When Is The Right Time To ‘Make Hay’ – Ag Matters

While most of Central New York residents will be spending Memorial Day weekend with family gatherings and patriotic ceremonies; many farmers will be cutting alfalfa.  Jeff Miller at Cornell Cooperative Extension has tips on when is the right time to "make hay" and the latest field conditions.

The general rule is to measure the height of alfalfa in fields close to your grass hay fields and when the alfalfa is 13” tall start harvesting those grass fields.  Jerry Cherney, Cornell forage specialist worked with CCE field staff across the state to collect hay samples, stage development, measure heights of alfalfa and grasses, determine the percent grass in the samples and run forage analysis to determine the NDFs. Jerry developed the chart below to help growers use two factors: alfalfa height and percent grass to identify the time to harvest their fields for optimal quality.

Forage samples were taken from two grass fields at a 3” height. The NDFs of the samples were 41-44 , an increase of 4 points over the past week, with grass sward heights of 15-21”. The goal NDF range for grasses is 48- 55. Its time to look at weather forecasts and plan for grass hay harvest.

Check out photos from several fields around CNY and get the latest field scouting reports on the CCE Oneida Madison County Hay Quality Project 2016

SOURCE:  Cornell Cooperative Extension - Jeff Miller