Cut hay today, 80 % chance of rain Saturday ! What to do ?

[Stepper]

I started cutting hay yesterday ( Wednesday) and the cable broke on the sickle mower. I got about half of it cut and had to finish up the other half today. About 20 acres total. The hay is pretty thick. There was like a 30 % chance of rain for Saturday before i started cutting the last half today. Now that has increased to 80 %. I dont think the hay i cut today will be dryed out enough by tommorrow. So what should i do ? Let it get rained on and try to bail it Sunday or Monday ? Any suggestions ?

 

[dun]

Better to let it get rained on then tedd it and let it dry before bailing. Much better then bailing it too soon

dun

 

[Bez?]

I started cutting hay yesterday ( Wednesday) and the cable broke on the sickle mower. I got about half of it cut and had to finish up the other half today. About 20 acres total. The hay is pretty thick. There was like a 30 % chance of rain for Saturday before i started cutting the last half today. Now that has increased to 80 %. I dont think the hay i cut today will be dryed out enough by tommorrow. So what should i do ? Let it get rained on and try to bail it Sunday or Monday ? Any suggestions ?

If you an get it wrapped - bail and wrap - $$$$$$

Otherwise do what we all do - wait and hope.

Rain does not always make hay a poor and inedible product - relax.

This will happen to you again and again and again. If it stresses you now, you are going to die far too young.

Bez?

 

[Nowland Farms]

Stepper,

tedder it tomorrow once and then see how it looks. If it is not dry enough to bale b4 it rains you may have not choice other than letting it rain, tedder it to dry it and then bale. Better to get rain, get the hay dry and then bale than to bale too green and have it mildew.

Win some, Loose some

 

[rattler]

Stepper ther aint, much you can do but Hope.Ijust put some in the barn today that got wet twice still good hay.Good luck
rattler

 

[Stepper]

You fellas are 100 % right. Better to let it get rained on and dry out than to put it up green and let it mildew.

 

[Stepper]

I dont have a hay tedder. I guess it would be alright to let it dry out and then rake it ?

 

[dun]

May have to rake it a couple of times to keep turning the wet side out

dun

 

[msscamp]

As everyone else has said, better to get rained on than to bale it wet and have it mold.

 

[jgn]

Just don't rake it up into windrows and then let it get rained on. Much harder to get it to dry if it gets wet this way if you don't have a tedder to spread it back out. I wouldn't worry to much if the weatherman is calling for 80% chance of rain theres probably an 80% chance of him being wrong.

 

[KMacGinley]

Leave it lay, less damage if it rains on it. Rake it after the rain has dried out of it.

 

[poorboy]

Did it rain? :?:

 

[Stepper]

Yup !

I went ahead and raked the half that i cut last Wedenseday and almost got that half bailed up when it started pouring. It rained Friday evening, all day Saturday, And early this morning. I dont know it the hay will be any good or not but i am going to try and bail the rest of it up tommorrow. It should be dryed out by then.

 

[gendronf]

If you an get it wrapped - bail and wrap - $$$$$$

Otherwise do what we all do - wait and hope.
Bez?

Bez I do'nt think it's cost so much to wrap.
1) You save the hay and get quality.
2) You do'nt have to bother too much with temperature.
3) There is no waiste compare to dry hay bale. The % of
lost of dry hay pay for the wrapping if you do'nt invidually
wrap.
4) You get better quality hay.

This summer I will wrap (I hope) around 7000 bales.
Not even one single bale of dry hay. Different place, different methods.

Marcel

 

[flaboy-]

Yup !

I went ahead and raked the half that i cut last Wedenseday and almost got that half bailed up when it started pouring. It rained Friday evening, all day Saturday, And early this morning. I dont know it the hay will be any good or not but i am going to try and bail the rest of it up tommorrow. It should be dryed out by then.

Cows will eat it anyway. Feed it first. You can also put out some liquid feed near the hay when feeding. They will run a circle- hay-liquid feed-water and then start all over again.

