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Planting hay in harvested corn field

5.8K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  Josh in WNY  
#1 ·
Hi All,

New to the forum and new to haying.

I have 11 acres on my property that was a mis-mash of assorted grasses, clover, weeds etc. that was being cut and baled by a local beef farmer. It was getting pretty tired and production was starting to drop off. This year we leased it to another farmer and he's planted corn. We're planning on taking back a couple of acres for next year and planting a grass mixture for our not so active horses. I'm looking for advice on what I should be doing and when. Times for corn being harvested in my area is a little hit and miss because of the fall weather and the last few years some farmers haven't gotten it off until the following spring. If the corn gets harvested in the fall without any delays what steps should I be taking to have hay for next year.

Thanks

Dave
 
#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
Welcome LondonDave.
You should have 30 days from planting date until your first expected frost. 45 would be better. This is usually rather unlikely after corn harvest unless it's taken for silage. Also very important will be which herbicides were used in growing the corn. Many will have restrictions on how soon you can plant a hay crop. So, probably, your first step would be to talk to your corn grower and ask what they used. Next step is hope the corn comes off early.
Nathan
 
#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
Welcome to haytalk, Dave.

In my area, I wouldn't try seeding any hay much past this time of year (late August) since it won't have sufficient time to germinate and get established enough to make it through the winter. I do like fall seeding as I tend to get a better stand (I grow a timothy/birdsfoot mix). You can plant in the spring, but most guys around me that do that use a cover crop of oats. I have a field that is in corn this year and next year I will be putting it back into hay by seeding teff (an annual grass forage) for next summer and then plowing it under in the fall and seeding it into my typical timothy/birdsfoot mix. This will allow me to not "waste" the field next summer but still do a fall seeding... and I want to see how the teff works in our area.

Nathan has a good point on the herbicides as well. One other thing that you might want to do is take a soil sample and have it tested. Then you will know what the lime and fertilizer requirements for the field are. If they are way off, then it will probably be hard to get a good stand of hay established.

Hope this helps.

Josh