Brome in hayfield

[onthehoof]

Got masses of it this year in just one field and frankly it’s ruined the crop.
Field has been down to grass for 20 years and never had this before guess there’s nothing I can spray it out with and if I reseed it will probably come back worse than ever

 

[Doc]

https://www.alliedseed.com/smooth-brome/

Seems ok to add to a hay mix. Nothing wrong with variety in a diet.

 

[onthehoof]

Only mine doesn’t look like that!
Swamped all the grass then died off,hay looks like dirty old straw

 

[Farmerdunk]

Got masses of it this year in just one field and frankly it’s ruined the crop.
Field has been down to grass for 20 years and never had this before guess there’s nothing I can spray it out with and if I reseed it will probably come back worse than ever

Same here. We had to spray ours off 2 years ago as I’d guess 30% was brome. We waited for 3 flushes to come through then reseeded. First year was ok but very bad again this year. Rubbish hay. Will probably spray off again. Or put a cereal crop in to contain the brome for a year?

 

[stroller]

Same here, put a Cotswold seed meadow mix in a few years ago, now got meadow brome spreading.

 

[RushesToo]

@onthehoof if life gives you lemons - make lemonade. As @Doc pointed out in the link:

Uses
Livestock: Smooth Brome may be used for hay, pasture, silage or stockpiling. It is compatible with alfalfa or other adapted legumes. The grass is highly palatable and is high in protein content and relatively low in crude-fiber content.

I would get it baled and tested. High protein will be useful to someone.

 

[goodevans]

We had very bad a few years ago,it was either shedding from the mower conditioner or getting thrashed out in the baler chopper as it would come up in swaths

 

[essexpete]

I think we have soft Brome in some paddocks. Is appears to head earlier and therefore sets seed before main hay making. Where I have grazed before hay making it is significantly reduced. Where paddocks are continually grazed it does not seem to establish. It is poor in hay as said above it dies off early.

 

[snipe]

There looks to be a lot of brome about this year. There is plenty in cereal crops mainly hedge backs and round poles.

 

[onthehoof]

@onthehoof if life gives you lemons - make lemonade. As @Doc pointed out in the link:

Uses
Livestock: Smooth Brome may be used for hay, pasture, silage or stockpiling. It is compatible with alfalfa or other adapted legumes. The grass is highly palatable and is high in protein content and relatively low in crude-fiber content.

I would get it baled and tested. High protein will be useful to someone.

This is what it looks like

 

[RushesToo]

@onthehoof Not really sure what to say without offending.
Just if you were to bale or graze it, it might be past its best.
If you're doing crops it's more complicated and problematic.

As it looks now I would try goats.