How much hay is baled at right moisture level ?

[Stocker Steve]

I took my new tester for a drive tonight and tested a batch of hay put up by each of the two local custom balers. One batch of hay measured 19 to 30%, the other measured 14 to 25%. So they will both mold to some extent... I realize it is hard to dry hay here, but this data does not make our local custom balers look very professional.

What hay quality have you tested in your area ?

 

[Bigfoot]

I like to be around 20%. Unfortunately, I test that with my eyes and hands. I never have hay mold, that I have "time" to handle properly. We seldom get any good haying weather here, until the hay is too mature anyway. I've about gotten to the point that I'd rather go for quantity, instead of quality and just supplement.

 

[Alan]

This was the first year I had some of our land baled for our use by a custom baler. I consider him a friend as well, I have known him for years. I have enough experience in buying local hay I feel confident I know what to look, feel and smell for. I simply told him I know when you decide to cut we are in mother natures hands, so not to worry about we'll do the best we can. We had a good stretch of dry weather he used his tester and said he tries not to bale wetter than 12%. My bales tested between 10 to 12%, good color, wife loves it, I couldn't be happier.

 

[Bigfoot]

This was the first year I had some of our land baled for our use by a custom baler. I consider him a friend as well, I have known him for years. I have enough experience in buying local hay I feel confident I know what to look, feel and smell for. I simply told him I know when you decide to cut we are in mother natures hands, so not to worry about we'll do the best we can. We had a good stretch of dry weather he used his tester and said he tries not to bale wetter than 12%. My bales tested between 10 to 12%, good color, wife loves it, I couldn't be happier.

Once again, I don't have a tester, so I might as well be speaking from my hind end. I would only get the clover stem to the barn if I baled that dry. I may be baling that dry and don't know it though.

 

[Alan]

This was the first year I had some of our land baled for our use by a custom baler. I consider him a friend as well, I have known him for years. I have enough experience in buying local hay I feel confident I know what to look, feel and smell for. I simply told him I know when you decide to cut we are in mother natures hands, so not to worry about we'll do the best we can. We had a good stretch of dry weather he used his tester and said he tries not to bale wetter than 12%. My bales tested between 10 to 12%, good color, wife loves it, I couldn't be happier.

Once again, I don't have a tester, so I might as well be speaking from my hind end. I would only get the clover stem to the barn if I baled that dry. I may be baling that dry and don't know it though.

When my hay tested at 15 or 16% it felt slight damp to my touch, in my mind it was damp enough that I didn't want to bale. That's when the custom baler told me he baled at 12%, without me saying a word about my thoughts on it being too damp. This was the first year I had any experience with a tester, I always went by feel before and had no clue what the percentage of moisture was in the hay. You may be baling a a lower percentage than you think.

 

[dun]

No matter how tightly I can wrap the hay by hand to test it always reads higher after being baled. I try to bale at around12-14% but after baling the reading is closer to 20%. Never had a problem with it going bad. I baled some at around 30% but we wrapped it with one of those tube type wrappers. Won;t know how that goes until we start to feed it.

 

[Bigfoot]

I tried to microwave some once just to see what would happen. I don't think my wife's weight watcher scale was accurate enough to do it, and it made the house smell like we had smoking dope so I abondoned the project.

 

[ddd75]

No matter how tightly I can wrap the hay by hand to test it always reads higher after being baled. I try to bale at around12-14% but after baling the reading is closer to 20%. Never had a problem with it going bad. I baled some at around 30% but we wrapped it with one of those tube type wrappers. Won;t know how that goes until we start to feed it.

better have that wrapped hay tested before you feed it.. it should be at 50-60% levels to wrap.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Never tested anybody else's hay but I test all of my own with the microwave method before baling. I try to bale at or below 15% moisture.

Made 40 some bales last weekend that tested at 14% moisture about an hour before I started baling so I'm sure by the time I got it rolled up it was down closer to 12~13%. I've never had any of my hay mold, and when I sell hay the customers like knowing what it was baled at.

My neighbor and I both mowed some hay thursday morning, and he small square baled his last night. I went to the field and checked my side of the fence because I was curious and it was at 28% moisture.......

