# plowing in hayfield



## ck3510hb (Sep 12, 2016)

Quandary?? The drought and age have taken its toll. I have had good luck on this field but this year it is stunted and dried. Alfalfa started nice and grass ok. Then it just turned brown and died. Thinking to plow in as is or get it off the field first ?? Your thoughts?? It needs to be replanted anyway.


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## BigT (Sep 15, 2014)

If it's not worth cutting and baling, plow it under.


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## SidecarFlip (Mar 25, 2021)

I'm im the commercial forage business and I NEVER fit a hayfleld and never have. I'd say you have other issues other than drought.  Alfalfa is very tolerant to drought, so is brohme or whatever kind of grass you have. When alfalfa turns brown, it indicates you have an insect or airborne spore issue. I'd be checking the field first. Don't know where you live but if you have any potatoes planted in adjacent fields. My arch nemesis here at least.

I'd be looking hard at the planting to see what issues you have. It'd don't turn brown and die for no reason and drought isn't one of them. Drought only causes the plants to go dormant, not die.

The other issue is, if you fit and replant and you have airborne spores, you just wasted your time, fuel and money for seed because alfalfa seed and brohme or orchard grass or what you replant is expensive to begin with.

My questions are:

Have you ever fertilized it? I fertilize with 46 granulated urea between cuts and in the fall, always.
Have you ever too a soil sample and have it analysis it? Your local co- or USDA field office usually does that for free
How short do you cut it when you know weather patterns change all the time (I always check long range weather trends and cut height gets adjusted accordingly.

Fitting a field without checking what is happening with the established plants is a waste of time and money

I NEVER refit. In the fall, if I'm have production issues, I'll overseed with alfalfa or in my case brohme grass with a shot of 46 mixed in in my broadcast spreader and I keep broad leaf under control by spraying with 2-4-D=(B) altered . It's very expensive (here about 55 bucks a gallon) undiluted, but it works and won't kill off the alfalfa like normal 24D will.

In fact if you are mindset on fitting, I'd spray the entire field with 2-4-D. That will kill the alfalfa and all the weeds too. Just turning it won't do much because alfalfa, like soybeans is a nitrogen fixing root system, plant so it's deep rooted and hardy.

You have other unrelated to lack of moisture issues. I'd suggest investigating the before fitting.

My hayfields stay viable for at least 10 years nd longer because I overseed in the fall and fertilize. Alfalfa, if healthy, will propogate by itself.

You have other issues, I suggest finding out what you have before getting radical and fitting the field up. That will do nothing to establish the new planting. Amendments (soil samples) and determining why it's dying is much more important.

Around here it's potato leaf hoppers, readily eliminated with a good pesticide like Crossbow for instance.

My 2 cents, take it for what it's worth but keep in mind that I do it for profit.

Drought never kills established alfalfa. Pests and poor amendment of fertilizer (including Boron) will cause low production. Alfalfa is very hardy. Hell, I don't even own a plow or a tine cutivator, never needed them. If I have to have a new field fit, I have it done.


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