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I have four acres of my field that I'd like to develop into grassland good enough for hay-making. It used to be grassland but hadn't been touched for several years before I took it over earlier this year. Most of it is still grass and I've had it topped to keep it under control, but there is a fair amount of dock, hogwort (the normal, not the giant) and some ragwort.

I'm pulling the ragwort and topping the hogwort to stop it seeding, but wonder how 'clean' the field needs to be for hay. I should be able to manage the ragwort by hand but what about the other weeds? Does the field need to be completely free of these for hay-making? Thanks!