I know this may be obvious to some, but it seems for other readers the old saying about "you never know unless you ask" applies here, so I hope this is helpful to some.
The answer depends on the farm or property land owner/operators intended use. The best, and maybe only chance you would normally have to get an owner/operator to consider altering their mowing schedule, is if there is no intended use of the field. In that case you may have a good chance of getting them to delay mowing. For many of these type of poperties, the timing of mowing is almost always dependent on the owner/operators schedule and has nothing to do with use of the field.
But I think the majority of farm properties have an intended use of their fields. In these, there are two reasons for having grasslands. One is for pasture the other is for hay. The timing of mowing is very different for these, and it is usually obvious which use the field is being managed for.
With a pasture, if the owner/operator has the means, they will mow as often as needed in order to maintain ideal forage stage for the animals grazing on it. It has to do with maintaining nutruition value of the grass. The intent is keeping it at a certain stage of development with high nutrition value, and in Spring it is very tricky to do this around here. That is because depending on weather the grass can sometimes go past the ideal stage in very short time (1-2 days), and then they need to mow quickly. All of this is dependent on timing of weather and being able to mow the field when it is the right time to mow. It is not like cutting your lawn. You always have to consider the softness of the ground in the field and minimze soil compaction, and also don't want to cut right after it rains. Normally its best to wait at least one full day after a rain before mowing to help the balance of nutrition in the grass. I don't remember what compound is produced when they grow in a wet situation, but I've been told the plants are trying to compensate for saturation temporarily, which changes their chemistry briefly and in turn their nutrition value. If feasible, farmers want the grass to dry out before cutting it to get the best nutrition value.
The other intended use (for hay) is very specific (when to cut), and the owner/operator is even less willing to bend. They are growing a crop which is either a source of income, or to be used for their stock on site, and the grass must be mowed at the corret time in its development in order to get the best hay. This varies with species of grass and mix of species in a field, and of course temperature and amount of precip. In general, most farmers hope to get multiple cuttings of hay of a field during a growing season. They typically get at least two (one each in spring and fall), but if the timing allows and they are lucky they can get 3 or more (I hav heard of 5 on rare occasions here). This is where the real issue comes in. Normally grassland species of birds are adaptable to this and can time nest building and egg laying to get in a brood in between mowings. The "safe" date for most grassland species reflects this, and is very long. Around here, for MD's recent Breeding Bird Atlas project, the safe dates for Grasshopper Sparrows are 5/25 to 8/31, and for E Meadowlarks are 4/25 to 9/10.
Hope this is helpful-
Jeff Shenot
Croom MD
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