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Discussion on Growing Hay
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Member:
silly
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Posted on Saturday, Jan 26, 2008 - 7:43 pm:
Hi Guys. OK so I have a 3 acre lot that won't have horses on it for a few years and I thought I would grow hay while it's empty. My question is, is this enough land to cut and sell? We're in upstate NY and not sure yet what type of hay to grow...
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Member:
paul303
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Posted on Sunday, Jan 27, 2008 - 1:01 am:
Upstate New York produces pretty nice hay, but 3 acres is a bit small. Talk to people in your area who cut and bale hay and see what they say. Just drive around and look for a farm that has hay equipment, or is an obvious hay producing farm. They will usually cut and bale for a per bale fee. 3 acres is not worth buying equipment and doing it yourself.
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Member:
silly
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Posted on Sunday, Jan 27, 2008 - 8:22 am:
I think you're right, 3 acres is rather small. I thought perhaps I could utilize that space since there's no horses on it yet and there's some kind of agricultural tax break if we produce something so I was hoping to go that route. I will check out a hay producing farm and see what they say.
Thanks for your input, it really helps to have somewhere to go for suggestions...
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Sunday, Jan 27, 2008 - 8:55 am:
Besides local hay growers check with your extension service, in our area often these are people with a lot of experience. Much depends on whether there is an existing stand of usable forage or if you are going to have to establish it which is expensive if not exactly money wise in time.
DrO
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Member:
silly
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Posted on Sunday, Jan 27, 2008 - 11:32 am:
OK, thanks. I'll be asking a lot of questions, so please bear with me...
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Sunday, Jan 27, 2008 - 5:39 pm:
Quite a few farmers around here bale their hay right off of the pasture. If you have a good stand of grass that isn't real weedy it could be worth hiring someone to do it. We bale hay and to tell you the truth I'd rather buy it. Fighting the weather and the cost of everything almost makes it cheaper...almost.
If you aren't going to be using it could you put it in set a side acres for a few Years? Depends on what it was used for before I believe, but the government pays you for it? I'm not sure what the requirements are we haven't taken that journey yet
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Member:
alden
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Posted on Tuesday, Jan 29, 2008 - 8:34 pm:
Most anyone can cut and bale hay, but to get really good hay is as much art as science. And from a lot of the hay I'm seeing around here there are fewer and fewer people that know the art  .
Unless it's different back east, and there is equipment next door, I can't imagine cutting three acres would be worth while.
Maybe there's some critters available to graze it?
Good day,
Alden
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Member:
silly
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Posted on Tuesday, Jan 29, 2008 - 11:34 pm:
I love the idea of critters grazing it, but unfortunately we're not on the property full time yet. Not even part time yet (we live an hour away from the property). Over the next year or so we plan to build a garage to house equipment, with an apartment atop to live in till the rest of the farm is developed. So, I think my best bet is to just establish a nice grazing field. A nice pasture mix takes a few years to develop anyway, correct? We'll plant a mix, just mow the next couple of years, and plant a few shade trees. At least my dogs will have a fun field to romp around in until we put horses on it.
We have some wooded area that we plan on raising a few goats on, but that's a whole other thread. Is there a goatadvice.com?
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Member:
stevens
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 30, 2008 - 5:31 pm:
Have you considered maybe planting a native grass and then plowing it under to enrich the soil before you plant it for horses?
You wouldn't be worrying about a cash crop and depending how the land has been used in the past it might benefit from some down time.
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