Hay Making on a Different Scale

[EddieWalker]

How big is the field? What happens to the worms after the hay is cut?

 

[QRTRHRS]

Last Saturday, I picked up 100 bales from my supplier. That will last me roughly three months so I was discussing the winter supply with my supplier. He had a mixed reply. His small baler had broke when he had hay on the ground ready to bale. His go to mechanic whom is usually great with a baler could not get it up and running and his neighbor whom he works with on occasion small baler was also down.

He round baled it so the hay was not lost so he will have plenty for his cows this winter but it cuts into his income plans as the small bales are a part of his overall operation.

However, he said that a number of his previous customers no longer buy as they have sold off their stock. These would be small bale buyers that had goats, sheep, horses, etc. He does not usually sell round bales. He said that the economy was the main reason for the changes.

And, he upgraded to new or newer square and round balers.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

How big is the field? What happens to the worms after the hay is cut?

Eddie, this particular field is 17 acres, the army worms hadn't hatched out yet so by cutting the hay I probably disrupted the cycle, while I was cutting it down this morning the moth's were coming out of the hay grass by what seemed like the thousands, this is a thin cutting but for as late in the year as it is I'll take it. I have winter rye to plant for the cows and oats to cut for hay come February or early March, but I am waiting for cooler weather so the army worms won't eat either of those up.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

All I can do is set under the barn, the sun hasn't shined for 3 hours in 5 days here, it finally came out this afternoon and I tried to roll 3 different times once every hour but I just couldn't get right, maybe tomorrow the moisture will be low enough for me to get it done, got my fingers crossed.

 

[LHF2019]

All I can do is set under the barn, the sun hasn't shined for 3 hours in 5 days here, it finally came out this afternoon and I tried to roll 3 different times once every hour but I just couldn't get right, maybe tomorrow the moisture will be low enough for me to get it done, got my fingers crossed. View attachment 1801021View attachment 1801022View attachment 1801023

That's where hay preserve comes in handy. I only use on small squares, have not put one on round baler yet. I don't actually probe my bales unless I'm curious. Just go by feel. Did it break with the twist test? Did it feel off? I would be curious if those bales get dusty.

 

[Hay Dude]

18.8 wouldn’t sell up here for feed hay.
Me? I think it’s BS, I feed 18.8 all day long. Might be a little dusty for horses, but for beef it’s fine

I just delivered these and the buyer wants every bale probed.

 

[Hay Dude]

Hard to say. I didn't push my fields. Did more maintenance fertilizer than hitting them hard with urea for tonnage. Didn't have enough orders for 1st cutting so I brush hogged 30 acres but still have 8xx small squares and 4x round bales for winter sales. Covered all my 2nd cutting orders and still have 2000 small square bales to sell this winter.

I bet I could sell the stuff you bush hogged for 7-9 per bale.
Too bad we are so far apart. Would like to buy & resell from you. I can tell you give a damn.

 

[Tx Jim]

My experience from utilizing a hand held moisture tester for over 30 yrs is if round bales are probed on rounded part of bale vs flat side of bale one will see significantly higher moisture %

 

[LHF2019]

My experience from utilizing a hand held moisture tester for over 30 yrs is if round bales are probed on rounded part of bale vs flat side of bale one will see significantly higher moisture %

Your right I didn't catch that. When I have probed rounds I do as you described and it is a ^%$# sometimes to get the probe in. I would bet those are easily 5 points higher now

 

[Hay Dude]

Large square bales have similar readings.
Probe the twine sides and readings are higher than sides without twine.
When I deliver a load of bales I get a kick out of watching the little gal try to get a probe in my bales with the twine side out

 

[Lineman North Florida]

That's where hay preserve comes in handy. I only use on small squares, have not put one on round baler yet. I don't actually probe my bales unless I'm curious. Just go by feel. Did it break with the twist test? Did it feel off? I would be curious if those bales get dusty.

I will feed these rolls to my cows as I am sure the moisture climbed up more last night, I can count on one hand how many times it took a full week to get mine dry that didn't go through a down pour, I tried it again today and still no go 15+ % after I put about half the field in windrows so I will try again tomorrow, I'm ready to get this done as it's cutting into my hunting LOL. At the risk of sounding dumb, what is hay preserve? I have never heard of it, also what is your experience with leaving hay in a windrow overnight? I'm wondering if I should roll those windrows over tomorrow just to get air moving back through them or run a tedder back over it and then windrow again although I hate to do that. Opinions?

 

[Hay Dude]

I will feed these rolls to my cows as I am sure the moisture climbed up more last night, I can count on one hand how many times it took a full week to get mine dry that didn't go through a down pour, I tried it again today and still no go 15+ % after I put about half the field in windrows so I will try again tomorrow, I'm ready to get this done as it's cutting into my hunting LOL. At the risk of sounding dumb, what is hay preserve? I have never heard of it, also what is your experience with leaving hay in a windrow overnight? I'm wondering if I should roll those windrows over tomorrow just to get air moving back through them or run a tedder back over it and then windrow again although I hate to do that. Opinions?

Hay preservative is a product that is applied via a tank mounted at the top of your baler with spray nozzles down at your baler in feed. It sprays the hay with propionic acid as the hay is being fed into the baler. You can switch the applicator off and on in the cab, or get a system that has “eyes” mounted on the baler that turn it on automatically as you enter the windrow.

I ran a system on my round baler for years, but most of my customers didn’t like the smell of it or thought it was bad for their horses. Now there’s some acid that is apple scented to make it more palatable.

Here’s my BR-7060 with an applicator from 10+ years ago. The white applicator tank is mounted atop the baler. You buy a tote of the preservative and pump it upwards into the applicator via the hoses you see mounted on the front of the baler.

