prairie grass hay

[perrymax]

Has anybody cut their native warm season grass for hay?I know that it's very nutricious and I've read that some horse people are paying about the same per bale as alfalfa.Your not supposed to cut it any shorter than 8".That would be my problem,but I could rig something up to fix that.I have an old,7' sickle mower,rake,and a 24T baler.Everything works fine.Drying it out shouln't be a problem because I'll be cutting it in July.Do you think it would be worth it?

[RTC]

perrymax, I just replied to your e-mail. They used to make a wheel that mounted on the end of sickle bars for height adjustment just for the purpose of clipping at a certain height. I have not seen one in years but one could be fabricated rather easily. Check with your local farm equipment dealer, I bet they know. Thick stemmed grasses are always hard to cure unless you have access to a conditioner and/or tedder, but doing it in July would certainly help.
RTC

[Larry Carter]

The gauge wheels for sickle bar mowers are still made. If you need a contact to purchase one I'll get the information and post it.

[perrymax]

Thanks for the info!!I'll weld something up that will work.