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Redneck's Guide to Hay Testing
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<blockquote data-quote="cowtrek" data-source="post: 441453" data-attributes="member: 2847"><p>Well there's a lot of back and forth here and a lot of nitpicking and toe stepping but it comes down to what you're trying to do and of course what you're selling the hay for in the end! </p><p></p><p>There ARE plenty of guys running around baling trash and doing a crummy job of baling it at that then pawning it off on desperate folks or folks that don't know any better for a killing. I've seen more than a few of those in my day. There are a few growing 'cadillac' hay that is probably more than what a guy would 'need' (to get by) with dry cows but for which horse people will pay ANY price, STILL overfeed and feed too rich a diet and wonder why the horse gets colic or founders... :roll: But that's just horse people, especially ones just moving in from town... </p><p></p><p>That said, I bale a lot of native/improved grass mixed pastures and meadows and they're fine for what I'm trying to do. Do I do like some of these idiots I've heard about, and unroll rounds and rebale as squares (even heard of them spraying green dye or something on it) and call it 'horse quality hay'? NO I have integrity and don't misrepresent what I have or what I do. I don't have 'cadillac hay' but it's good enough for my needs and when/if I sell any it's generally a little cheaper than the other guys. I don't make a lot extra and don't usually sell much/any. </p><p></p><p>Now, that said, MY pet peeve is watching some of these custom balers and hay growers around here. I see guys that are growing BEAUTIFUL fertilized Jiggs or Tifton 85 bermuda around here, but they TOTALLY turn it to cardboard in how they handle it. Cutting it on Monday morning in 95 degree plus sunshine and heat and letting it lay in the swath until Friday or Saturday and then running the rake right ahead of the baler just doesn't cut the mustard. You can have the highest quality fertilized grass in the world, and RUIN it by handling it wrong! I would put my plain old Dallis/native hay HANDLED RIGHT against premium fertilized bermuda HANDLED WRONG and come out about even quality. </p><p></p><p>There is an old saying, "hay is the highest quality it will ever be at the moment it is cut; it's all downhill from there". The art of making hay is to minimize that 'downhill'. That said, 'trash in trash out' still applies and you have to have the best grass you can to work with before you start. This year everything here is overmature which of course hurts quality and I can tell the hay this year is probably the worst I've had in YEARS but there isn't much you can do about it when it rains for two months straight! BUT, handling it right preserves as much as possible of what you have to start with; handling it wrong just piddles most of what you have to start with away. Hay should be raked at 50% moisture. I have raked sooner and it's too hard to dry in the windrow, and later and it's already sun bleaching too much, which loses carotene. Carotene gives the hay good green color and turns to vitamin D as the sun dries the hay down and bleaches it from green to tan. Hay is at about 50% moisture when the swath or windrow behind the mower has wilted pretty much flat. Here is SE TX in 90-95 degree 90% plus humidity weather that's about 24 hours after cutting. The hay SHOULD be raked into windrows at 50% moisture to minimize sunburn/ bleaching. Once the hay is in the windrow, it will continue to dry, but only the hay on the outside, and mostly the very top of the windrow will bleach, minimizing bleaching/nutrient losses. Once the hay is down around 20% moisture it's ready to bale, which again here is about 24 hours after raking in the 95 degree 90% humidity + common here. Any more drying bleaches the hay too much, makes it too dry and dusty, and increases baler losses. I bale when I can pull some out of the center or bottom of the windrow, and twist it around and fold it in half and not feel any moisture/dampness in the stems, and it should smell sweet and fresh. </p><p></p><p>I see TOO many guys that just cut it, let it lay flat all week and burn to the color of combined wheat straw, rake it right ahead of the baler, and call that good hay. It just boggles my mind. It really isn't any harder to do it right. JMHO! OL JR <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="cowtrek, post: 441453, member: 2847"] Well there's a lot of back and forth here and a lot of nitpicking and toe stepping but it comes down to what you're trying to do and of course what you're selling the hay for in the end! There ARE plenty of guys running around baling trash and doing a crummy job of baling it at that then pawning it off on desperate folks or folks that don't know any better for a killing. I've seen more than a few of those in my day. There are a few growing 'cadillac' hay that is probably more than what a guy would 'need' (to get by) with dry cows but for which horse people will pay ANY price, STILL overfeed and feed too rich a diet and wonder why the horse gets colic or founders... :roll: But that's just horse people, especially ones just moving in from town... That said, I bale a lot of native/improved grass mixed pastures and meadows and they're fine for what I'm trying to do. Do I do like some of these idiots I've heard about, and unroll rounds and rebale as squares (even heard of them spraying green dye or something on it) and call it 'horse quality hay'? NO I have integrity and don't misrepresent what I have or what I do. I don't have 'cadillac hay' but it's good enough for my needs and when/if I sell any it's generally a little cheaper than the other guys. I don't make a lot extra and don't usually sell much/any. Now, that said, MY pet peeve is watching some of these custom balers and hay growers around here. I see guys that are growing BEAUTIFUL fertilized Jiggs or Tifton 85 bermuda around here, but they TOTALLY turn it to cardboard in how they handle it. Cutting it on Monday morning in 95 degree plus sunshine and heat and letting it lay in the swath until Friday or Saturday and then running the rake right ahead of the baler just doesn't cut the mustard. You can have the highest quality fertilized grass in the world, and RUIN it by handling it wrong! I would put my plain old Dallis/native hay HANDLED RIGHT against premium fertilized bermuda HANDLED WRONG and come out about even quality. There is an old saying, "hay is the highest quality it will ever be at the moment it is cut; it's all downhill from there". The art of making hay is to minimize that 'downhill'. That said, 'trash in trash out' still applies and you have to have the best grass you can to work with before you start. This year everything here is overmature which of course hurts quality and I can tell the hay this year is probably the worst I've had in YEARS but there isn't much you can do about it when it rains for two months straight! BUT, handling it right preserves as much as possible of what you have to start with; handling it wrong just piddles most of what you have to start with away. Hay should be raked at 50% moisture. I have raked sooner and it's too hard to dry in the windrow, and later and it's already sun bleaching too much, which loses carotene. Carotene gives the hay good green color and turns to vitamin D as the sun dries the hay down and bleaches it from green to tan. Hay is at about 50% moisture when the swath or windrow behind the mower has wilted pretty much flat. Here is SE TX in 90-95 degree 90% plus humidity weather that's about 24 hours after cutting. The hay SHOULD be raked into windrows at 50% moisture to minimize sunburn/ bleaching. Once the hay is in the windrow, it will continue to dry, but only the hay on the outside, and mostly the very top of the windrow will bleach, minimizing bleaching/nutrient losses. Once the hay is down around 20% moisture it's ready to bale, which again here is about 24 hours after raking in the 95 degree 90% humidity + common here. Any more drying bleaches the hay too much, makes it too dry and dusty, and increases baler losses. I bale when I can pull some out of the center or bottom of the windrow, and twist it around and fold it in half and not feel any moisture/dampness in the stems, and it should smell sweet and fresh. I see TOO many guys that just cut it, let it lay flat all week and burn to the color of combined wheat straw, rake it right ahead of the baler, and call that good hay. It just boggles my mind. It really isn't any harder to do it right. JMHO! OL JR :) [/QUOTE]
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