Determining yields prior to cutting?

ACDII said:

If the grasses are knee high, would it be possible to guesstimate the number of small bales per acre? My goal is to reach 40 bales per acre per cutting.

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Guessing hay yields quantitatively is a fool’s game and I’ve been doing this on my own for 40 years. I know when we’re above or below average but almost never by how much. My long term average is slightly above 100 bales per ac but my first piece this year was less than 60/ac. I knew it was bad, just not how bad

Friend had a permanent stick in the ground. Marked height of grass over the years before cutting and apparently it was quite accurate.

There is a contraption that should be more accurate than simple height. A flat square (like a broad tamper, kind of) that you set on the crop and see how far down it smushes it. (Technical term, obviously) That way you’re accounting for stand density and not just height. But I’ve never actually tried one so who knows.

It's called a plate meter or rising plate meter.

Roger

Besides height, it also depends on how think the grass is.

I can usually estimate my yield within 50 bales but the field I baled Today I was way off.

Too many variables.. making 40# or 60#, stand height, field consistently, etc. etc

grandpa always said it’s going to make what it’s going to make so I just count when I’m done. 😀

Your grandpa sounds like my uncle that helps with my cows. He's all the time ragging me for counting cows and calves he swears the only number that matters is how many rattle the wagon.

There is a stick that you measure height of the grass when slightly mashed down with your hand. Then you guess the density of the grass and it estimates the tonnage. It is actually fairly close. I can usually guess what my yield will be on the entire field fairly close without the stick .I will usually be within 100 bales on 34 acres. Kinda crazy you can estimate it that close. Of course sometimes I miss.