Cut lucerne when new crown shoots are at least 2cm long but below mower to ensure persistence.

Making good quality lucerne hay is a skill that requires experience or good advice from experienced people, a good environment, good organisation, motivation, commitment and dedication with good reliable equipment. 

There are various techniques to assess when lucerne is ready to cut including but not limited to ...

• the location you are in (i.e. southern QLD versus Tasmania) as this will determine the rotation length between cuts in different seasons, the dormancy class you are growing and of course, the prevailin weather conditions.
• your on farm goals/production requirements. Consider the yield and persistence you want out of the stand aswell as when you need feed (from graizng hay and silage) 
• the quality of lucerne feed you are after as this will determine when and what height to cut at (for ideal quality at firt harvest, cut early in the harvest when plants are 30-40cm in hight.

The “yield quality trade-off” again is critical when determining the optimum time of cutting: 

• Cutting at the vegetative and pre-flower stage can produce high quality hay but yields may be reduced than if it had been left longer. Frequent cutting at this stage can deplete root reserves and stand density may decline
• Cutting at the early bud stage yields more and still can produce excellent quality hay. If cutting is frequent at this stage, it is suggested to allow the stand to mature past the early bud stage occasionally to extend stand life
• Cutting at the traditional 10% is a good compromise between quality, yield and stand persistence. Although, generally by this time, even though yield may be optimised, quality is already in decline
• Cutting at the full-flower stage can reduce quality significantly, as well as negatively impacting subsequent hay yields

Lucerne hay remains the premium hay of choice for the discerning livestock owner. To meet market demands, focus on producing hay that meets the following criteria:

Clean stand: Weeds reduce the aesthetic appeal and palatibility of the bales and/or may put livestock at risk of toxicities. Consult your local agronomist about keeping your stand clean.

Control Insects: Insects have the potential to severely damage lucerne and therefore reduce the yeild and quality of the hay. Consult your local agronomist about an insect control programme.

More leaf, less stem

• Protein and other valuable nutrients are concentrated in the leaf
• Leafy lucerne hay is more readily accepted by livestock. Leaf yield can be maximised through shorter intervals between harvest, by harvesting with less flower and by not drying the crop down too far. Avoid excessive raking (i.e. spreading or turning of the cut lucerne for drying) before baling
• Select varieties with better leaf holding ability

Green colouration: Although colour isn’t always linked with nutritional value, the market prefers greener bales. Greenness is improved by baling more leaf and less stem, by avoiding bleaching from rain or heavy dew and by shed-storing bales well to prevent rain or sun bleaching damage. Avoid mould growth by reaching the target moisture content at harvest.

Keep dusty bales to a minimum: Don’t harvest the hay too dry or on dusty hot days when topsoil may end up in bales. Horses are more prone to respiratory problems than sheep or cattle from dusty hay.

Target bale moisture content: Targets differ with bale size. Reasonably dry implies more dust. Too damp increases the risk of spoilage, mould growth and overheating of stored bales.

Conditioning: Rolling and crimping stems improves the drydown speed of stems (so leaves don’t become dry) and produces a softer hay that is more accepted by livestock.

Small bales: Smaller bales are easily marketed due to ease of handling, transportation and storage compared with rounds or medium squares.

Feed test bales: Core a line of bales and get the samples analysed. Offering feed test results to purchasers shows that you are committed to producing top quality hay.