Before You Bale Grass Hay: Let Your Field go to Seed Prior to First Cutting! Self-Seeding!

Before You Bale Grass Hay: Let Your Field go to Seed Prior to First Cutting! Self Seeding! In this video, Tim talks to us about why it can be beneficial to let your field go to seed prior to your first cutting.
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Thanks again for watching!

[@ScottyHunter]

I'm sure whatever you said towards the end of the video was important... but after you picked up Maevis, that's all I could focus on. What a cutie! Hope she's still doing well after 3 years!

[@davidhook487]

The cute puppy was the highlight! :-)

[@LinessaFarms]

Hello, David! For sure. Mavis is very large now and getting ready to turn 1!

[@gibson8615]

Thanks! What a happy Dog👍

[@LinessaFarms]

Thank you, Gibson. We appreciate the kind words and appreciate you watching our videos. Mavis the Great Pyrenees is indeed a happy dog!

[@brianwideman2342]

Couldn't agree more. There's a reason why God said, "Let your fields rest every 7 years ".

[@guardianminifarm8005]

Appreciate this. Beautiful Great Pyrenees. Fantastic LGD.

[@LinessaFarms]

Thank you for watching and for taking the time to leave a kind comment. That puppy is now a 145 pound monster, but still sweet as can be.

[@EZ-viewing.]

Thanks for the great insight. Really appreciate you sharing your experience. Will try this next time. Cheers.

[@LinessaFarms]

Hello, Mark. Thank you for watching our videos and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.

[@EZ-viewing.]

My pleasure. Just a further enquiry if I may; when the crop goes into seed, readying for next season, do you need to add any additional seeds to ensure a fuller harvest? Alternatively, a brief overview of how you actually manage your crop/seeding etc would be great. I always learn so much from your experience. Thanks in advance.

[@thebamlife1775]

Great tip!

[@LinessaFarms]

Thank you!

[@dwightbarnett2778]

Very informative

[@LinessaFarms]

Thank you, sir.

[@biofarmakolin]

I just found your channel and I like it very much;). I also delay mowing so that the grass spills out at the shear.

[@LinessaFarms]

Thank you for watching our videos and thank you for taking the time to leave us a kind message. 😬

[@BurtsRanch]

Good to see someone else has the same idea, its free re seeding/continuous pasture renewal. No one advises it because it means you dont spend money.

[@LinessaFarms]

Yeah. The seed companies like you more when you buy theirs instead of using yours. 😬

[@MikeOrazzi]

Yep. Hay is a lot of work and it is complicated at times too.

[@ricardojohnson7368]

I like Mavis... lol. I also let my lawn turf go to seed not in the spring but mid to late summer

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Would the soil type affect germination? I believe you spread manure across your fields every year Tim? Do you ever allow the animals to graze these fields or are they primarily for hay? Thanks for being such a great teacher. We sure appreciate it!!

[@marjoriepope7015]

Omg I love Mavis

[@LinessaFarms]

She’s just as cute now and 100 pounds heavier!

[@perlovaya]

Brought back memories when out GP was apuppy her name is Deacon now 3 yrs old just the greatest addition to our farm. Your seed reproduction should work with clovers and alfalfa as well right?

[@LinessaFarms]

Hello! Thanks for watching our videos and thanks for taking the time to leave us a comment. We have another GP puppy now to keep the one in the video company. Different plants go to seed at different times so this is really a matter of timing for most people. We generally expect our first cutting to be a little on the stemmy side anyway so letting the orchard grass go to see isn’t too big of a deal for us. Clover is so naturally prolific, you really don’t need to do anything special to keep it going. Alfalfa will naturally spread as well once you get it going. Alfalfa is not very user friendly due to chemicals released by the root system that make it objectionable towards attempts at overseeing. All in all, letting your plants go to seed for overseeding purposes works best with grasses. Just remember, this is done at the cost of having stemmy hay and slightly decreased nutritional value.

[@beatrizviacava-goulet3450]

❤

[@richardherrmann1954]

Good. Ida .

[@LinessaFarms]

Thank you!

