I Need Your Opinion

Here's the story and I've never done this before, so please gimme me your opinion as what I'm to do.

I've got 110 acres of alfalfa that has been just growing like a wild man the past few days since we've gotten all this rain and nice humid temps of late.

It is about "half" done, I'd say. Not quite knee high. It's looking the best it has looked all year and I'd really like to grab this crop if at all possible.

However, there is a massive cold front 'sposed to come thru on Sunday night and I think the alfalfa is gonna get zapped, big time. They're talking lows around 25; cold and rainy all next week. November type weather for a week.

I had pretty much mentally written the hay off, but my friend John says just to wait until the front passes and then go out there and knock it down anyway even tho if it should freeze. Just take in after the weather warms up again.

Have you ever harvested frozen alfalfa? Turns kinda black and slimy, doesn't it?

I've never had to cross this bridge before,

Allan

jeff

What in the heck are you doing up this time of day? Ya must be like me. :>)

I've fall cropped first year alfalfa many, many times in the past and have never had any ill effects as far as the new seeding goes.

Guess I was more concerned about the quality of the hay. I've never cut alfalfa that has been bitten by frost before because it usually never had enough growth to it like it does this year.

But, here it is the middle of September, a really cold snap/rainy weather is on the way and this stuff looks like it still thinks it is the latter part of May.

Just didn't know what to do with it. Guess I'll ride out the storm and see. :>)

Allan

Hard part up here is to find the dry weather after it freezes - but makes good hay.

Cut it.

(Unless this is a new seeding, then leave it for it's own needs.)

--->Paul

I'm in about the same boat as you this year for a 4th cutting. Mine is just starting to blossom and is a little over knee high. Problem this year is too much rain. If I can get it sometime next week, I'll cut, but if it's still raining every few days, I'm gonna wait for a freeze.

Good luck!! Larry NE IL

What they don't say is what is cold enough to freeze alfalfa. One time I had three different alfalfas in my field, Wranger, Dart, and a third that I've forgotten. The Wrangler cost half the price of the Dart, but I was never able to find where I changed the drill from one to the other though I thought I knew were. They had the same growth habit, the same assortment of bloom colors and the same temperature (25 or 26 as I recall) killed the tops of both. They didn't get black, they just got a paler green color. The third variety didn't change color until a night of 22.

Since I had made a cutting just about 6 weeks before frost, there wasn't a lot of top to cut and I've not made any frost hay.

We get winter kill of good alfalfa crops from nasties like ice sheets and snow that gets converted to ice by almost thaws. Also get some from having the alfalfa ground bare with really cold prairie temperatures like 30 below.

I'd just as soon it didn't frost too soon, my beans were still really green the last I looked.

Gerald J.

Having lived alongside the North Atlantic, I can tell you that body of water had big impact on our weather. I find even here in southern ON, specific temperatures hang with you much longer. We had 3 major factors out east, a west wind brought us continental weather conditions, a south wind would blow the stream out of Gulf of Mexico right up our backs and an east wind was right off the North Atlantic and the only time that water was warm was Sept to Jan. It takes all summer to warm it and takes all winter to cool it again.

On the edge of the continent you have those 3 factors constantly competeing. I remember a story about an American tourist, (in July and temp about 45F) asking an old gentleman on the doorstep of the general store, "Do you folks ever have summer?" The old gentleman replied, "Last year it was on the 10th and again on the 25th and one day late in Aug."

I can remember once, but only once, having this severe, in Jan. -30F at 7 am, the wind came in south, with it the effects of the gulf stream an by 7pm the temp was +50F. 80 degrees in 12 hours, man did we have an uncomfortable barn full of cows. Couldn't turn them out, frozen ground had turned to a sheet of ice. Probably 4' of frost in the ground, so the ice wasn't going fast.

We have a group in Halifax, call themselves the polar bear club. They go to an Atlantic beach on New Years Day and have a dip, even with air temps at -20F. They let on to the whole country, what a macho bunch they are. What they don't tell everyone, the North Atlantic waters are about 50F on Jan 1st. Not bad at all while your in the water, but you damn well scamper for that waiting motor home when you come out. I am not a member.