Would topping grass in March do harm?

M

MF590

Well-Known Member
Hello, got a 4 acre field with some yellow looking grass, would topping it this month do any harm to get he new growth of grass through? The field hasn't been sparayed with roundup or anything don't think it's been grazed for many years. Thanks
 
Might you be better off trying to pull out the dead grass with a chain harrow or the like? How long is it?
 
If it hasn't been grazed then it will be long and tufty I presume? In which case cut and get rid of it if there's a lot of it?

Maybe do a soil test, get some N down, and keep grazing it.
 
chuck as many sheep as you can on it for as long as it needs to look like a slightly brown bowling green, take em off and watch it grow, get fert on as soon as it will travel
 
What height is the grass? Do you know anyone with sheep?

Posted from the Ham Bone using Crapatalk 2
 
If you want to clean it up my first choice would be sheep as said earlier, if its not fenced for sheep, then id mow it and bale it, when ever the ground is dry enough, it might not make great feeding but with fodder getting tight, it would surely cover the cost of the work.
 
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I agree there, you could even mow, bale/wagon it straight in to animals in the shed, cut out the cost of making and feeding silage.

Posted from the Ham Bone using Crapatalk 2
 
I can have 200 ewes n lambs there soonest, a foot of any thing remotely grass like,,,, bugger topping it, get it ate,,,,
Top it when dry enough, if you have a foot of uncut rough grazing I would think there would br a lot of clippings left, that would need shifting around????
 
the sheep definatley would be a better job, but if you want to cut it, then top away at it, you dont want it in your new grass.

is this silage or grazing ground?
 
As said above let sheep take it to the clay chain harrow it and spread some new seed on it then it will come back fairly good
 
I recon sheep would make a right pigs ear of the place if it's a foot high, it would be trampled in within a few days and you'd be no better than cutting and leaving it. Anything over a few inches and sheep make a mess.
 
Anglesey young farmer said:
I recon sheep would make a right pigs ear of the place if it's a foot high, it would be trampled in within a few days and you'd be no better than cutting and leaving it. Anything over a few inches and sheep make a mess.
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Oh if it's a foot high, no animal would have any business being on it, nor would topping it be a good idea.

Posted from the Ham Bone using Crapatalk 2
 
Had a 10 acre field like that last year and mowed, baled and wrapped it and sold it on which well covered the cost of the job, topping will cost you money, selling on the bales will cost you nothing. With stuff that long to top it would require a flail topper to do a good job or i could be wrong.
 
thefarminglad said:
Had a 10 acre field like that last year and mowed, baled and wrapped it and sold it on which well covered the cost of the job, topping will cost you money, selling on the bales will cost you nothing. With stuff that long to top it would require a flail topper to do a good job or i could be wrong.
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lad up road from here did same last year and drew it to cavan. he didnt bother wrappin them. lads were glad of them last year, wud ua shift them as easy as this year? i find horrid hard to get silage made in march to forment, tends to go black
 
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