Drying time difference

[JW IN VA]

How much, if any, difference is there in drying time for late hay cut with a mower conditioner and a disc mower?
I'm sure a conditioner is better for hay made on time but wondering about ripe grass and blade hay.

 

[cowman82]

not much for grass.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Here even on late August-October first crop there is at least 2 days difference conditioned/non.

 

[cowman82]

Here even on late August-October first crop there is at least 2 days difference conditioned/non.

good thing he's not in UP MI.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Not much difference. A Tedder will make a day or two difference. But there expensive.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

good thing he's not in UP MI.

He's also not in SW MO or Central IL.

Point is it varys greatly across this big old country. So our recommendations and experiences places other than where he lives don't mean much.

 

[M.Magis]

Type and maturity of the grass is going to play a big role, as does the type of conditioner. With our grasses here (fescue, orchard grass, timothy, etc…) and roller conditioners, the difference is minimal to non existant if the hay is tedded.

 

[Dave]

I have noticed that roller conditioners plug up way more often than the flail type.

My hay was cut on Tuesday and yesterday. About 9:30 B and W pulled in with the rake and baler. They decided it wasn't ready yet. At that time there was an occasional drop of rain. The forecast said 0.07 inch of rain this morning. There was 3 pairs that had wandered into my hay field. So the dog and I herded them out of the field and up the road about a mile at about 10:00. Got back home about 10:45. Well at around 11:00 the sky opened up and it poured. Thunder and lightning and 0.7 inch in an hour and a half. I think my drying time got extended another day or so.

 

[SmokinM]

How much, if any, difference is there in drying time for late hay cut with a mower conditioner and a disc mower?
I'm sure a conditioner is better for hay made on time but wondering about ripe grass and blade hay.

Pondered the same thing myself a couple years ago. I bit the bullet and bought a flail style MOCO. I sometimes think I picked up a day and sometimes I think I didn't gain a thing. I would say a day at best is probably a safe bet. For where we are the humidity is the big player and in my opinion if money matters buy a better tedder and a cheaper mower. JMO.

 

[ClinchValley86]

If you're gonna run a tedder, I think its best to ted right after mowing and leave it be til raking. Don't beat it to death that way. Or ted w the dew if you must ted again.

I want a Krone 4 basket when I grow up.

 

[coachg]

Our conditioner tends to pile it a little deeper even though it squeezes/ conditions the hay . So it seems our hay cut with the mower lays more flat and evenly spread out . Our hay is so lush this year I've had to Tedder all the hay and some twice ! Only hay we definitely run through the conditioner is ryegrass, oats, sudex or millet . If we have a lot to cut like a couple of weeks ago we ran both just to get it cut ! ,

 

[worldsgreatestlover]

Conditioner is a must have on Sudan grasses. Good to have on Oat hay. Makes very little difference on grass, the exception for me being hybrid Bermuda. Especially Tifton when your a little late getting to it the long thick runners can be slow to try and cause lots of problems. Conditioner helps. I'm one of very few around here to own a Tedder. It should be called a hay dryer. Nothing will shorten your dry time like tedding. I agree with tedding with the dew I also Tedd with a fairly slow pto speed to minimize leaf loss.
Again the exception is your hybrid Sudans, you have to have a Conditioner. I've learned this lesson the hard way.