Cut it before the chicory gets too brittle?
I am told that this can be achieved... It will all be down to the timing....and the weather!
Cut it before the chicory gets too brittle?
Hay is always underrated if you can make it the right way, right.
And that generally means plenty of heat units and very little molestation, which I understand isn't always the done thing.
Nothing but stalks likes being thrashed about.
If you were making pit, finish the pit with grass?
I've been making it into Round bale Silage, Haylage and conventionally baled hay for the past 3 years in June, no problem. Even get a 2nd cut off it in late September.
Can be a lot of clover in it which some horsey people don't like. Chicory can get a bit leggy if you cut it too late.
We feed the silage/haylage to cattle and Red Deer and they knock you over to get to it!
Very cheap, high-quality fodder that we get paid to grow as part of our Mid Tier Stewardship agreement. Can't get better than that.
Supposed to release an enzyme that kills Blackgrass seed if left there for 5 years.
When my MTS ends, we'll be moving it to another part of this farm to clean up the next worst part of it.
Is this for the gs4 option?I've been making it into Round bale Silage, Haylage and conventionally baled hay for the past 3 years in June, no problem. Even get a 2nd cut off it in late September.
Can be a lot of clover in it which some horsey people don't like. Chicory can get a bit leggy if you cut it too late.
We feed the silage/haylage to cattle and Red Deer and they knock you over to get to it!
Very cheap, high-quality fodder that we get paid to grow as part of our Mid Tier Stewardship agreement. Can't get better than that.
Supposed to release an enzyme that kills Blackgrass seed if left there for 5 years.
When my MTS ends, we'll be moving it to another part of this farm to clean up the next worst part of it.
Yes GS4Is this for the gs4 option?
If so what seed mix did you use please?
Yes GS4
We used the Kings Seeds mix because they made our MTS application for us.
But others around me have used the Cotswold Seed mix and both seem to be very good.
Been a long time since I seen a acrobat in work, as you say does a nice soft job.Wondered that too. Thinking a lightish crop, (through a conditioner) and spread out straight away. Gently teasy into Windrows, and bale. Haylage or Silage will depend on the weather.
Might be time to get teh Acrobat out as it was great at just flicking a row over... I think some of the Alpine tedders work very gently on their "herby" crops...?
Been a long time since I seen a acrobat in work, as you say does a nice soft job.
Apologies, I didn’t see your post until now.Can see a bike ride down the Cotswolds to see how the experts do it!! Have you done it yet??
Whose ley mix did you use?
Essentially, the Scheme I am hoping to get into is the same as MTS. Might have gone into MTS, but cannot do so until next year as I am already in HLS/ELS and they would not accept me into the simplified scheme.
CheersApologies, I didn’t see your post until now.
We used Kings Seeds because it was Frontier who suggested we went into a MTS agreement and they have experts, often former Natural England staff who recommended and do the application for us. Having been extremely sceptical about it all, it took my chap less than 5 minutes to convince me we should do it!
We are in year 4 of our agreement. The drought severely affected the yield this year, but I know that we will get a decent 2nd cut in September and there will be a massive resurgence of Clover in it.
This was cut last Monday and was baled Wednesday as Haylage.
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on u tube, seem to be a lot of USA farmers using rakes/turners based on the acrobats wheel, 6 wheels a side, opens out in a v shape, looked a simple tool, doing a cracking job, never seen one over here, might well be some here, but a cracking simple machine.
I forgot to say that Cotswold Seeds are also good for the CS mixtures too.Cheers
Couldn't have got down as I was making some so-so grass into 2nd rate fodder for sucklers.... but it'll all count come January! So I'll forgive you
Light crop, but that is common enough this time... So mower conditioner, couple of days in the swathe and pick up? Perfect 2 days for the job. Presumably, you rake lightly?
Do you follow a similiar regime most years for conservation?