 

[Nesikep]

This year I think I was down around 5% on some fields.. really lost a lot of leaves because of it.. I've found that hay that has been dry can be baled with a little moisture from dew, etc without much problem, the really bad stuff is what never got dried. I haven't got a moisture tested.. still looking for one that's less than $200

 

[bball]

Grass/clover mix first cutting was 14%. Alfalfa was 24% avg with a few spots showing 30%, wanted it dryer but had to take what we could get or ris losing it all together. Got major rain for the next month after baling it. Some guys have yet to get any first cutting around here and a lot of hay is too far gone between age and ground too wet. The higher percentage bales haven't sagged as bad as I expected them too, but I fully expect a bit of mold here or there.

 

[Stocker Steve]

No matter how tightly I can wrap the hay by hand to test it always reads higher after being baled. I try to bale at around12-14% but after baling the reading is closer to 20%.

How much does the moisture level go up from a hand wrapped to baled ?
Does this work well for you ?

 

[dun]

No matter how tightly I can wrap the hay by hand to test it always reads higher after being baled. I try to bale at around12-14% but after baling the reading is closer to 20%.

How much does the moisture level go up from a hand wrapped to baled ?
Does this work well for you ?

Not an exact science but it's about 5% difference. Usually by the time I get started the first bales will run around 17-19% but the ones later on as the grass keeps drying will run around 12-16%. The day after I bale a motor around (mule) and stick the probe in each bale to get a temp and moisture reading.

 

[JW IN VA]

Here,this year,little to none got baled right.Most had been well washed. That's another reason I don't move hay into the barn for about two weeks after baling.

 

[Angus Cowman]

Round bales need to be ar 16% or lower and squares beed to be in 14% range
Yes mousture will rise after baling because you are compressing the hay and pushing the moisture out and the bale is heating
The hand held testers will vary a % or 2
I bale mostly in the 16 to 22% range and don't run acid until it is 17% or higher

 

[TN Cattle Man]

I tried to microwave some once just to see what would happen. I don't think my wife's weight watcher scale was accurate enough to do it, and it made the house smell like we had smoking dope so I abondoned the project.

I had to chuckle a little BF... I have done this as well and you are so right about the smell in the house!!! :lol:

 

[Stocker Steve]

I bale mostly in the 16 to 22% range and don't run acid until it is 17% or higher

Any cost or payback comments on an acid applicator?

 

[highgrit]

I bale grass hay and like it dry. I grab a handful and twist it and break it, if breaks easy it's dry enough. Your legumes need to be baled wetter than grass hay, so you don't loose the leaf. I think that's the way it works.

 

[TexasBred]

Grass/clover mix first cutting was 14%. Alfalfa was 24% avg with a few spots showing 30%, wanted it dryer but had to take what we could get or ris losing it all together. Got major rain for the next month after baling it. Some guys have yet to get any first cutting around here and a lot of hay is too far gone between age and ground too wet. The higher percentage bales haven't sagged as bad as I expected them too, but I fully expect a bit of mold here or there.

You want to bale alfalfa with a little highter moisture but mainly "dew" moisture rather than moisture inside the plant. Simple humidity will affect readings on the moisture tester as well....you'll get a higher test in the morning than at 2PM. (unless it's raining) :lol2:

 

[Angus Cowman]

I bale mostly in the 16 to 22% range and don't run acid until it is 17% or higher

Any cost or payback comments on an acid applicator?

In the way I was baling yes it will pay for itself because it let me have a marketable product or else a product I can't sell
If you are only baling a 1000 bales a yr or It would take awhile to pay for it unless you want to factor in the quality of hay you want to feed
The acid will let you bale when the hay is at its optimum time instead of wIting for the right weather
It is cost effective but only up to 20 to 22% moisture after that the cost is a littke too much to justify

Even if the weather is cooperating it will let you go to the field earlier in the day and stay later in the night plus it will let you have more hay mowed down because you can get in the field a day earlier by not having to wait that extra day for it to dry another 5% to 8% to bale