Farming question. How many bails am I going to get per acre?

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Just a general question my wife and I are planting a 2 acre feild we have for hay. How many bails can we expect? I have done a little reading and I understand it is dependant on alot of things. Weather, soil, crop age etc. But what is avarage yearld per acre?

Jon

 

[Varminator 911]

A good yield of alfalfa hay with 4-5 cuttings per year would be about 5 tons per acre, two hundred 50lb bales. 400 bales off two acres, plus or minus a hundred or two. To maintain this yield would take some lime and fertilizer. After a few years you'd need to reseed.

A soil test and fertilizer recommendation would be a good starting point.

 

[Broz]

Just a general question my wife and I are planting a 2 acre feild we have for hay. How many bails can we expect? I have done a little reading and I understand it is dependant on alot of things. Weather, soil, crop age etc. But what is avarage yearld per acre?

Jon

Two or three cuttings I would guess in your season ????? Probably 4 tons per acre.

Jeff

 

[winmag]

First ya gotta start with the right ph. Usually lime tilled in takes care of that, but confirm it first, as previously recomended.
Second, what kinda hay? Grass, Alphalpha, Timothy,... They can all be simmilar in tonage, but different ph balance optimums for each. That will have an effect on tonage. Plus how long do you plan to farm it? We usually have to rotate our Alphalpha every 5-7 yrs to put the iron back in the ground. (winter wheat, or corn). I'm no farmer, I was just a cowboy, & got stuck in a tractor on occasion. (bigngreen even worked on them, but I didn't know him at that time). Anyway, like I said, I'm no farmer, but a little more info would help predict aprox. Tonage. Then take "x%" out for loss, due to rain/mold or whatever etc.
Also your posts say UPSTATE, I'm asuming New York, rainy as ill get out, but earlier, & later growing season, & harvest. I'd guess 3-4 ish cuttings per year, simmilar to western Oregon, & western Washington st. They typically have a much lower nutritional value per ton vs the east sides of those states, due to soooo much rain. Later cuttings produce the most nutritional value, but have the least tonage. You probably already knew that, or you wouldn't be as far along as you are now. Sorry, I went rambling again...

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Alphalpha, Timothy mix, we get 3 cuttings a year here . Its a food plot right now mostly clover but it needs to be turned over.

 

[theflyonthewall]

I'd have to suggest something that you probably already know....

Go to your nearest county extension center and show them a quick sketch of your field layout. Ask them how many soil samples you should take and where you should take them from according to your planned crop.

Take the samples, then take them back to the extension center to have them analyze them. They'll be able to tell you not only how much lime you need to correct pH, but also they can recommend what macro and micro elements your soil needs to grow the crop that your planning.

Of course you "could" just wing-it......but if your yields are crap, it'll be too late to do anything about it.

Even if you ARE going back with just clover, like the food plot, I'd try to maximize the crop anyway by doing all you can before you plant.

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Well this is all new info to me. Im not a farmer, this is kind of a colaboration between a group of us. The feild needed to be turned over and my neighbor offered to do all the work, all I have to buy is the seed and the fertilizer. My neighbor said he thinks 1000 bails off the feild but to me it semed like alot. He is just a hoby farmer and its all food plots no intrest in crop yeald.

 

[theflyonthewall]

Did you make a typo on your original post? It reads "2" acres.

The only reason I ask is because your neighbor couldn't possibly be thinking that you can get that many bales from just 2 acres. On a GOOD day, you might get......50-80 bales and I'd actually doubt that you could get that much unless your soil is unbelievably fertile and the crop is perfect.

You would have to be sowing 200 acres to approach 1000 bales, in my opinion. Of course that number depends on a ton of variables.

Well this is all new info to me. Im not a farmer, this is kind of a colaboration between a group of us. The feild needed to be turned over and my neighbor offered to do all the work, all I have to buy is the seed and the fertilizer. My neighbor said he thinks 1000 bails off the feild but to me it semed like alot. He is just a hoby farmer and its all food plots no intrest in crop yeald.

 

[bigngreen]

If your getting a solid three cuttings you could be around 130-150 60 lbs bales on 2 acres, that small a plot you loose a lot to constantly running over windrows turning. Cutting once in full bloom will add tons, about 25% bloom is a good average for quality and tons.

 

[theflyonthewall]

That's a good point that I totally forgot about bigngreeen----how much TOTAL he can expect. I was talking about a single cutting------oops .

Thanks for the correction.

 

[Coyboy]

another issue would be shading if the field is surounded by trees, partial sun could reduce yeild considerably in the shaded areas. Around here it could be a 50% reduction on south field edges for the first 20 feet. Since your plot is so small that could be a big factor.

Factor in the deer browsing and you might be lucky to cut 20 bales all summer.
But in food plots that is a good thing.

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Thanks guys Im thinking the same thing and trying.

 

[Silverback7]

plant tomatos build a stand and sell them then take the money and buy the hay...where are you gonna get a bailer.. haying 2 arces is a waste... of time and resources...just my opinion, but I would always help ya nomatter what ya decide...Im home...

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

plant tomatos build a stand and sell them then take the money and buy the hay...where are you gonna get a bailer.. haying 2 arces is a waste... of time and resources...just my opinion, but I would always help ya nomatter what ya decide...Im home...

I agree