Bitter Orchard Grass

I think I have a fairly easy question to pose. I did search the site and did not find it addressed, so...

 

Is there a wrong time to cut orchard grass that will result in the hay being bitter?

 

I was discussing (with a horse-hay customer) about what I was going to plant in one of my hayfields. He likes OG, but said that he had heard that OG could be bitter if harvested at the wrong time. Of course, people “hear” lots of things... Maybe someone got OG from a field which was full of noxious weeds or diseased (rust or something?)

 

I am planning on Lespedeza/OG/Ladino, and wanted to know if OG was “tricky”, less forgiving, and/or hard to cut/bale at the exact-right stage, any more-so than any other grass,to get the best hay possible.

 

Thanks

73, Mark

Bitter Orchard Grass