Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Making Hay....early

cageycat,

Yes, unfortunately it looks like we're retiring there in the NE corner for good. Wife took a pretty good job there last fall, we bought a place, and I was informed she's not moving again. After 19 or so moves in the last 18 years, between the two of us, separately and together, for career reasons, she's done. I can't hardly blame her but I was hoping her last career move might be to the mountains of AZ! (see my signature, I like the desert a bit, and it is close there)

So, after leaving Cali for what I thought was permanently in 1999, I'm back as a citizen. At least I am as far from SoCal as it is physically possible to be and still be in California. Great State but really screwed up politically.

Like you though, I'm in a rural, relatively conservative type county and have lots of outdoorsy crap to keep me from thinking about the masses in the rest of the state.

I hope your farming (and ranching? ) is profitable this year.

Geno

PS looked like the dog was having fun too!

PPS PM coming

Ed, I do believe you are the first subscriber!



grin

One from a couple days ago.





'Big rain'......yeah right, maybe a hundredth....keep on cuttin'...

Great photos Sam. Wonderful colors.


I bleeding hate seagulls.

Jim, it 'rained' just enough to make everything greener and then the sun kinda came out and I thought...cool...



The gulls returned when I was finishing up that field.

I didn't chance it and when a couple landed on a bale one just happened to go 'poof'....

The others all left...grin

Hehehe!

Bastids!

They are absolutely terrible....



I guess guys are turning cows out on peas. Must be too short to cut or they aren't filling?

A neighbor has a surprisingly good stand of spring wheat that is headed out so I went and pulled a couple plants but there is only one tiny tap root. I don't see how those heads can possibly fill...

Guys are getting a 1/4 ton to the acre on dryland hay....


It's just a total wreck.


Spring wheat market is going nuts.....

Yep, only worth anything when you dont have any.

Fellow from town was visiting with a fellow from your town the other day.

He was saying that a lot of the winter wheat is going to be put up for hay in your country.

Some spring wheat was headed for the same fate.

Makes good sense actually. If you could get a ton or so while its still green and sell it for a hundred bucks you would come out ahead.

If you wait and try to harvest it you could end up with nothing, if it didnt fill.

Nothing is filling up here.

I think we averaged a half ton per acre so far on the dryland.

I wonder what the feed value is in the spring wheat when it's green with empty heads?


Thought about asking my buddy(the neighbor) if he wants to let us hay it.


Also not sure when federal crop will clear the field(zero it out)....


All new to me.

I dont know about federal crop. Would have to check with the insurance man.

When it comes to wheat hay, I do everything wrong....according to the experts.

I like my wheat hay to be ripe.....I want the grain. We feed a lot of whole wheat.

Always figured that I could buy green stuff if I needed to.

Being a grass, I would assume that green wheat with no kernels would be similar to semi mature crested wheat grass hay as far as feed value.

I would be interesting to go cut a head apart and see whats in it. Probably find some kernels in the dough stage.

I know its an option, as several people have sold standing fields of winter wheat on dry years. Make better money than combining it.


A wheat bale that was put up with full heads and fully ripe with weigh in the neighborhood of 1700 to 1850 pounds. We figure that two thirds of that is grain.

Green wheat with empty-ish heads would should weigh similar to a grass bale, well maybe depending on the variety of wheat. Solid stem or hollow. I would guess 1100 pounds.

I'd turn the pressure up on the balers and make some toads...grin


I checked the heads, what the hell is it called, the flower stage?

Looked like they'd be in the dough stage but just the little tiny orange 'seedlings'.


Bet you could get maybe a ton/acre. More bales in the stack I guess. I have a feeling alfalfa is gonna be $200/ton this fall, the wheat out in the field should be worth roughly $20/acre to us if we hay it. And hell we're cleaning up the field for 'em.

Your highest protein/feed value on small grains hay is in the early dough stage. Most people let it over-ripen by way too much--then you might as well let it make grain like Jim does before you bale it.

First-cutting alfalfa was great here, now second-cutting is really thin. Drought conditions here also, but not horrible yet. Any good amount of rain would save us just fine, but it keeps going north to Canada or south to Nebraska. Lots of pairs being "culled" off early this year as the pastures don't look like much except already mature cool-season grasses.