Coastal hay

[avdpas77]

I hear a lot of talk about "coastal" hay. I have never lived near the coast and had animals at the same time, so I am only familiar with the hays grown in the Midwest.

Can anyone who is familiar with both areas give me some kind of hay hear in the Midwest that is similar?

The common grass hay here is fescue. There is also orchard grass, timothy, and red top. One will also occasionally see brome grass and Johnson grass.

So, what is "coastal" hay like?<br /><br />__________ Mon Nov 12, 2012 3:44 pm __________<br /><br />Apparently after doing some research on the web, I found that "coastal" hay is Bermuda grass

 

[mike17l]

Coastal is a type of Bermuda grass, I would imagine that most any grass hay would be comparable.

 

[caroline]

We buy "coastal hay" from a man who is right on the hills overlook the Pacific ocean. His hay has a variety of grasses, as well as oats and errant berry vines here and there. My goats, sheep , cows and rabbit all LOVE it. What I've been told is that one of the reasons they love it is that it is salty, from the ocean air. Makes sense. Anyway this guy sells the had for 5$-$7 a bale and the feed stores around here sell grass hay for about %16-$18 a bale so we were THRILLED to be able to buy 100 bales from him. He is willing to let us keep it on his place and drive up every month or so to pick up another load. It's such a beautiful drive that we look upon it as an outing and always enjoy a visit with him and his worker and his 2 collie dogs. We stopped there just yesterday since we had driven up to my sisters for a family get together and his place was on the way home. Only down side was that we got home after dark and the sheep had all gone back up the hill so I had to go up with a flash light to chase them back down to the barn yard. Didn't want to leave them out in case the coyotes of mountain lions thought it was easy pickings. Fortunately the came without too much trouble. Boy was I glad when they finally went though the gate. I'm such a home body, precisely because I worry about the animals if I'm not home before dark.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Here in CA I have never heard of "Coastal Bermuda"- the grass hay I buy is simply sold as Bermuda hay. But it would seem that if anywhere should be producing "coastal" Bermuda, it would be CA, since we have such a long coast. :?

 

[skysthelimit]

Fortunately the came without too much trouble. Boy was I glad when they finally went though the gate. I'm such a home body, precisely because I worry about the animals if I'm not home before dark.

You don't have a herding dog?

 

[caroline]

Fortunately the came without too much trouble. Boy was I glad when they finally went though the gate. I'm such a home body, precisely because I worry about the animals if I'm not home before dark.

You don't have a herding dog?

No herding dog. We have a pyr and a Kuvasz. It's a long story. But the good news is that it's how I get my exercise. I told my husband, when he wanted to re-fence the pasture so the cows would be closer and I wouldn't have to walk to the top of the hill every day to feed them, that if I didn't HAVE to, I probably wouldn't. I'd be sitting on my butt reading rabbittalk MUCH earlier. So I am happy I have to get up there and get my exercise :lol: cuz I'm getting old and I want to stay active as long as I can.

 

[Bill]

"Coastal" Bermuda Grass is a variety developed at the Coastal Plains Experiment Station in Tifton Georgia. It was developed sometime before the mid 1970s because we planted pastures in it sometime around 1975. Since the original coastal variety there have been numerous new and supposedly better varieties developed, Tift 44, Alicia, Etc all commonly referred to as "Coastal". I went to high school and college in Tifton @ Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC), held part time jobs at the "Spearment Station" (now the Tifton Campus of the University of Georgia) and currently live about 10 miles from it.

 

[mike17l]

"Coastal" Bermuda Grass is a variety developed at the Coastal Plains Experiment Station in Tifton Georgia. It was developed sometime before the mid 1970s because we planted pastures in it sometime around 1975. Since the original coastal variety there have been numerous new and supposedly better varieties developed, Tift 44, Alicia, Etc all commonly referred to as "Coastal". I went to high school and college in Tifton @ Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC), held part time jobs at the "Spearment Station" (now the Tifton Campus of the University of Georgia) and currently live about 10 miles from it.

Bill, I took swimming lessons when I was 8 or 10 at ABAC, that was 20 years ago. My aunt used to work for the USDA there in Tifton. I haven't been to Georgia since then. My cousins still live there though. And, you know a little more about tift Bermuda, but that is exactly what I was referring to, as any hay sold in Texas as 'coastal' is Bermuda.

 

[Bill]

"Coastal" Bermuda Grass is a variety developed at the Coastal Plains Experiment Station in Tifton Georgia. It was developed sometime before the mid 1970s because we planted pastures in it sometime around 1975. Since the original coastal variety there have been numerous new and supposedly better varieties developed, Tift 44, Alicia, Etc all commonly referred to as "Coastal". I went to high school and college in Tifton @ Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC), held part time jobs at the "Spearment Station" (now the Tifton Campus of the University of Georgia) and currently live about 10 miles from it.

Bill, I took swimming lessons when I was 8 or 10 at ABAC, that was 20 years ago. My aunt used to work for the USDA there in Tifton. I haven't been to Georgia since then. My cousins still live there though. And, you know a little more about tift Bermuda, but that is exactly what I was referring to, as any hay sold in Texas as 'coastal' is Bermuda.

Wow, small world huh? Did you live in Tifton or were you just visiting the cousins?