It seems everyone has their own way of doing things whether they feed first or second cut hay. My horses are coming home in a week (Yay!!) and our neighbor cuts our larger field for hay every year. He said he would give me a good deal because we own the land. However, it has not been cut yet this year. So technically it’s the first time it’s being cut but I imagine it has more of the content of second cut. Can anyone tell me if this is a good idea? Would be great to get the discount but I want to make sure I get good quality also. Thanks!
Usually late cut is long and stemmy. I had some cut for the first time about two weeks ago. My horses like it, but they are eating more than they would as a decent first cut.
I’d still probably go for it–but I wouldn’t pay more than about $2 a bale for it (at least, in Michigan).
If you can get second cut it would be better,or earlier cut 1st cut. Late 1st cut is stemmy.Second year in a row i’m getting late 1st cutting hay. Oh well horses have to eat what i can get.
It won’t be as good, but if it is baled correctly and the price is right, it should be okay. You might just need to feed more of it to get the same nutrition as better quality hay. Personally, I feed my easy keepers first cut (cut on time) on purpose because with the cheaper price and lower nutrition, I am able to feed them a lot of it, keeping them busier over a longer time than if I went with the higher quality second cut.
It will have a good undergrowth but a big majority will be dry, dead and already gone to seed so it will be yellow and stalky. They will pick through what they want so be prepared for waste, be prepared to feed more and get a good vit/ min supplement.
Also keep in mind that if your weather has been hot and dry the undergrowth might be pretty dry too this late. It has been brutal here and there are a lot of people who baled their first cutting on the same day they cut it because everything was dried out already!
If this is how your neighbor is normally, I would look at finding someone else to bale it next year for you.
We did our second cutting weeks ago.
We live in Vermont and it has been incredibly rainy here all season. I just talked to someone around here and she said that it is the best anyone is getting around here this year because it’s basically the first time we’ve had 5 days without rain.
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Same here rainy summer and hay growers cut when it going to be a dry period. And that was just a few days ago. Not much choice when it rains every other day. Been this way for 2 summers horses survive eating less then great hay.
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Like Malean and tazycat we have had a very wet summer. Cut my first cut yesterday…But there have been 2 years in the past that I have cut it even later than this and even though it was a bit coarse and stalky the horses still found it very palatable and no-one lost weight, unlike this year when I had to buy some over-dry hay to get me through the late spring and even the donkey lost weight on that crap. 5/7 of mine are easy keepers though. The quality of the hay to begin with will have a big impact on how good it still is when cut late.
I have one horse who is fed 2nd cut only as not only is he 21 he also had two dental surgeries and is missing 3 molars. So he needs all the bang for his buck he can get. When he was still in work on the 2nd cut he could get a little…expressive, but he’s retired now and it doesn’t affect his attitude on the ground. Then there’s my Morgan mare who gets out of hand even on 1 flake of 2nd cut a day.
This year in Ontario for hay we have to take what we can get. There’s lots of hay, but because of the complete inability for it to actually not rain for long enough to get the hay from cut to baled the quality is questionable.
Depends on what is growing. If it is mostly orchard or timothy as other have said there is going to be a lot of “junk” over matured, dead seed stalks and brown leaf. The bales will have little nutritional value. Horses will just kick it around looking for munchable, tasty stuff.
If it is just field grass you should inspect how much “brown leaf” is in it. “Grass” that is left to just grow without being periodically mowed gets long and the green stuff dies off. The new growth is slow in coming “under” it. Which is another reason to mow grazing pastures and paddocks. Plus horse much prefer the softer new growth over the course older stuff.
If the second cutting of a “pure” stand of Orchard or Timothy is not cut in a timely fashion you will encounter a large amount of “brown leaf” dead leaf in the bales. Just part of the natural growing part. I advise people when buying second cutting, first also, to crack open a bale and eye ball the green/dark-green to brown/dead leaf ratio.
