Eden Valley Guest Ranch.

Growing Hay in Okanogan Highlands near Oroville and Tonasket, Washington

Growing Hay in Okanogan Highlands near Oroville and Tonasket, Washington has challenges caused by weather, climate, wildlife, and economy.  Our alfalfa-grass hay is irrigated and the grass hay is dry-land.

Plants do not start growing in the spring until the soil temperatures are regularly above 40 degrees Fahrenheit.  Our mountain growing season is very short.  Sometimes we harrow the ground early in the spring to stimulate the plants and disperse dirt from any mole mounds.

Alfalfa hay crops are very expensive to seed and develop into productive healthy stands with deep roots.  Alfalfa roots can be as deep as 12 to 14 feet.  The crop must last 12 to 14 years to have a good return on investment.  Here in the mountains, we generally get one full cutting in late June and a partial cutting in late August.

We utilize many types of dry land grasses to work with our many types of soil on our ranch.  Grass hay is only cut once a year.

All hay must be cut at a certain level of maturity to ensure the highest nutritive value.  Hay must be dried before it can be baled and it is bad if it rains on the windrows.  Rained on hay at best has lost nutrients and at worst might end up as ditch fill and be unusable for animal consumption.