08, 2015, 11:21:15 am »
We've another field getting baled and wrapped  :( today.  Running out of fields - and time - that could be hay... when will summer come to N Cumbria  :-\
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #25 on: August 08, 2015, 12:51:29 pm »
It's a gorgeous day today  :sunshine:, with a good breeze to dry the hay.  However, there's thunderstorms forecast for Monday  :rant: then rain setting in next weekend  :raining:.  Not looking good really.  We would rather have rain soon after cutting than once it's nearly ready.

I think yesterday and today are summer up here, then back to good old November  :cold:
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Sudanpan

  • Joined Jan 2009
  • West Cornwall
    • Movement is Life
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #26 on: August 08, 2015, 08:40:33 pm »
We still have ours to cut - it looked fantastic 4 weeks ago but the weather has been so iffy, plus we have been busy elsewhere, that we never sorted a 3/4 day window so it's still there - getting stalkier and stalkier :(
Hopefully we can get it done in the next 10 days or so

Fieldfare

  • Joined Feb 2011
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #27 on: August 08, 2015, 10:31:14 pm »
OK... so cut it all down this morning/lunchtime... perfect weather for it  :) Made a couple of mistakes- didn't 'toe in' the cutter blades enough... and when cutting each row I missed about a tyre-width strip... I think I will already have plenty of 'aftermath' the minute I take the bales off  :dunce: Anyway- you live and learn I guess!

Penninehillbilly

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • West Yorks
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #28 on: August 09, 2015, 12:38:19 am »
The person I buy hay from (from off the field) asked thecontractor to do it early July (I think it was then, there was some good hay being got in) he gave some reason for not cutting, now it's gone over, I'll be looking for it elsewhere, Getting worried, I have 4 (small square) bales left, we go through 1+ a week with the goats.
 

'our' hay was cut this week, I was at Halifax Show all day, OH came to tell me it was being baled and we had to get it in this evening, rain forcast for overnight, managed to leave 10 bales covered up, 8 are still in the van and 62 in various places in the barn. I really struggle with heights, but it was only fair I went up on the loft to pull them off OH as he carried them up a ladder. we were both too tired and it was unsafe for him to be carrying them up the ladder (+ he is 70!).
Not sure it's dry enough, some bales were a bit too heavy, we will have to see.
I'll need some more, but just now feeling too old for this lark :-(

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Anyone still to cut hay?
« Reply #29 on: August 09, 2015, 08:38:38 am »
Don't forget to stack it with air gaps, and to keep checking it's not heating up.   Wouldn't like your loft to burn.
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

 

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