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Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot | Sounds like BS to me. There are so many factors that influence cutting schedules it isn't even funny. We are in an area that can produce either 3 or 4 cuttings. I've seen guys that cut real short (the 28 days or so) can get 4 real good cuttings, we got 4 and had quite a bit of regrowth (but not enough to cut) on a place last year. Other times you get an early hard frost and you get enough regrowth to be a problem, but not really enough to justify going out there in October when it is frozen until noon and try to do a fourth.
This year hay was real, real easy to sell. Buyers didn't really need a high test to pay good money for hay. Lots of guys just let it grow longer, get some more tonnage, and only cut 3x. When you factor in all the diesel they saved not having to cut, rake, bale, haul, stack an extra cutting and the fact that alfalfa really starts to grow more rapidly (i.e. more tons) as it gets into the bud/bloom stage--those guys probably came out ahead. Many of those guys are making light (100lb) feed store bales, so that market gets another premium that isn't real concerned about the test of the hay.
My own opinion is the plant grows faster each day when it gets up past about 6-8" tall. If every time it does get to that stage you go whack it down, it never really reaches any kind of it full yield potential. Sure, you can make some real candy hay that is easy to sell, but there is a trade off. If the market is tough, then maybe you had better cut short and make test hay just to get it down the road for decent money. Another thing to consider is the age of the stand-a stand that is only a couple of years old grows a lot faster and recovers quicker from a cutting than some 12 year old stand of Vernal. What kind of ground is it in? That is another factor-we grow some alfalfa is some real alkaline crap (8 ph and higher). It grows nice hay, but not nearly as much of it of nor does it grow as fast in that stuff as in some of the real nice lake bottom dirt.
Seems cutting real hard like that is also detrimental to stand life. If you have a good rotation program with a row or cash crop and only leave alfalfa in for a few years, then maybe it doesn't matter. If you still want to have good stand after 10 years, then maybe letting the plants grow and keep a nice healthy root system is better.
Lots of choices out there and nothing is ever absolute. Just have to figure out what works best for you, and each field might be different. Sure are lots of different ideas around here.
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Baling Alfalfa