IMO, it was a big PITA, but I understand why some use it because of the climates they live in.

After years of making hay that met all my customers content, moisture, softness, green-ness, weight, protein, etc. expectations, along with the expenses of fertilizer, herbicide, preservative expectations, I dumped all of it and went to making basic, “organic” hay.

There’s a great market for organic hay. Lower input costs for sure and lower bale prices, too. People are on an organic kick right now and it’s pretty popular with beef ranchers. I sell a lot of organic hay to them so they can make the “organic beef” claim to their buyers.
All the headaches and expenses of all the liquids, chemicals (that could be dangerous) and costs are gone.

****No shade being thrown at those who do it the chemical way, I’m just sharing my experiences*****

 

[Hay Dude]

I will feed these rolls to my cows as I am sure the moisture climbed up more last night, I can count on one hand how many times it took a full week to get mine dry that didn't go through a down pour, I tried it again today and still no go 15+ % after I put about half the field in windrows so I will try again tomorrow, I'm ready to get this done as it's cutting into my hunting LOL. At the risk of sounding dumb, what is hay preserve? I have never heard of it, also what is your experience with leaving hay in a windrow overnight? I'm wondering if I should roll those windrows over tomorrow just to get air moving back through them

Yes, re-rake or tedder if really soggy. Wait for sun to get on them to aid drying. Climate is way different where you are, so YRMV.

or run a tedder back over it and then windrow again although I hate to do that. Opinions?

Tedder might be overkill unless your dew is real heavy or of course it rained. Tedders shatter leaves and cause loss in hay quality, so tedder gently as possible while still maintaining effectiveness.

As far as leaving hay in a windrow overnight, I rarely did it, but that doesn’t mean it will ruin your hay. It would gain dampness from dew overnight in MY area and would have to be raked or worse, teddered if it got real soggy.

If it’s a dry spell and you get a little overnight dew, you can make really nice hay by rolling the dew right into the bale. I did this a few times.

For whatever reason, I always bale what I raked that day.

I made thousands of tons of feed hay and still make a few hundred tons per year now, but LHF2019 will be able to give you a wealth of information as he has the ability to make hay in a fairly damp area.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Yes, re-rake or tedder if really soggy. Wait for sun to get on them to aid drying. Climate is way different where you are, so YRMV.



Tedder might be overkill unless your dew is real heavy or of course it rained. Tedders shatter leaves and cause loss in hay quality, so tedder gently as possible while still maintaining effectiveness.

As far as leaving hay in a windrow overnight, I rarely did it, but that doesn’t mean it will ruin your hay. It would gain dampness from dew overnight in MY area and would have to be raked or worse, teddered if it got real soggy.

If it’s a dry spell and you get a little overnight dew, you can make really nice hay by rolling the dew right into the bale. I did this a few times.

For whatever reason, I always bale what I raked that day.

I made thousands of tons of feed hay and still make a few hundred tons per year now, but LHF2019 will be able to give you a wealth of information as he has the ability to make hay in a fairly damp area.

I wanted to roll it yesterday and really believed that putting it in a windrow with it being close to ready that I would be able to get it but the sun shined very little yesterday afternoon and it just didn't work out, I think I will flip the windrows about noon today and try it about 2pm and see how it goes, I am like you I have to rake my own and then bale so with the daylight being short every minute counts.
Thanks, Charlie.

 

[LHF2019]

I will feed these rolls to my cows as I am sure the moisture climbed up more last night, I can count on one hand how many times it took a full week to get mine dry that didn't go through a down pour, I tried it again today and still no go 15+ % after I put about half the field in windrows so I will try again tomorrow, I'm ready to get this done as it's cutting into my hunting LOL. At the risk of sounding dumb, what is hay preserve? I have never heard of it, also what is your experience with leaving hay in a windrow overnight? I'm wondering if I should roll those windrows over tomorrow just to get air moving back through them or run a tedder back over it and then windrow again although I hate to do that. Opinions?

What is wrong with 15%?

I use a dry product on my small squares called silo king

Silo-King® Hay - Agri-King

Silo-King® Hay is a synergistic product whose ingredients are formulated to protect and preserve many types of hay.

agriking.com

 

[Lineman North Florida]

What is wrong with 15%?

I use a dry product on my small squares called silo king

Silo-King® Hay - Agri-King

Silo-King® Hay is a synergistic product whose ingredients are formulated to protect and preserve many types of hay.

agriking.com

Usually if it's 15% in the field it will be 18% or more in 24 hours and it's been my experience that it will get a light dust or mildew to it if it doesn't get fed pretty quick so I just sell that for cow hay or feed it to my own cows, I try to get mine below 12% for horse hay but I don't think I am going to get this down to that, I decided to tedd the windrows out this morning and I am fixing to head back to the field and try it again, all of this is just my experiences down here in the deep South, if their is one thing I believe is that it can be totally different in other parts of the country.

 

[LHF2019]

this is just my experiences down here in the deep South, if their is one thing I believe is that it can be totally different in other parts of the country.

absolutely. Why it’s hard to give much more than just general advice .

 

[Hay Dude]

Usually if it's 15% in the field it will be 18% or more in 24 hours and it's been my experience that it will get a light dust or mildew to it if it doesn't get fed pretty quick so I just sell that for cow hay or feed it to my own cows, I try to get mine below 12% for horse hay but I don't think I am going to get this down to that, I decided to tedd the windrows out this morning and I am fixing to head back to the field and try it again, all of this is just my experiences down here in the deep South, if their is one thing I believe is that it can be totally different in other parts of the country.

My experience has been the moisture % rises along with temps, then both come back down after sweat period like 6-10 days.

15% hay is fine, but that’s about the limit for indoor stored hay. