Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Using bloom as the sole indicator of plant maturity can be misleading in some situations,
as moisture, clouds, temperature, and the stage of the plants at the previous cutting affect
bloom. If the first cutting was mowed at the bud stage, for example, and adequate mois-
ture was available for regrowth, then the field could be cut every 35 to 40 days after the
first cutting. Using such guidelines helps to ensure that there will be three cuttings. Hay cut
early is usually of high quality and is followed by a fast regrowth and decent second- and
third-cut yields. If a field is cut three times, approximately 45 percent of the year's yield
will be in the first cut, 30 percent in the second cut, and 25 percent in the third cut.
Horsemen are opinionated on which cutting is best to buy. Although there are some dif-
ferences in the cuttings, the quality of the hay is much more important than the cutting.
From a nutritional standpoint, all cuttings can result in prime horse hay. With alfalfa, there
will be some variation in protein content between cuttings. Although first-cut alfalfa hay is
reputed to have large, tough stems, this is true only if the hay was too mature when cut. If
first-cut hay is mowed at the prebloom stage, the stems will not be coarse and the nutritive
value will be high. More weeds do tend to appear, however, in first-cut hay.
Second-cut alfalfa hay is usually the fastest growing because it develops during the hot-
test part of the season, and it usually has more stem in relation to leaf. Of all cuttings,
second cut tends to be the lowest in crude protein, but its 16 percent average is adequate
for all classes of horses.
Third-cut (and later) alfalfa develops a higher leaf-to-stem ratio because of slower
growth during the cool part of the season. Therefore, third-cut hay will usually have the
highest nutritive value. Horses that are not accustomed to a good, leafy alfalfa hay may ex-
perience flatulent (gaseous) colic or loose stools.
Mixed hays from all cuttings will have similar nutritional values except that with a grass/
alfalfa mix, the first cutting will contain a larger proportion of grasses than will the other
cuttings.
Curing Hay
Most hay today is mowed, conditioned (stems crimped so they will dry faster), and put in
a windrow all in one operation. This results in less manipulation of the hay and less leaf
breakage and loss. The hay dries in the windrow until the moisture is out of the stem. The
level of dryness can be determined by giving a handful of the hay three twists. If the stems
pop as they break, the moisture content is about right for baling. Scraping the green cover-
ing off a stem will also reveal if the stem is still wet.
Raking or turning the windrow rolls the hay on the bottom of the pile to the top. This
may be necessary in humid climates, if hay has been rained on, or if the stand was unusu-
ally dense and the windrows are heavy. Raking will facilitate further drying but may con-
