Hay left unbaled on field

[BucksFarm71]

We are a smallholding and livery yard that this year had an excess of grass. I had 10 acres that I offered as free grazing to someone, but he said he could use it for hay. After checking with me last that he could still cut it he took it down last Tuesday. He then left it a couple of days before turning it last Thursday evening. He’s done nothing with it since (I realise we have had rainy days here and he wouldn’t be able to do anything with it on those days, but he is now not answering his phone and I’m getting concerned that he’s aborted mission and going to leave it sitting on the field. It hadn’t had fertiliser on it this year, but is still a thick crop. What, if anything can I do with it if he’s gone awol?

 

[Skintagain]

We are a smallholding and livery yard that this year had an excess of grass. I had 10 acres that I offered as free grazing to someone, but he said he could use it for hay. After checking with me last that he could still cut it he took it down last Tuesday. He then left it a couple of days before turning it last Thursday evening. He’s done nothing with it since (I realise we have had rainy days here and he wouldn’t be able to do anything with it on those days, but he is now not answering his phone and I’m getting concerned that he’s aborted mission and going to leave it sitting on the field. It hadn’t had fertiliser on it this year, but is still a thick crop. What, if anything can I do with it if he’s gone awol?

Leave it to grow in will do the field world of good.

 

[Hesstondriver]

they might be waiting for sun then bale as bedding so wont be worrying about quality

if not don't worry it will soon disappear, and you will benefit from it next year

 

[Man_in_black]

What, if anything can I do with it if he’s gone awol?

Accept his free labour & be grateful when it's twice the grass quality next year.

 

[Welderloon]

Don't worry, a farmer being offered something for free & not taking it has never happened - ever.
They'll be along when time allows, if not have you heard of @Hfd Cattle ?

 

[BucksFarm71]

Accept his free labour & be grateful when it's twice the grass quality next year.

So you think the fields going to be ok for grazing over winter with a heavy swathe of cut grass on top?

I was giving him the crop for free, I wasn’t trying to take advantage of ‘free labour’, I offered it as free grazing for his own animals and he asked if he could take hay of it instead.
My concern was that it’s not going to do the field a lot of good with a heavy crop of cut grass left on top and if left I won’t be able to use that field for horses over winter. I just wondered what the best way forward was to resurrect the field.

 

[BucksFarm71]

Don't worry, a farmer being offered something for free & not taking it has never happened - ever.
They'll be along when time allows, if not have you heard of @Hfd Cattle ?

I hope you’re right . Do you think cattle would graze it as it is? If so I could offer it as a bit of free grazing for a few until it’s too wet.

 

[Skintagain]

So you think the fields going to be ok for grazing over winter with a heavy swathe of cut grass on top?

I was giving him the crop for free, I wasn’t trying to take advantage of ‘free labour’, I offered it as free grazing for his own animals and he asked if he could take hay of it instead.
My concern was that it’s not going to do the field a lot of good with a heavy crop of cut grass left on top and if left I won’t be able to use that field for horses over winter. I just wondered what the best way forward was to resurrect the field.

It will surprise you how it disappears

 

[spin cycle]

run a pasture topper over the swaths to mulch grass up...leave a month or so till toppings are well rotted and horses won't eat it

like others have said it'll do the sward the power of good

 

[Skintagain]

Might stop horses poaching over winter too. Ground is tender all winter if cut September I find

 

[Jam Tomorrow]

Stop mithering the fella . When the sun reappears he’ll sort it out

 

[BucksFarm71]

they might be waiting for sun then bale as bedding so wont be worrying about quality

if not don't worry it will soon disappear, and you will benefit from it next year

Ah, ok. There looks so much of it out there at the moment I was panicking that it would kill of everything underneath

 

[flowerpot]

Well, he can't do anything in the rain. Maybe he is hoping that there will be some more hot dry days when it will dry out and he can bale it.

Haymaking is really for June/July, August is very late and a lot of people wouldn't even attempt it unless there was a heatwave.

 

[BucksFarm71]

Stop mithering the fella . When the sun reappears he’ll sort it out

I’m not mithering, I was asking advice as to what I could do with it if he or the sun doesn’t reappear, if the case is that I just leave it then so be it

 

[BucksFarm71]

Well, he can't do anything in the rain. Maybe he is hoping that there will be some more hot dry days when it will dry out and he can bale it.

Haymaking is really for June/July, August is very late and a lot of people wouldn't even attempt it unless there was a heatwave.

To be fair I offered it in May as we are well understocked here and only need the acreage in winter. I trusted his judgement when he asked last Tuesday if he could still have it, but perhaps the weather took a turn he wasn’t expecting

 

[Jam Tomorrow]

I’m not mithering, I was asking advice as to what I could do with it if he or the sun doesn’t reappear, if the case is that I just leave it then so be it

Fair comment . He’ll be back

 

[Troward]

Not sure what the weather is where you are, but there have been very few dry days here since he cut it, and certainly not dry enough for him to make it into anything.

If he leaves it be, it'll make better hay than him turning it or trying to do anything with it whilst wet. He'll know this, and will be waiting for a dry spell.

Bit of a weird time to try make hay, but there are a fair few fields locally that have only just been cut, so nothing wrong with it.

 

[e5c0rt.mk1]

This is nearly word perfect to a situation I'm in at the minute except I'm the one who cut it. Cut the grass as the weather forecast said a week of good weather, rained after 2 days, been on the bottom now for 10days but nothing I can do about it. Woman is whinging on everyday that its been sunny for about 1 hr and i hadn't dried it out, raked it, and baled it in that time.

It just one of those things until the weather plays ball it pointless doing anything to it as its just a waste of diesel

 

[Kidds]

Better than baling, wrapping and then abandoning the bales, I get that a lot.

 

[bobk]

So you think the fields going to be ok for grazing over winter with a heavy swathe of cut grass on top?

I was giving him the crop for free, I wasn’t trying to take advantage of ‘free labour’, I offered it as free grazing for his own animals and he asked if he could take hay of it instead.
My concern was that it’s not going to do the field a lot of good with a heavy crop of cut grass left on top and if left I won’t be able to use that field for horses over winter. I just wondered what the best way forward was to resurrect the field.

I discarded 20 acres after tedding once , it was gone the following year , not ideal but no point wasting diesel