I’ve had more people than typical ask me about harvesting hay late this fall. Its true that many livestock producers will regularly bale hay late in the fall. Others plan to get all the hay they need for their ranch before mid-summer with two, maybe three, cuttings off of their hay meadow.

This year’s dry summer has changed many stockmen’s plans.

If you were in a drier area that scarcely received any rain, you are still looking to put up enough for yourself. If you got plenty of rain, you may have enough for your own operation but are looking to a market opportunity to sell excess. Either way, we still have hay being harvested.

The deadline to bale hay is our first frost. Historically, we have our first frost in mid-November. Taking a look at a long-term forecast (at the time this is piece was written), frost looks likely.

Another deterrent to getting hay up is the soggy ground conditions that limit tractor use. A dry spell of weather may give grass time to be cut and baled but getting into the hay meadow can create ruts in the very field we work hard to keep undisturbed for equipment to travel across throughout the year.

Perhaps a concern for some is the chance of prussic acid. If your hay meadow has johnsongrass or if you planted a sorghum grain, you need to pay attention. Prussic acid is a cyanogenic compound (think cyanide toxicant) that is highly poisonous. The condition is associated with rapidly growing plants that are damaged or stressed.

Frost, for example, or drought after heavy nitrogen fertilization are common times to see it. Even mechanically injured plants from 4-wheelers or ATVs can cause the stressful condition.

It is important to remember that it primarily occurs in sorghum type plants commonly less than 1½ foot. Prussic acid does not occur in pearl millet or corn.

So, what does a stockman do if they suspect a field may have prussic acid? After a hard freeze, or severe drought, simply avoid grazing for approximately one week. After a rain or irrigation on drought stressed fields wait at least two weeks after plants begin to grow before grazing.

Additional safety can be assured by testing the forage by at the Texas Veterinary Diagnostic Medical in College Station. Call 888-646-5623 for more information.

Finally, hay that has not be harvested due to weather or other circumstances can be used as a “standing” hay. Standing hay is an often-overlooked option. It works only where the livestock have access to graze the hay meadow. One benefit is that no expense is incurred at all in the baling process. Likewise, there is no need to put the hay back out for consumption.

If you are still questioning standing hay, it is simply forage, killed by a frost, but harvested by cattle before it deteriorates. Once grass is stopped by a frost, it may lose a very small amount of protein, but it will remain very palatable and nutritious. As long as it went into the frost in good condition, it will pay for itself as it saves time and money in the hay harvesting and feeding process.

Standing forage is obviously exposed to the elements and will deteriorate. Stockmen can expect to get four, maybe six weeks of grazing. At issue for many is that many hay meadows are not properly fenced or have water for livestock to drink.

The questions started a couple of weeks ago. “Is it time to prune back my ___________?”

These nicer fall days certainly get me out in the landscape more, even as the days get shorter. Eager to do something and with the grass has almost completely stopped growing with cool temps, seems as though many folks think to go cut some branches!

If you are itching to start now, I’d encourage you to wait a little longer. These last waning days of autumn still give our perennial plants time to store up reserves in their roots. This storage of energy allows them to emerge strongly in the coming spring.

Of course, any dead or diseased branches should be removed immediately, regardless of the month.

In general, the dead of winter is a great time to cut back on most trees and shrubs. They are in their dormant stage and can take it quite well.

Typically, I encourage folks to wait until after the holidays have passed before you do any serious pruning. Serious pruning can be defined as cutting back more than one third of a plant.

Caretakers of the SFA arboretum taught me that you can typically cut back perennials by a third anytime during the growing season so long as you do not do so during time so great duress – such as in the middle of a drought. Many blooming plants will often re-bloom wonderfully with a light topping throughout the summer.

Winter pruning of most shrubs such as roses can be done anytime during the winter according to a regionally known horticulturalist, Felder Rushing. In Rushing’s excellent book, Tough Plants for Southern Gardens, he says there are really no rules across the board for pruning roses. He says to forget any specific rules you may have heard over the years and simply cut back all the stems of repeat blooming varieties by half!

Regarding landscape trees, let me first share some wisdom that I heard many years ago from renowned Dallas horticulturalist, Neil Sperry, “no plant absolutely has to be pruned.” A plant will grow naturally so long as it has water, sunlight and nutrients.

We choose to prune back trees and shrubs because a branch is in the way or because we simply desire a certain shape or perhaps more blooms.

So, what about the crepe myrtle?

I written about this before so let me discuss this carefully. Crepe myrtles are beautiful plants that can be categorized as large shrubs or small trees. Many standard varieties can reach 20 feet, 25 feet or even 30

feet tall. If you desire a smaller variety, there are dwarf types that grow only to four feet and even miniatures that stop at one to two feet in height.

I wouldn’t dare cut back the decades old crepe myrtles on our farm. I do keep the lower limbs trimmed up so we can mow under them. Additionally, the Natchez crepe myrtles that I planted four years ago do need shaping and kept from rubbing the eves of our house.

So no, I generally let them develop their natural form.

Fruit trees certainly will produce larger fruit if pruned later this winter. Unlike the roses, these fruit bearing trees do have some guidelines that you would do well to follow. I’ll never forget the first time a commercial peach producer showed me how many lateral limbs he wanted, then how many buds he would allow per limb. His efforts were quite laborious and quite profitable.

But for now, get ready for the holidays. Put off major pruning. And give yourself (and your landscape) until January before you cut them back.