Rain comming, Hay down

[powerscol]

Is it better to leave the hay flat with rain coming, then tedd and windrow, or should I windrow tonight and tedd after the rain Tuesday.

 

[MMagis]

Definitely do NOT rake before the rain. Leave it down, and tedd after the rain.

 

[Thomas]

Let the hay lay after rain tedd etc. ....if sun should shine let hay lay spell longer to dry.

 

[powerscol]

Thanks folks - weather looks good/sunny and somewhat hot for 5 days after the storm passes. I should have 3 days of sun before I can get to a tedder.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Definitely do NOT rake before the rain. Leave it down, and tedd after the rain.

Let the hay lay after rain tedd etc. ....if sun should shine let hay lay spell longer to dry.

I disagree. If hay has already dried some, tedd the hay at low speed before rain. This will leave it loosely windrowed. After rain the open space between rows will dry quick and you can retedd slow, slightly offset, to fluff the hay into those dry areas.

 

[MMagis]

He was asking if he should rake first, not tedd first.
And I don’t see the point of tedding before rain, when you KNOW you’ll have to do it once or twice afterwards. Seems like a waste of time and fuel, neither of which I have excess of.

 

[farmer2009]

Let the hay lay after rain tedd etc. ....if sun should shine let hay lay spell longer to dry.

That's what I prefer also. Just don't let it get too dry. Then it can be hard to bale with a round bailer. Square bales you want dryer.

I've seen high leaf loss with more than one pass with Tedder. You end up with all stems and a reduced TDN.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Is it better to leave the hay flat with rain coming, then tedd and windrow, or should I windrow tonight and tedd after the rain Tuesday.

He was asking if he should rake first, not tedd first.
And I don稚 see the point of tedding before rain, when you KNOW you値l have to do it once or twice afterwards. Seems like a waste of time and fuel, neither of which I have excess of.

Hard to say about what he meant. ... Also, there are other variables like how dry at query, how much rain expected, bleaching the hay by rain and sun, is it prime horse hay or just for cattle, etc. - Using the tedder as a rake by running it at lower rpm can be used in a tailored fashion to form fluffy coarse windrows. There are times in hay prep that this is a valuable tool. :confused3: ,,,,,,In the instant case the hay, roughly pre consolidated by tedder can be spread and fluffed onto sun dried ground, where the grass is springing back up, after the rain.

 

[Farmer495]

If it rains, it gets wet.

I don't do anything until after the rain stops.

Ted the field out whether it is windrows or in the swath.

If real heavy crop, ted a second time later.

Never rake wet hay..."here" it doesn't dry in the windrow the same speed it does flat....

 

[powerscol]

Well 1/2 inch rain later it is wet and soggy - but sun is out this morning Color still looked good. Some of the bottom hay was still somewhat dry, not wet like the top.

It was cut with a sickle mower and mostly flat - I had to hand spread a lot of balling. (see other post) I can rent a tedder Saturday (reserved it before the rain came).

What is sad it was within a day of being ready - some was yesterday morning before the rain. I will check it tonight and possibly windrow tomorrow or Friday with my side deliver rake (Ford 503) to at least turn it over, then if needed tedd Saturday, and rake and bale Sunday.

Supposed to be in the low 80's with 8 to 12 mph winds starting tomorrow, so should dry fast.