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Tedder Timing ?
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<blockquote data-quote="VaCowman" data-source="post: 1656554" data-attributes="member: 33135"><p>2 mowers, immediately followed by a 4 basket tedder makes the difference of us getting hay put up dry and in the barn with no rain in a 3 day window. Without it, we'd have to wrap. We do not have a silage baler, nor wrapper, but the neighbor does. He makes hay same time we do so first cutting has to be put up dry. We can wrap second if the stars align, but that is typically when we are getting a week or two of hot dry weather to cure hay anyway and I see no use in adding expense to the hay just to wrap it. We start mid-May, regardless of whether it is waist high or knee high. Got to start before you can finish! The tedding immediately behind the mowing machine has made a big difference in getting hay made right, especially in May/early June. We took samples on one field we mowed and only ran tedder through half of it. The outside half that had been tedded behind mower was at 50% moisture in 6 hours. The hay that was not tedded wasn't at 50% until noon the next day. This was in MAY. We baled the tedded portion the evening after it was mowed and it tested at 16% moisture. The other half we baled a day later and it was at 18% moisture. That time of year, 24 hours could mean the difference of wet hay or not. Yes, it's another trip across the field, but I am a firm believer that the quicker you get that hay fluffed and spread out, the quicker you get to 50% moisture and stop respiration and nutrient degradation. We pull the tedder with an old David Brown 885 that only has to be refueled every 2-3 days as opposed to mowers and balers that require constant refueling. I'm a big fan of tedding first cutting. Only stir second cutting if it's really thick. We do set our machines to mow at 4-5" height, depending on hay type and who we plan to feed it to. This does help get air flow below the windrow. Rotary rakes that make a fluffier windrow are timesavers too! We can windrow the hay up before it gets too dry, but too damp to bale (the same day as baling) and by the time we get the baler started, it's ready to go. That big, fluffy windrow allows a lot of airflow too, which helps dry out any pockets of green hay that maybe got ran over or bunched up during previous passes. It doesn't always work, but when mother nature cooperates and the weather man gives a window of hope, we get along pretty good! To each their own!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="VaCowman, post: 1656554, member: 33135"] 2 mowers, immediately followed by a 4 basket tedder makes the difference of us getting hay put up dry and in the barn with no rain in a 3 day window. Without it, we'd have to wrap. We do not have a silage baler, nor wrapper, but the neighbor does. He makes hay same time we do so first cutting has to be put up dry. We can wrap second if the stars align, but that is typically when we are getting a week or two of hot dry weather to cure hay anyway and I see no use in adding expense to the hay just to wrap it. We start mid-May, regardless of whether it is waist high or knee high. Got to start before you can finish! The tedding immediately behind the mowing machine has made a big difference in getting hay made right, especially in May/early June. We took samples on one field we mowed and only ran tedder through half of it. The outside half that had been tedded behind mower was at 50% moisture in 6 hours. The hay that was not tedded wasn't at 50% until noon the next day. This was in MAY. We baled the tedded portion the evening after it was mowed and it tested at 16% moisture. The other half we baled a day later and it was at 18% moisture. That time of year, 24 hours could mean the difference of wet hay or not. Yes, it's another trip across the field, but I am a firm believer that the quicker you get that hay fluffed and spread out, the quicker you get to 50% moisture and stop respiration and nutrient degradation. We pull the tedder with an old David Brown 885 that only has to be refueled every 2-3 days as opposed to mowers and balers that require constant refueling. I'm a big fan of tedding first cutting. Only stir second cutting if it's really thick. We do set our machines to mow at 4-5" height, depending on hay type and who we plan to feed it to. This does help get air flow below the windrow. Rotary rakes that make a fluffier windrow are timesavers too! We can windrow the hay up before it gets too dry, but too damp to bale (the same day as baling) and by the time we get the baler started, it's ready to go. That big, fluffy windrow allows a lot of airflow too, which helps dry out any pockets of green hay that maybe got ran over or bunched up during previous passes. It doesn't always work, but when mother nature cooperates and the weather man gives a window of hope, we get along pretty good! To each their own! [/QUOTE]
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