What to do with hay?

[daveO]

Bit of a stupid question sorry but we've had an acre or so of our fields cut here and not baled up so I'm stuck with a field full of cut hay.

The back story is that a neighbour used to look after the fields for the last few years and had them cut and maintained as a wild flower meadow, however they have now moved away and we've been left in charge. My dad flagged down a farmer who was cutting a neighbours field and asked him if he'd be interested in cutting it and keeping the bales as payment, the guy agreed but they didn't arrange dates or anything. My plan was to have it all cut in a couple of weeks after the flower seeds had set but when no one was home the farmer turned up and since the sun was shining he made hay. Sadly my dad hadn't told him any details so he removed the temporary fencing around the patches of orchids and levelled the whole field including all my sweet chestnut and scots pine trees I think he then realised his mistake and threw all the trees along with the stakes, tree ties and rabbit guards in the hedge and scarpered. Needless to say he hasn't been back to turn or bale the hay and it's been sat there for about 2 weeks now.

I've bagged up some hay in horse hay nets for our rabbits but a couple of bags is a year's supply for them. The rest needs sorting out somehow before it rains and I'm a bit short on free time at the moment. Any ideas short of raking it into piles and burning it?

 

[nephilim]

IF there are any stables nearby, let them know that they can have it if they bag and collect it. They're always looking for free hay around my way

 

[daveO]

Good plan. I wonder if there are any local horse charities or rescues that might want it.

 

[allrightscud]

A lot depends on the quality of the hay. If its pure grass then it will be worth the effort, if its got weeds in then the value and effort involved in gathering or baling it isn't worth it. If it has rag wort plants in it its worthless.
You could look online and see how to make tradional hay racks and store it that way but again its a lot of work. If its good quality fodder then it would be best to be baled. If you contact a loacl agricultural contractor they may do it for you. Not sure what it would cost but you may be able to get it back selling it. An other option is as above, offer it to local stables and see if they are interested in it.

 

[nephilim]

also, whatever isn't used could be made into a starter for composting?

Bag it, let it stew in its own juices for a few days, then start a compost mound, turn it every couple of days

 

[Toddy]

Be the better man; phone the farmer and ask if he still wants the hay. Maybe if you get talking he'll do your cutting for you in future and know that there's at least one area that you want kept 'wild' or for tree crops.

Otherwise you're not only stuck with it this year, but in future ones too.

Maybe he sent a daft laddie out to do the cutting and he just didn't know any better than to clear the field of clutter and then cut

Best of luck sorting it out.

Failing that, it makes great rope, and if you make it arm thick then it can be coiled and staked through to make skep type structures and fencings.]
Heck of a lot of work though.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[daveO]

Be the better man; phone the farmer and ask if he still wants the hay. Maybe if you get talking he'll do your cutting for you in future and know that there's at least one area that you want kept 'wild' or for tree crops.

Sadly we don't have any contact details for him. This is why we don't let my dad organise stuff...

It's meadow hay I guess, no rag wort or anything bad in there but there is a lot of 'weeds' mixed in with it.

 

[Macaroon]

Whatever you do, don't burn it! It'll take forever, waste the hay and worst of all you'll get nettles and docks for years to come on the fire sites. If you can't get it baled and shifted the best solution is to leave it in situ., grass/hay is a pain to compost and break down when it's heaped up. If you stook it and make a stack the local hooligans will sure as hell burn it down for "laughs"; I've been there and I'm not far from you.

The usual arrangement is for the contractor to have half the forage crop for harvesting and baling it and the landowner the other half, but most contractors won't pull resources off the harvest for the sake of an acre, and the harvest is pretty much underway now in most areas.

Your best bet would be notices in the local feedstores and vets offering it free to whoever can bale and take it, that way you reach the small guys with a little grey fergie and an old baler. Most of the contractors will only bale large round bales these days and the horse people and smallholders normally can't handle/transport those.

Just to repeat, if it has to stay on the ground, leave it spread and it'll go back into the soil over time and the meadow will certainly be well seeded for next year; then you'll need to pay extra attention to your harrowing in the Spring! I hope this helps a little

 

[daveO]

Thanks that's good advice. If no one wants it I might let it lie until the seed drops and then use some of it to mulch some areas of problem weeds and the bare veg beds over the winter. It would probably work well around the raspberries next year come to think of it.

 

[bambodoggy]

Be the better man; phone the farmer and ask if he still wants the hay. Maybe if you get talking he'll do your cutting for you in future and know that there's at least one area that you want kept 'wild' or for tree crops.

Otherwise you're not only stuck with it this year, but in future ones too.

Maybe he sent a daft laddie out to do the cutting and he just didn't know any better than to clear the field of clutter and then cut

Best of luck sorting it out.

Failing that, it makes great rope, and if you make it arm thick then it can be coiled and staked through to make skep type structures and fencings.]
Heck of a lot of work though.

cheers,
Toddy

Exactly what I was going to say....thanks Mary, saved me the effort lol

I'd go into the conversation along the lines of not mentioning the trees (for now) and just nicely saying that you'd be really grateful if he could come and sort the hay sooner rather than later (you understand he's busy now etc etc)...that way he thinks instead of the grief he was expecting for the damaged trees....he gets to be mr niceguy. Once that's sorted you could, again politely, broach the tree and wild areas situation so you're all set for his help next year and again he feels like mr niceguy helping you out Play nice with people and you usually get what you want

 

[daveO]

I'm going to fence off the wild area properly this winter and re-plant I think. I've got quite a few trees still in pots which can replace the lost ones thankfully. The chestnuts were about 6 years old and topping 10' though so it'll be a while before the new ones catch them up I'd spaced them wide to allow for mowing in between with the plan of letting them establish before I planted the woodland up properly. It's really just widening the tree cover around a stream at the bottom of the fields and the stock fence is long gone down there anyway so it needs doing.

 

[Bowlander]

Burn it?

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2

 

[birchwood]

If it has been laying on the ground since it has been cut and not been turned it will be of no use as horse feed.
Might be ok for cattle tho.

 

[Swallow]

Whatever you do, don't burn it! It'll take forever, waste the hay and worst of all you'll get nettles and docks for years to come on the fire sites. If you can't get it baled and shifted the best solution is to leave it in situ., grass/hay is a pain to compost and break down when it's heaped up. If you stook it and make a stack the local hooligans will sure as hell burn it down for "laughs"; I've been there and I'm not far from you.

The usual arrangement is for the contractor to have half the forage crop for harvesting and baling it and the landowner the other half, but most contractors won't pull resources off the harvest for the sake of an acre, and the harvest is pretty much underway now in most areas.

Your best bet would be notices in the local feedstores and vets offering it free to whoever can bale and take it, that way you reach the small guys with a little grey fergie and an old baler. Most of the contractors will only bale large round bales these days and the horse people and smallholders normally can't handle/transport those.

Just to repeat, if it has to stay on the ground, leave it spread and it'll go back into the soil over time and the meadow will certainly be well seeded for next year; then you'll need to pay extra attention to your harrowing in the Spring! I hope this helps a little

That's pretty much what I'd do in the situation described.