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Tennessee and Alabama are known for our rural landscapes. You don’t have to pay to find beauty here – it’s everywhere. Hills, hollows, hickory trees, and hayfields.
The hills and hollows are there whether we like it or not (we do), but there is a lot of work that goes into those hayfields.
There’s the warm weather work that people normally think of – cutting, baling and hauling – but there is so much more that goes into making quality hay that keeps livestock healthy and strong.
Testing, spraying, conditioning and even just checking hayfields for pests and weeds takes a significant amount of time and effort. That’s why TriGreen has been proud to stand with our hay and livestock producers for decades.
Because they work hard. Plus, we love beef.
This blog is intended to be a brief overview. For detailed information from experts on the science of forages, making hay, haylage and silages, reach out to your local extension agent or visit the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and University of Tennessee Extension System websites.
Visit our Hay & Forage page for info on the hay equipment that you can rely on to keep your operation rolling. Keep reading for broader info on that equipment and the science behind hay.
Growing And Cutting Hay
Hay is more than just grass. It is made from many different crops. Tall fescue grows well in most Tennessee hay fields, but alfalfa, ryegrass, barley, bermudagrass, rye, wheat, oats, clover, orchardgrass, sorghum, pearl millet, timothy, or a mix of grasses and cereals are also common. There are benefits, drawbacks and niches for all of these. Tennessee Extension’s knowledge base for Hay and Forages is a great place to learn the specifics.
In our temperate Southeastern climate, we can get multiple cuttings every growing season from some of these crops. The ideal time to make hay from each plant is before it blooms or reaches maturity. When a flower or seeds develop, the plant has entered its reproductive state – meaning that it is putting energy into reproducing, rather than growing. You should generally harvest it in its vegetative state where it’s higher in fiber, more palatable, and more digestible for your livestock.
You might think that you should let your hay grow taller to have a higher yield, but in this field, less is often more. While you can get a higher volume ofhay if you let your pasture grow, the end product will likely be lower quality, take longer to dry and will cause more wear and tear on your equipment during processing. Balers can even get clogged if windrows – rows of piled, harvested forage or other crops – are too thick. And with the unpredictability of Alabama and Tennessee weather, haymakers can’t always wait the extra days for drying. Hence the old saying, “make hay when the sun shines”.
Timing Your Hay Harvest
According to the Tennessee Extension’s article, High Quality Hay Production, this is the optimal timing for cutting the most common forages in Tennessee for hay:
| Type of Hay | Timing to Harvest |
|---|---|
| Alfalfa | Bud stage for first cutting, 1/10 bloom for second and later cuttings. For new spring seedings, allow the first cutting to reach full bloom |
| Barley | Boot to early head stage. |
| Bermudagrass | 15- to 18-inch height for first cutting, every four weeks thereafter. |
| Oats | Boot to early head stage. |
| Orchardgrass | Boot to early head stage for first cut, 4-6 weeks thereafter. |
| Pearl millet | 40-inch height or early boot stage, whichever comes first. |
| Red or crimson clover | Early to half bloom. |
| Rye | Boot to early head stage. |
| Ryegrass | Boot to early head stage. |
| Sorghum | Early boot stage or 40 inches, whichever happens first. |
| Tall fescue | Boot to early head stage for 1st cutting. Every 4-6 weeks after for 2nd and 3rd cuttings. |
| Timothy | Boot to early head stage for 1st cutting. Every 4-6 weeks after for 2nd and 3rd cuttings. |
| Wheat | Boot to early head stage. |
Timing is everything. In addition to the right height and stage of plant growth, your crops must have the right amount of moisture. For quality bales, the stem moisture of your hay should be between 8 and 15 percent. At that level of moisture, hay feels brittle and crisp and breaks easily. Cut a little and test it with a handheld hay moisture meter for accuracy.
You can’t predict the weather, but in this case, you have to try. There’s an old saying, “Make hay while the sun shines.” Follow that advice and cut your pasture when there are a few days of sunshine in the forecast to allow it to dry. Rain can damage the leaves and cause the nutrients to leach out. A good forecast also allows the sun to do the work of drying your hay for you.
The Equipment
Gathering a single acre of hay to feed animals in the winter was once something that took large teams of people an entire day. Modern hay equipment has no problem cutting dozens of acres in a single day.
Hay Tractors
Most hay operations use utility tractors for the whole process. Your mower, tedder, rake and baler need a reliable tractor to pull and power them. Some hay producers have a tractor that they use for specific tasks, while others might use a single tractor for the whole process.
So what size tractor do you need to cut, bale, and move hay? Ron Dugger is on of our sales professionals in Jasper, Alabama, and he lives and breathes hay. Here’s what Ron tells people:
- The John Deere 5120M is a great all-around hay tractor. It has the weight and power to run 4’x5′ and 4’x6′ balers comfortably and the 520M loader provides the reach that a good hay-hauling machine needs. Get the specs for the 5120M utility tractor here.
- Ron recommends the 5100E utility tractor as a lower-cost option if you’re baling 4’x5′ bales. It’s a great tractor for raking, tedding, and – equipped with the 520 loader – hauling. Click here to learn more about the 5100E utility tractor.
- For a 5×6 bales and larger, Ron recommends moving up to a heavier tractor in the 6 series, like a 6M 115 or 6M 125 that can handle the extra weight of the baler and the bale inside.
Balers
There are two primary types of balers: round balers and square balers. There are several “subtypes” within each of those categories, which you can see on our Hay & Forage page, but it all really comes down more to the shape of the bale. Square bales are great for storing in hay lofts and feeding in stalls. Round bales are great for feeding large numbers of cattle or other livestock, and stacking in large quantities. John Deere has manufactured round balers since the 1970’s. Today’s 1-Series balers are complex machines that can sense the moisture level and density of bales.
Check out this video of our Forage & Livestock Segment Manager, Bret Smith, explaining the details of the 461M baler up close!
Round balers will generally make bales in 4’x5′, 5’x5′,4’x6′ or 5’x6′ dimensions. As the weight of the bale goes up, so does the weight of the baler.
TriGreen’s Certified Dealer Instructor, Wayne Vetter, explains why you might need a specific tractor for a specific baler, “You want a machine that is heavy enough to pull the baler without the ‘tail’ wagging the dog’”. Wayne has 30 years of experience working on John Deere equipment professionally and teaching technicians of all experience levels.
Disc Mowers
Pastures aren’t known for their level surfaces. Disc mowers provide a clean, consistent cut on the roughest of hay fields. They simply hook up to the back of your utility tractor to turn it into a mower capable of handling tough, thick crops.
Hay Tedders
Moisture can turn a perfectly-timed cut into low-quality feed. Hay tedders turn the hay over with rotating forks to help your harvest dry out better. Freshly-cut grass and cereal can dry out and be made into hay the same day.
Hay rakes
Hay Rakes create the windrows that balers pick up and turn into bales. Raking is done after tedding has spread the hay evenly across the field. There are several types of rakes.
- Traditional wheel rakes use special wheels (you guessed it) in a funnel shape to bring the hay from being randomly spread, into a neat row.
- Rotary rakes use a mechanical rotational motion to quickly and efficiently pile the windrow together.
Bale Spears
Small or large, square or round, you have to move those bales at some point. Bale spears allow you to pick up your hay bales and transport them to a barn, shed, or another area of your farm for long-term storage.
Assess your needs. There’s a variety of hay and forage equipment to handle farms and tasks of all sizes. You’ll need somewhere to store your hay bales and the equipment used to make them.
