When to cut hay?
Answers:
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"Red clover quality
If red clover is harvested for hay when no more than one-half of the plants are blooming, the feeding value approaches that of alfalfa.
The protein content of red clover can be nearly as high as that of alfalfa. Red clover cut for hay at the 50 percent bloom stage usually exceeds 14 or 15 percent protein. Many times red clover is not harvested soon enough; it is under these conditions that unfavorable quality results. Don't wait until it is in full bloom. Also, when harvested too late, new growth from the crown has started to elongate. When these young shoots are removed, a sharp reduction in the second growth often occurs."
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I BELIEVE IT'S AFTER.
I BELIEVE IT'S AFTER.
Harvesting: Grazing red clover pastures between seedling emergence and early December can be detrimental to the clover. While there is no ideal harvesting height, light grazing should begin when plants are 10-12 inches tall. Red clover maintains its high forage quality until about 40-50% of the stems have blooms and can be harvested for hay or grazed at that time.
Red clover should not be cut or grazed shorter than 3 or 4 inches. Continuous stocking of red clover can be profitable, but requires frequent adjustments in number of animals per acre. With rotational stocking, it is generally easier to maintain long stand life, high forage quality, and produce seed necessary for reseeding.
Ideally, red clover should be grazed for 5-7 days early in the growing season (late March or April for fall-sown stands and June for spring-sown stands), followed by 3-5 weeks of regrowth. Later in the season grazing can be extended to 2 weeks with enough animals to remove all but 3 to 4 inches of growth.
When seed production is desired, animals should be removed for 5-6 weeks. Few flowers develop for good seed production with heavy continuous grazing. Pastures can be cut or grazed after seed set, shattering much of the seed onto the soil.