Cattle into the hayfield

Over the past few days I have been wrestling with whether to cut the hayfield a second time or let the cattle in to eat the barley and oats.  The field looks so ready to cut.  I could maybe get 20 bales.  I should cut and bale the field.  But after the trouble I had baling the barley and oats in July, I was not looking forward to baling the barley and oats again.  And I would have to remove the irrigation mainline pipe in the hayfield.  And I believe I have enough hay already baled for the cattle to make it through this Winter.

Since I am irrigating the pastures I have enough grass for the cattle to eat, and they seem satisfied.  Would the grass last all the way to Winter is unknown.

I couldn't put the decision off for long as the barley and oats are heading out again.  The longer I wait the more the nutrition goes into the heads and seeds.  The plant would become like straw and the cattle would only eat the tops and not much else.

Making the decision was like going into water for a swim.  You want to, and know you are going to, do it.  But what if the water is cold?  Delay, delay, delay while you try to decide.

So this evening I opened the gate as the cattle were relatively nearby in the middle pasture.  They are use to the sound of the gate's chain rattling against metal when I open a gate and a number of cows stopped eating and looked up at me.  I called them and the closest came trotting over and the rest came running.

While they had been eating for several hours, once they got into the hayfield they chowed down like they had been starving.

Buddy entering the hayfield

Here is a 47 second video of the cattle newly in the hayfield: https://youtu.be/2rc-a_lrJeU