[@ttss5726]

Ok back to the show the dog

[@LinessaFarms]

😂

[@farmingforfunandprofit940]

Pretty sound advice for you folks that raise grass that is propogated by Seed...... Down South Mostly all hay growers grow a hybrid variety of Bermuda Grass that is planted by Sprigging............ Usually ist cut is the first week in June Then every 6 weeks by a calendar........Oh Yea never needs replanting........

[@LinessaFarms]

We are jealous of the grazing and hay resources down south. We pray for 3 cuttings. On the rare, rare occasion we can get a 4th cutting. The problem we run into during fall cutting is the temps don’t get high enough to dry the hay down. 😕 Thanks for watching our videos and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Much appreciated.

[@CatalpaCreekFarm]

Do you use any herbicide? We have some broomsedge and foxtails here in Ohio.

[@LinessaFarms]

Hello, Kelly. We do not. We have found once the pasture is thick enough we can usually control it. When we planted our pastures we started fresh with tilled ground and that helps as well. Penn State has a good article to check out here: extension.psu.edu/how-to-tell-foxtail-from-timothy-and-control-it

[@gonzalotarditto2395]

How short do you cut your pasture for hay?

[@LinessaFarms]

Hello, Gonzalo. Thank you for watching our videos! Studies show you what to leave at least 4 inches of growth with each cutting or you could potentially be doing more harm than good.

[@onesimoquiroz9808]

Where can I get that kind of seed I want to start making my own hay?

[@LinessaFarms]

Here in the United States there are regional seed distributors. You may also be able to find individuals who will ship seed to you. We find it is best to talk to someone from your region that can and will talk to you specifically about what works best with your soil and weather.

[@horsegirl344]

Question! We have had 3 people scheduled to come bale our field for us-yet none of them showed. Our hay field seeded out and is now mostly brown. Is it lost completely? Can we still have it baled (if someone will do it?) or should we just mow it down? 😩

[@LinessaFarms]

Is there any way you can have your animals graze it at this point? Perhaps some temporary fencing?

[@horsegirl344]

That’s what I was leaning toward, but only with the goats. I don’t want the pigs rooting it up since I want it to regrow again lol. I’m just frustrated because I bought seed and was supposed to have it baled and now I may end up having to buy hay this winter because no one will come do it. Guess it’s time to buy my own equipment! :/

[@kambingsembilankebumen]

how to deal with lamb meat that has a lot of fat, in terms of feed?

[@LinessaFarms]

If we need to cut a fat appearance, we will start limiting the hay intake and focus more on grain intake. If the animal is actually fat and has a lot of fat in the meat, you’re probably feeding them a little too well and need to restrict your grain a little more. It’s very difficult to grow an animal quickly without added fat content. Here in the United States there is a noticeable difference between grain fed livestock and grass fed cattle. The grass fed cattle grow much slower and the muscling is denser with closer muscle fibers. The grain fed livestock have much more fat in the meat and the meat is softer and more “flavorful”. Some of our customers, specifically our customers from India do not want traditional “American Fed” goats or lambs because they are too fat. For my Indian customers, my goats and lambs get more hay and less grain. The downside is, they grow slower. The benefit is, they tend to stay very lean.

[@esben181]

But this is only for the first cutting? Consecutive cuttings shouldn't be allowed to seed right?

[@LinessaFarms]

You are correct! Thanks for watching and leaving a great question 👍🏻

[@binmehmood3042]

I'm a farmer from Pakistan , I beg to differ on this if you let your grass seed that means you are compromising on the nutritional value of your hay. In order to get best results in terms of nutritional value especially proteins it should be cut right before seeding. Just a suggestion for your subscribers

[@LinessaFarms]

You are correct. This method of letting it go to seed should only be used with specific grasses if the farmer is needing to reseed or overseed due to thin stock. From a nutritional value perspective. Just before or at early seed development stage will provide the highest protein level as forage. Also, harvesting early will provide less stem and a more palatable product.

[@binmehmood3042]

@@LinessaFarms in my humble opinion if you want to reseed for any reason, fresh seed from market is a cheaper option this way you can identify the exact area of the field which has thin stock and seed can be broad casted more over waiting for the crop to seed takes much longer time.

[@eddieb9110]

@@binmehmood3042 I agree. Losing a cutting for seed just doesn't make sense.

