How do you find hay that hasn't been sprayed?

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mama24

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Acid cured hay is not the same thing as hay sprayed with herbicides. :) I don't know much about the acid curing. Will have to look that up. Thanks!
 

mama24

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aggieterpkatie said:
mama24 said:
Please don't try to argue with me that it's perfectly safe,
Who was trying to argue with you about it?
Well, nobody here, but I almost always get into arguments with people who claim that not only are herbicides perfectly safe, but that they aren't even detectable in the finished product...
 

aggieterpkatie

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mama24 said:
aggieterpkatie said:
mama24 said:
Please don't try to argue with me that it's perfectly safe,
Who was trying to argue with you about it?
Well, nobody here, but I almost always get into arguments with people who claim that not only are herbicides perfectly safe, but that they aren't even detectable in the finished product...
Oh ok, I thought you mistook my post as an argument. :p
 

marliah

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mama24 said:
Most of the hay I see for sale around here says it's been sprayed for weeds. Don't really want that going into my goats, and then into their milk and into my kids. ;) Please don't try to argue with me that it's perfectly safe, that's all propaganda by the advertising side of the producers of these chemicals, not from the people who actually work in the lab. I am a chemist, I worked in the herbicides group at one of the top 3 agrochemical companies for a while. I know how toxic this stuff is. It's not nearly as benign as the marketing people would like everyone to believe.
Yikes really? I wouldn't buy any that's been sprayed for weeds either. Roundup is dangerous and IMO the killer of bees too :/ I certainly wouldn't touch it either. There must be someone local to you who can sell you real hay. Have you tried craigslist or even posting a wanted ad there?
 

mama24

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Thanks everyone! There was an ad on CL last week. They're waiting for better weather, but will have fresh cut non sprayed hay for sale as soon as the weather cooperates!
 

happyvagabonds

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i was just semi-educated in this the other day, let's see if i can remember this correctly...

i feed my goats straight alfalfa. there are only 2 haymen in this region who are able to grow alfalfa. one grows 'round-up ready' hay, the other does not.

a crop of alfalfa can last as long as 8 or 9 years. the older it is, the less nutritious.

the 'round-up ready' alfalfa is GMO... basically... it is selectively propagated so that it is not susceptible to Round-up spray. (ie: they plant 10 plants and spray them all with Round-up... if one does not die, this is the mother plant and this plant is used to produce more like it) this actually allows the farmer to use LESS chemicals on the field. my former hayman did not use 'round-up ready' hay and had to use 2 different herbicides to keep his alfalfa fields weed free. if they don't spray, it would be impossible to keep weeds from overtaking their fields (unless someone walks the fields and physically hand-picks and weeds found!). i believe this would be true for any crop.

i believe that he only has to spray for insect control once a year and likewise with the Round-up.

i just bought my hay for the month and was informed that this cutting has not been sprayed with insecticide or herbicide.

the previous month (i believe) had been sprayed with herbicide. the plants are sprayed when they are less than 3 inches tall. much like withholding times for worming and antibiotics, by the time the alfalfa has grown enough to be cut and cured, the withholding period is long past and the hay is safe for consumption.

i hope this helps and is somewhat accurate! :eek:)
 

mama24

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That might be what they tell you, but the herbicides persist in the soil and plants for years, and I do not believe it is safe or healthy. Herbicides are not nearly as toxic to mammals as pesticides, though. I worked as a chemist (I have a B.S. in chem from Penn State) for a short time (8 mos) in the herbicides lab at one of the big 3 ag chem companies. I have 4 young kids, that's the only reason I'm still not working there, it was too much for me to work full-time and still have the house, kids, animals, etc, I had to make a choice. They are a good company to work for, even if I don't ethically agree with what their marketing people tell people. I do still use glyphosate on poison ivy and other noxious weeks around my property, but I will not buy hay or other feed for my kids or my animals that has been sprayed with pesticides. I try to avoid GMO as well, though it's hard when there aren't many local choices for animal feeds. I did find a local supplier of organic alfalfa and mixed feeds, but they have a very large minimum order. They push approval for release on new GMO's too soon without enough research on their safety, imo. And also I don't think GMO's are meeting what we were promised. They have not greatly improved crop yields, and they have not in any way reduced herbicide and pesticide use. In fact, I think chemical use has more than doubled for the same yield, terrible for the environment! It's time to get back to organic and sustainable agriculture.

I did finally get hay from the person on Craigslist. It's beautiful, full of nice grass and clover, smells wonderful. There are a few weeds, mostly plantain, but since my goats love to eat those anyway, I couldn't be happier. This hay is horse quality, imo. I'm very happy with it. I really don't understand the need for completely weed free hay. This hay has never been sprayed and it's just like the stuff we fed horses when I was a kid. Nicer even.
 
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