Hay making can be risky business, especially with unpredictable weather. The popularity of grass-free track systems is booming, so hay with specific nutritional values is becoming more and more popular.
Are you making hay for yourself? Or perhaps you are making hay to sell to horse owners? It doesn't have to be rocket science, there are some key things that you can do to influence how your hay ends up. Let's take a look:
Post cutting
This is where it really begins - Autumn. This is the time we can influence the soil health, plant communities and sward composition. The soil is in need of a feed, and some plants may take the opportunity to pop up now they have some light. Sheep can be really useful here to do an aftermath graze, adding some nutrients via dung, and nibbling some of those plants popping up. If you've taken multiple cuts, you may want to spread some well rotted muck to feed the soil. A thin mulch over bare areas with old hay can help those recover too.
Now is a good time to test soil and get a forage analysis done. These paired together give you a good picture of what's going on above and below, and can steer your management plans. You could also harrow at this point if you are not aftermath grazing to break up the thatch.
What you do now will influence:
Potassium (if you were to plant a herbal ley, or create compaction which increases clover cover) - this is associated with increased problems for EMS and laminitis in equines
Plant communities (how much pulling up of unwanted plants you'll do next year, how many beneficial plants are included etc)
Sward composition ( overseeding with rye-free mixes etc)
Over winter
Allowing the fields to rest over winter can help reduce compaction. If you've applied anything in the autumn, this allows it time to work into the soil food web and boost that soil ecosystem.
The presence of compaction will influence:
Buttercup cover
Clover cover
Nutrient availability to your grass
Water movement and moisture management
Pollution runoff
Early spring
If you are planning to graze, this would be a good time to do it. Ideally we need to use few animals for a short amount of time, just enough to encourage tillering in the spring growth, open up some light into the sward and give it a little boost of life (from the animals gut microbiome) and nutrients. Then you want to shut it up until cutting time.
Summer
Now, what you do it summer will influence the following factors:
NSC (non-structural carbohydrates)
WSC (water-soluble carbohydrates)
ESC ( ethanol-soluble carbohydrates)
Starch
Dry matter
Non - digestable fibre
Digestable fibre
Palatability
Mould spores
Ash content
Dust levels
Now some of this depends on whether you are making hay or haylage, but there are some general things we can do depending on what kind of forage we want to create - its more in our control than we think. I mention ESC, WSC, NSC and starch because there is debate about which ones are most important to consider for the laminitic diet, depending on who you ask, and also, where and how you get your forage tested. In the interest of minimising confusion, I am discussing general terms such as "sugars" in reference to the growing and cutting process, because that is what we are looking at in this blog, not nutritional analysis. These terms can be very contentious for some nutrition professionals, so it is important to get a forage analysis done for each cut (taken at least 6 weeks after baling so you get an idea of what it will be like at the point of feeding) and use that to guide feeding decisions, not just how it is grown - hay cut in perfect conditions can vary in nutritional composition from field to field.
As a grower, many buyers are preferring to buy hay that comes with a nutritional analysis. Please see https://thregister.co.uk/ for more detail on understanding forage analysis.
For lower "sugars", we want to:
Cut later in the season
Cut longer, stalkier grass
Grow slower growing species of grass, avoiding ones such as rye
Cut on a cloudy day
Cut grass on good soil health, ideally grown as an old hay meadow, or grown using permaculture/regenerative techniques
A minimum of 6 weeks "curing" time after baling (for both hay and haylage) before testing and feeding
For lower spores and mouldy bales, and better palatability we want to:
Use sharp, clean blades for cutting, set high enough not to include soil (this increases ash content, dust and increases chances of bacteria and fungal growth)
Make sure to ted hay especially early and late season cuts, and in dewy and humid weather. This should happen after a brief wilting period, and again the next day in standard conditions, or ted immediately after cutting if damp or humid.
At least 6 layers of wrap on wrapped hay and haylage, more for late season and stalkier grasses.
Use a clean baler, and bale when the hay is ready in dry conditions - hay left out too long can increase chances of mouldy bales.
Store in dry, well ventilated, rodent-free conditions
Haylage cut earlier tends to have lower mould levels
Cut during a dryer period if possible, this is why many choose to cut in the middle of the season
It is really important that if we are cutting hay in May, June or July, that we check first for ground nesting bird nests in the grass , such as skylark, please read RSPB guidance on this https://www.rspb.org.uk/helping-nature/what-we-do/influence-government-and-business/farming/advice-for-farmers-helping-bird-species
Weeds
Ragwort and dock are usually the main culprits in a haymaker's early season backache and headaches. Ideally, pulling by hand is the best option - it is often cheaper to hire in help for a day than spraying and dealing with the fall out of that over time. Many owners are keen to buy chemical free - so use sparingly, spot spray if necessary. As grass swards get healthier, other plants are outcompeted in health and nutrients. One way to check is using a brix meter.
A final word
A lot of these may feel very opposite to how many would normally grow and manage hay. While some horses will do great on normally made hay, we do have an obesity crisis in the horse world, and many owners are looking for hay they can safely feed vulnerable horses. Following these methods, can fit in well with ELM payment scheme options, such as low input, bird, and soil health.
Growing hay for horses can be really challenging when the weather doesn't cooperate, and it can be really daunting doing it for the first time coming into it for the first time as a horse owner. But the rewards can be plentiful when you are creating a product that is making a huge difference to horse health, owners' peace of mind, and increasing biodiversity in the mass extinction event happening around us.
If you want to make a management plan for your hay fields that benefits you, horses and nature, get in touch today, or keep an eye out on my website for hay making workshops for 2025.
References
Serafim, C.C., de Castro, F.A.B., Mizubuti, I.Y., Pértile, S.F.N., Barreto, J.V.P., da Silva, J.B., de Oliveira, C.H., Zundt, M. and de Almeida Rego, F.C., 2024. English Does the cutting time of Tifton 85 grass change the nutritional composition of the hay produced?. Scientia Plena, 20(5).
Pelletier, S., Tremblay, G.F., Bélanger, G., Bertrand, A., Castonguay, Y., Pageau, D. and Drapeau, R., 2010. Forage nonstructural carbohydrates and nutritive value as affected by time of cutting and species. Agronomy Journal, 102(5), pp.1388-1398.
Schenck, J. and Müller, C.E., 2014. Microbial Composition before and after conservation of grass-dominated haylage harvested early, middle, and late in the season. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 34(5), pp.593-601.
Seguin, V., Lemauviel-Lavenant, S., Garon, D., Bouchart, V., Gallard, Y., Blanchet, B., Diquelou, S., Personeni, E., Gauduchon, P. and Ourry, A., 2010. Effect of agricultural and environmental factors on the hay characteristics involved in equine respiratory disease. Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 135(3), pp.206-215.
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