[@steveogden1829]

I always called that pollen; not seed. By the time the grass actually goes to seed; the grass will be way too mature to make good hay.

[@LinessaFarms]

I’m sorry you called it pollen, Steve. This is early season orchard grass. It’s seed and it is stemmy but not unbearable. This is not as unforgiving as some of the old varieties of orchard grass that would turn to cord wood by the time it goes to seed.

[@steveogden1829]

@@LinessaFarms Got it. The stage that grass is in would make some really nice hay. At least that's what I think.

[@LinessaFarms]

@@steveogden1829 it’s still a bit stemmy but not as bad as the stuff we grew up with. When I went to plant this grass there were 13 varieties of orchard grass to choose from. 😐 You almost need a seed specialist now a days to know what to get. I should have mentioned in the video that you can’t pull this off with traditional grass for the reason you mentioned.

[@steveogden1829]

@@LinessaFarms Have you heard of any varieties of orchard grass that are "roundup ready"

[@LinessaFarms]

@@steveogden1829 I have not. I will talk to our seed guy the next time I see him and let you know.

[@WilliamEllison]

this doesn't work for the home owner. We can't let it go to seed. By then the grass is to tall to cut. Do you understand.. You would have to cut it by hand.

[@eddieb9110]

You pretty much lose the first cutting then. TDN and protein pretty much disappear by the time the plant completes the reproductive phase. It starts going way down around the boot phase. Spending the money to harvest it and putting wear on equipment to get gut filler with no nutritional value doesn't make a lot of sense. Is it even the right time to seed at that point?

[@LinessaFarms]

I will attempt to meet you in the middle. We have a highly diverse field with a lot of different grasses, and legumes such as clover and alfalfa. This gives me a lot of leeway when it comes to doing something like this. The diminished nutritional amount I loose from letting the orchard grass seed out does just fine for us because we have so darn much clover. It actually helps us with bloat and drying down. With that being said… you are right. This is not something you would want to do in some cases. The farmer will need to look at a lot of different factors. As you mentioned, boot or early boot stage would be best from a nutritional standpoint. Once you get to seed nutritional value plummets. As far as mowing, we are running a high end discbine and have no problems. There is no way on earth I would try to mow this with a traditional cutter or any low speed device. We round bale this as well. I don’t think I would want to run it through a small square baler. Seems to me that when it’s this stemmy, that creates issues. In addition, we are feeding this to goats and sheep. The goats like the stems, the sheep do not. If one was to consider this for sheep only, I think you’re going to have a lot of waste. When it comes to seeding, more considerations. For us to drill in grass over our existing pasture we were looking at about 3k. For us, this wasn’t cost effective. Looking at the timing, yes, this is the best time to seed. That’s why the plant naturally goes to seed at this time. We will usually see pretty good new growth popping up before second cutting. A few additional points… there is no reason to do this every year. This is a “one and done” situation and should only be done when needed. You also need to look at if you have enough diversity in your field to make this a reasonable option because, as mentioned, you’re going to lose a lot of nutrition. Grazing animals on new growth grasses is a waste of your time because they will rip it out root and all in most cases, so consider that you will need to keep the animals off any new growth ideally for a year. Lastly, as mentioned, you need to look at equipment and bale type. The thicker things get, the harder it is to cut, dry down, and bale. Thanks for the comment and thanks for taking the time to leave a message. We appreciate the points and hopefully this will help others considering this method.

[@eddieb9110]

@@LinessaFarms I guess as long as the other stuff in the mix isn't late as well. I like to have the seed down early for moisture, not at the end of the first cutting. I'm sure that varies with location. It would be really easy for me to lose more than 3k letting things head out.

[@Yuwanwinzxing-lc2jp]

What's your name bob

[@LinessaFarms]

Tim, not Bob… but you can call me Bob if you prefer.

[@spoolsandbobbins]

@@LinessaFarms 😂

[@maximus574]

Goats prefer less steamy hay because their digestion is extremely fast. The less steamy the better for the rumen. My goats when given a choice of steamy hay versus less they will not touch steamy hay.

[@LinessaFarms]

Thanks for watching our videos and taking the time to leave a message. 👍🏻