what hay to plant

[neocattleman]

I was wondering what people suggest to use as a hay mix. I am located in northeast Ohio and am looking at turning some of our crop land into hay and taking out some of our current hay and reseeding it (it is pretty well worn out and needs reseeded). We have typically been running alfalfa and timothy hay but we no longer need as high of a quality hay because we no longer milk dairy cows and only have beef cows that seem to get too fat on the alfalfa.

I am looking for a high yielding hay that is later maturing because we seem to be getting into the hay fields later and later every year, what do people on here use or suggest for my situation?

Thank You in advance!

 

[FriedgesCharolais]

Well first your not going to be able to reseed alfalfa into alfalfa because of alfalfa autotoxicity. You will need to put it into corn or soybeans for a year before reseeding it. I live in northeast iowa and most beef producers, including myself, are planting an alfalfa, Timothy, brome or fescue mix. I am a crop consultant so I deal with this stuff quite a bit.

 

[Simbeef10]

I'm in NW Ohio and we have been using alfalfa, orchardgrass, medium red clover and a touch of Kentucky bluegrass mix for hay which lets the cows maintain higher milk production for the calves.  We moved away from Timothy to cut earlier and increase to 4 cuttings per year.  In your case, I would consider working up the current hay ground in the fall and seeding rye which can be early cut in the Spring and then put to beans for the year before going back to hay.  A little alfalfa is good and you can use clover for the remaining legume needed in the mix (60%) to combine with timothy and bromegrass.  This should give multiple year hay with minimal renovation needs.