Alfalfa advice?

[Sheepwheat]

So I seeded down a quarter of hay. It is an alfalfa/Timothy/orchard grass blend. Oat stubble, no nurse crop. Pre seed burn off day before seeding. Seeded June 6th. Got a great kill on volunteer oats.

But the oats had been flattened by snow before combining, so there was a lot of shelling before combining. Now, it is a pretty much wild mess of vigorous oats. Very fertile soil, oats a very nice green without any nutrients added.

My point. I am worried the new forage may get smothered by the thick and juicy oat crop coming. Your not supposed to cut alfalfa before about 60 days post seeding. First thought is take the oats off as greenfeed, and this May let the alfalfa recover when the competition is removed, but I assume this will wreck the alfalfa if it’s cut that early. Do I just leave the oats and combine it? Can cut high enough to leave the alfalfa that way. But still scared the oats will outcompete the forages, and be a wreck? Ie, non established hay?

What do you guys with forage experience say?

Thanks for all thoughts...

[Sodbuster]

The last couple of alfalfa crops we seeded were with about 60lbs of oats, then cut for green feed.

[Sheepwheat]

The last couple of alfalfa crops we seeded were with about 60lbs of oats, then cut for green feed.

How long after seeding and how big was the alfalfa? And did you set to cut higher than usual to leave alfalfa alone?

Finally did the alfalfa establish fine in spite of getting an early haircut?

[burnt]

What you describe sounds very much like what we do to establish new seeding alfalfa and grasses.

This spring we cut the seeding rate to about 85 - 90 lbs/ac of oats,. barley and peas. Wrong move - the frigid weather, snow, hard frosts, was brutal on the cereals.It took 3 weeks to fully emerge.
So instead of cutting it at 65 days, it was about 74 days after planting.

The alfalfa was about 6" to 1' tall already, likely largely due to the thin cover crop stand.

It was really hot and fairly dry over this time, but then we got good rain - 12 days after cutting - and the alfalfa is growing beautifully. About 4" tall now, 2 weeks after cutting the triple mix.

That's about a perfect outcome, but that's with our climate. I don't know what you are faced with.

Sounds like you should have some really nice feed from those volunteer oats.

We usually sow 110 lbs./ac and that's what I will do again in the future. But your oats "seeding" rate is likely much higher than that?

[dalek]

If your moisture situation is good I would go ahead and cut it now, cut it as high as you can though, even if you have to pick up some higher clearance skid shoes. If it’s on the dry side leave it and combine it high

[Sheepwheat]

I think the oats would be equal to say 100 lbs. It is a ways from heading, the equivalent as though it were seeded on the sixth of June, so a ways away. Alfalfa is real small, second to fourth trifoliolate leaf stage, tallest one I saw might be four inches tall?

Goofiest thing is the oats honestly looks like it could yield a hundred bpa or so, based on plant stand, broadness of leaves, and its healthy color. I might be money ahead because of that to combine it and see what becomes of the alfalfa. Moisture conditions are very, very close to too wet. I wouldn’t be out much if the oats choked it out, especially if it yielded like it looks it could. But I lose a year, and need the hay.

Ahh decisions. Thanks for the thoughts so far.

[Sodbuster]

The trouble if you try to harvest it is that if it lays to long in the swath before it’s combined the alfalfa under the swath suffers. If you cut it for greenfeed you can always rake it if it’s sitting to long.

[Sheepwheat]

The trouble if you try to harvest it is that if it lays to long in the swath before it’s combined the alfalfa under the swath suffers. If you cut it for greenfeed you can always rake it if it’s sitting to long.

I straight cut everything, but yeah I wondered about the forage in the swath aspect for sure. Hard to get greenfeed to dry at the best of times in this country, I picture myself rolling the swath over until it ventually disintegrates. Lol

[grefer]

The only time I have ever had a total wreck with alfalfa was when I left a cover crop of oats a week too long before cutting on a somewhat dry year. If you have lots of moisture you can get away with almost anything but I would not leave it until harvest. Harvest is supposed to be dry and Im afraid if the dry didnt damage or kill it the winter might cutting it that late. If it were mine I would leave it a while yet if you have moisture but at some point in the not too distant future take it off and the alfalfa should grow like a weed before getting frosted in the fall. JMO

[burnt]

I straight cut everything, but yeah I wondered about the forage in the swath aspect for sure. Hard to get greenfeed to dry at the best of times in this country, I picture myself rolling the swath over until it ventually disintegrates. Lol

Growing it is very common around here. Everyone cuts it one day and bales it the next and wraps it in a tube. Costs more, but you get top quality feed. No losses from raking or adverse weather. What value do you put on reduced stress cuz you're not watching it get rained on for a week or two...

Can blow it in a pile or bunker and cover it too, if you have the equipment.

Another consideration is the cost of your grass seed ad future yield. If the oats holds it back and reduces stand, you will feel that for as long as the field is seeded down.

[GDR]

Best option is to silage it off in August if you can use it or sell it, then it still has some fall to regrow, or else wait till a good frost. Combining can leave too much patchy straw and green feed can take too long to get the swaths off. It will be fine, as others have said most of us plant a cover crop anyhow, last year had a heavier than I would like field, that we baled 10 bales to the acre of silage off and was under seeded, gonna wrap the first year hay tomorrow and it looks real good.

[Mufferaw]

To be honest, I wouldn't really worry about it. I always plant cover crops in order to get something substantial the first year. Oats/barley planted as a cover at 2/3 normal seeding rate under seeded to alfalfa sprayed with Buctril M. Cut for greenfeed. Like mentioned if the swath sits for a bit you will be able to see the swath/rows that year, can't see it the following year. Even if you clip some of the alfalfa off it it still has time to regrow a bit. I don't cut it to the ground though. Never had a wreck especially if lots of moisture.
The only time I had some establishment trouble. Seeded early with no cover crop - wild oats seemed to take over the field - seem to be way more competitive than barley/oats. Needed to cut that to avoid some competition.