 

[gendronf]

Are you referring to haylage Marcel?
regards

Ya I am referring to haylage. Many times I wraped almost dry hay. There is absolutly no lost. When you do this way, there is no dust in your hay and you get top quality hay.Rain and snow do'nt damage your bale. I know that this is not what they teach me but it work perfectly. In my area, some producers wrap their dry hay like silage because they dont want any dust and for protection of the temperature.. Another time there is 6-7 years ago, I was baling (moisture around 50%) and it rain. I had almost finish my field. The rest around 40 bales,(moisture 100%), I bale and wraped it. It was just after the rain.That was in july. I give those bales to my cows in November and this silage was of good quality. If you do that do'nt wait to the winter time to give those bales.
I give you the extreme there is place between. This way, in the extreme, you save your hay and keep good quality.

For quality you got to wrap 0 to 6 hours after baling. The more you wait, less quality you get.

Marcel

 

[Stepper]

gendronf,

I am new to bailing hay. Last summer was my first time to ever do it. So i am not sure what you mean when you are referring to haylage ?

And are you saying that to get the best quality of hay it needs to be bailed about 6 hours after it has been cut ? And if i understand you right. Even though the hay that you bailed had gotten rained on it was still of good quality if it was feed out in early winter ?

You know there was a old man cutting and bailing hay close to where i was. And he cut his hay and was bailing it the next day. He said pretty much what you are saying. He said if you wait to long the hay has absolutley no nutritional value.

But wont bailing hay that green mildew ? I ask the old man the same thing and he said it was not no big deal if it did ? Now on horse hay mildew will kill a horse so it has to be dryed out enough that it will not mildew.

 

[gendronf]

gendronf,

I am new to bailing hay. Last summer was my first time to ever do it. So i am not sure what you mean when you are referring to haylage ?

And are you saying that to get the best quality of hay it needs to be bailed about 6 hours after it has been cut ?

To get the best quality you bale at 50-60% humidity. In my area, if I cut the hay today, I bale it tomorrow.

And if i understand you right. Even though the hay that you bailed had gotten rained on it was still of good quality if it was feed out in early winter ?

If the job is done right, moisture 50-60%, enough plastic, wrap in the next hours maximum 4-6 hours, and a bale of good density, 12 month later, the bale will be of top quality. If the bale was made with wet hay, give it to the cows as soon as possible. It's won't last as long as the perfect ones. If you wait to the winter time, the bale will frosen and become hard like rock.

You know there was a old man cutting and bailing hay close to where i was. And he cut his hay and was bailing it the next day. He said pretty much what you are saying. He said if you wait to long the hay has absolutley no nutritional value.

When the hay need to be cut,you should cut it because the nutritional value is optimum. if you wait there is a lost in
nutritional value. If you cut it at his optional value and let it dry more than 50-60% moisture, and wrap it, the cows will prefer the more humid stuff. If you bale it at 30% insteas of 15% you will pick up the leaf not only the sterm.


But wont bailing hay that green mildew ? I ask the old man the same thing and he said it was not no big deal if it did ? Now on horse hay mildew will kill a horse so it has to be dryed out enough that it will not mildew.

 

[bigbull338]

you can cut hay an put it up as baleage.an thats if you have access to a wrapper the day your baling.an can get there setup an wrapping hay.we tryed bagging baleage.but the varmitts puncture the plastic an ruinted it.400 bales of wheat that wasnt fermented right an basically ruined.i think the single bale wrapper is the way to go now.yes you can cut hay today an bale tomorrow.we have done it alot when it gets hot an dry like it is now.

 

[milkmaid]

Stepper, a lot of dairies put their hay up as silage. You cut one day, bale the next, and put it in those white plastic bags the same day you bale it. It does ferment in there -- but it also keeps pretty well. If you were to bale it like that and then not bag it you would have a mess on your hands, but in the bags it's OK. And the cows love it.