Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Hay fields left over the winter

Hi there,

I have some orchard grass pastures that were left over the winter from the last growing season. Now they are all under about 4 feet of snow.

Is it worth while to cut and bale the hay in the spring, or simply roll it and over-seed with some cover crops to give it a new life? Fields have not been used for grazing for a few years.

Thanks

Views: 355

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Harry Stam on March 3, 2016 at 2:09am

Greg,

The question you asked cannot be answered correctly without more information. What exactly do you want with these pastures? Do you want to keep them as pastures? Orchard grass can be fertilized in the spring to increase volumes or you can broadcast some legumes to make it a more pasture mix type of crop. You can no-till oats into the standing hay and allow it to grow to add volume. It all depends on what you want the pasture land to do, If the land is flat and level no-tilling is a possibility unless there is too much cover crop to start with. However if the crop is too thick I would question why you would need to do anything. Run the cattle in and let them harvest.

Harry 

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Canada Targets New Agriculture Trade Opportunities in China

Canada is pursuing stronger agricultural trade with China, with new opportunities for pet food exporters and greater market certainty for Canadian canola meal and peas.

Ag organizations call for immediate pause to Alto project

Three groups requested an independent review about the project’s impacts on ag and rural communities

TELUS moving away from ag

TELUS is moving away from its ag and health assets as a cost savings measure.

Half of Ontario’s Potatoes Go to Chips, Research Could Boost Supply

University of Guelph research is testing potato varieties and cold storage methods to reduce losses and improve Ontario potato chip quality

State Ag Officials Call for HPAI Dairy Cattle Vaccination Plan

State agriculture and animal health officials want USDA to give dairy farmers another weapon against HPAI, calling for a voluntary national vaccination framework that could begin with pilot programs in willing states.

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service