The normal share cropping of hay in my neck of the hay woods is a 60-40 split. The field owner getting 40%. But that also includes the person getting the 60% looks after the stand. Certain amount of fertilizing and weed control. But for this to be worth while to the person baling it usually has to be of decent quality. Enough acres to be worth hauling equipment to the field. Generic field grass and no care taking, small acreage pretty much take what is offered.
We have been like that here too, but did get a short break to get the hay up. Sometimes you don’t have a choice and we have all been there , even when you grow your own hay. If your horses are not overly picky they will learn to eat it because there is nothing else.
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We have also had a hard time getting hay off this year…rain rain and more rain in Ontario.
We did our first - and only - cut last week and it is just fine.
When you are working with bad weather you take what you can get!
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Just to clarify, the important thing is how mature the grass is when it’s cut for hay. Younger grass is finer, more palatable, and has more nutrition.
Here in the PNW first cut hay tends to be very mature, stalky, and low nutrition because the grass starts to grow in February but can’t be cut into May or June because of the weather. Second cut hay is what regrows by August, and is less mature and higher nutrition. It often won’t have flower heads.
I can imagine in a different climate that first cut hay could be less mature depending on the time span between first growth and harvest. Also in some dryer climates second growth hay might be sparse.
Howevet, whatever your locsl climate, if your hay has not been cut until July or August it will be very mature, probably gone fully to seed. So I’m not sure what you mean by it being more like second cut. I’d say rather it would be like very coarse first cut.
My horse won’t even graze fully mature fresh grass in August, if it is 6 feet tall with stems like small.twigs.
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We are expecting to get our first (and only) cut in today. Some of it will definitely be stalky and over-mature but it is what it is.
What are you growing for hay? What type of horses are you feeding?
For harder keeping performance horses, I prefer a nice 2nd cutting orchard grass, since that is what is available in my area for a good price. For my easy keeping stock breed horses, I’d like your hay please! Unless you are feeding hard keepers, your horses will be just fine with hay that went a little mature. I really prefer that to the pretty green stuff - it’s so important to keep forage in front of a horse 24/7 and I’d hate to have to limit hay. They are much better off being able to munch on something all day and all night, and if that means you need to feed a lower quality hay, then do it. I’d check prices on craigslist and fb. Who is responsible for the upkeep (fertilizer, lime, etc) of the hayfields, you or the neighbor?
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If OP is like we are it’s one cutting of hay. If it’s late july chances of a second cutting are slim or won’t happen. We haven’t had a second cutting of hay in years. So horse’s have to eat what gets baled.
Interestingly in the PNW very mature hay, meaning for us stalky first cut, can be crazy high in sugar. It’s low nutrition, low protein, low palatibility, but up to 25 % NSC. So horses fed free choice on it don’t really always do that well. They get hay bellies. And they can be obese but not muscled, and it can contribute to metabolic problems and founder.
This is our very local hay grown in the rain belt area. Hay from 150 miles away in the dry belt has a very different nutrition profile.
So I stay away from our local ffirst cut
If it is overly wet than it might be better to brush hog the first cutting and plan on a good second cutting. The only problem is you get a lot less obviously. In MN we did our first cutting on alfalfa mix in June and got 2 more cuttings after that by September.
You just have to choose quality or quantity. Most people choose quantity.
Here, in central CA, where the main hay sold is alfalfa, you are more likely to get a lot of weeds in first cutting hay. Most of the people I know prefer the 2nd cut, which is cleaner. Usually.
eta: We get up to 9 cuttings of alfalfa a season, if there’s water. The later cuttings are stemmier than earlier cuttings, and it seems that new plantings have finer stems than do the older plantings. The growers often get 5 years out of a single planting.
in my neck of the woods when they bale hay on your land they get half of the crop. If they do not want half or you need it all then the $2.00 a bale sound right
You feed alfalfa right? I think you have a little bit of an advantage over those who feed a grass hay. Our first year in MN I had to buy hay since we arrived in late August. It was alfalfa and really stemmy for my liking but they ate it all and did very well on it.
Your hay doesn’t look too bad from what I can see of it.
We were in West Central MN , so I know our temps were a little warmer than up near Duluth ( for example). I was thankful!!
