Feeding Hay in the Winter at Strong Roots Farm

[@steveningrahm8928]

I baled my own hay with a JD 567 big round baler with net wrap. I baled no more than 700 / 1800 pound bales per season. I avoided selling hay and always kept my leftover year old hay and fed it first to the cows in the fall and early winter. Net wrapped tightly baled bales keep longer and shed water when stored outside. Our pastures were a mix of cool season grasses, bluegrass, orchardgrass, brome, timothy and Dutch white clover. The grass hay fields were brome, orchardgrass, timothy and birdsfoot treefoil with a little volunteer red clover. We also raised alfalfa in solid stands. I enjoy your videos. Now that I am retired from farming, I try to share my experience without being too critical. Keep up the good work!

[@DonsAdventureJournal]

Great video and information as always. I am from Florida and hope to start a small homestead/farm in the next few years somewhere in the Southeast, I look forward to your upcoming series on the topic. On a side note, I have heard a few other KZbinrs I watch say that posting shorts or short-form content on their channel, which is mainly longer-form content, has hurt their channel and video views. They said that they would have been better off not posting the short-form content at all or making a separate account just for the short-form content. This is just something to consider and look into if you have not already.

[@jaycarroll9058]

Thank you Sir

[@anthonydolezal6627]

FYI if you store loader buckets or implements just put a couple of old tires down or wood pallets. Keeps things off the ground and cleaner. Experience talking.😂 Thanks! Keep Smilin!!!!

[@StrongRootsFarmOH]

Good idea, my issue was ice on the locking mechanism hole not allowing it to attach. Two minutes of scrapping and it was fine just a pain in the moment.

[@usbpphillips]

Dam, around here the cheapest I could find was 900lb square bales for $135.

[@bobwilliams4528]

I'm in Southeast Ohio and have been watching all your video's lately, great content. My request is a video on subsidies, the pros and cons of being involved with the government. I plan on starting to build fence in march , hay storrage etc., just getting started and would like your perspective. Thanks

[@StrongRootsFarmOH]

Thanks for watching, I have never used any government assistance. My experience around it is the funds that they give come with inspections and standards of building that cost more than just doing it myself. 1 example would be building fence they want a wood post every 10 ft. And that makes the fence cost significantly more and actually has less life because wood post quality is so poor. You will loose 1 in 25 within the first 10 years due to rot, and is a lot of work to repair. Around here they want things built with approved contractors who do the bare minimum to get the funds. This spring I’m going to do a fencing series, there are way better ways to build cattle fence than the grants specify. I have friends that have took the money and it helps but they all complain about the process and the logic. 1 in 5 actually are happy they did it. Sorry that’s kind of negative but I hope it helps.

[@steveningrahm8928]

@@StrongRootsFarmOH I had no idea there were grants or other government funding available for fencing. I have built miles of fence and built and rebuilt our corrals, feed lots, holding and sorting pens. We built them all on our own dime.

[@StrongRootsFarmOH]

Us as well

[@jaclynalley809]

us too

[@hitman1421]

Damn it's 100+ in Colorado

[@StrongRootsFarmOH]

That’s crazy, good luck

[@usbpphillips]

New Mexico too.

[@ericmadden1473]

If you was going to get into first generation cattle where would you start, how big/little, cow calf op, steers?

[@StrongRootsFarmOH]

Here is a video I did a few weeks ago on that topic. kzbin.info/www/bejne/omGrZqaMjNmSmqMsi=u3ou-X1jUxKAiY5P

[@StrongRootsFarmOH]

Hope that helps, if you have more questions let me know.

[@steveningrahm8928]

When you are able to sell hay, everyone else is probably also selling their hay, the hay market quickly becomes too cheap and you can't cover your production costs. If you are buying hay, everyone in the area is buying hay, the market demand drives the cost up and hay becomes unaffordable. Its always been that way and not likely to change.

[@mcchupka9718]

Hay is as important as pastures and soil health? I have spent the last few years improving my pastures, which were without livestock and neglected for 20 years, but that is mainly because that is all I have time to do while working full time and being away from home for most of that time. That said, the hay (non-forage growth) was so bad that I couldn’t even get any local farmers to cut it for me. I probably have 20+/- acres of hay fields that had been reduced to about 12-15 acres by briars, brambles, and those “stalky” plants that Jarrod mentioned in this video that cattle do not like. The first couple of years I mowed and baled it into round bales, the quality was very poor but since then, I bushhog it two to three times a year and the quality is vastly improved. I have a my own tractor and old beat up rotary brush cutter but borrowed the hay equipment, which is not in good shape and I have no time to maintain for my friend. I am on the fence, pun intended, as to buy hay or make my own hay in the future, when I have livestock. If I will make my own hay, that is a huge upfront investment cost for the equipment. Where I am, I get the impression that farmers only tend to sale the hay they do not want but I am trying to develop the relationships (like Jarrod mentioned) with locals that might give me insight on a quality, affordable source of hay for my future farmstead.

[@StrongRootsFarmOH]

Great comment

[@leonfuerst4790]

1st, 2nd or 3rd cutting, which one is best?

[@StrongRootsFarmOH]

It’s arguable but it depends on the timing more than the cut. As production goes you will always get more from 1st cutting but I know people that would rather buy fall cut hay. Personally I buy 1st cut, it has a better layer of seeds to bring into new land and I like having it store and knowing winter is safe earlier.

[@leonfuerst4790]

@jwmcginnis thanks for the videos and input. Looking start with cattle this fall. I need all the information I can get.