I was asked by a regenerative grass farmer who wants to raise pastured rabbits, if a scythe could cut tall grass down to a 6-inch height. He is required by state law to keep his rabbits in cages. So he wants to keep his rabbits in movable cages, with a wire mesh floor, and move them daily across a pasture. He wants to mow a 20 square foot area of tall grass down to an optimal height of 6 inches, then rake aside and gather the cut grass, pull the cage onto the cut area, and then put the fresh-cut grass inside the cage for the rabbits to eat. Basically replicating regenerative grazing with a scythe and caged rabbits. The tops of the grass gets cut at an optimal height and directly eaten, and the topsoil gets fertilized with rabbit manure.
Why the 6-inch height requirement, I asked? According to this farmer, when pasture grass is grazed or cut to a minimum height of 6 inches, it is able to regenerate quicker, and over time will sequester more carbon in the soil, than grass that is grazed or cut shorter. When grass is grazed shorter than 6 inches, the corresponding amount of root dieback greatly slows the regrowth of the plant. Plus it makes it more vulnerable to dry spells. Overall, you get less carbon (organic matter) building up in the soil, he said. In the tradition of mowing with a scythe, grains were often cut high above the weeds (see video), but grass is normally cut very short. Unlike grain stalks, grass is very bendy and therefore much easier to cut with a scythe blade near the base of the plant, where it bends out of the way the least. Also, it is much, much easier to tedd and rake the hay, when the field has been cut short and clean. With a very sharp blade and good technique, you can push the limits of how high you mow grass. Grasses with stiffer stems, like timothy, brome, and foxtails, are the easiest to cut at a 6-inch height. It is simple enough to rake up the fresh cut grass, but it would be difficult to process it into well cured hay out in the field. The fresh green grass would keep snagging your hayrake and green grass would keep mixing in with the drying hay, and drying hay would get mixed in with the green grass and be lost. It would be messy. I made the quick video above to illustrate how it can be done. I just used my usual hayfield scythe set-up; my 1SR snath and an 85cm Falci 100. If I had to mow a lot of grass at a 6-inch height, I would set my grips lower and switch to a shorter and lighter 75cm Fux 2010, or Falci 100 blade.
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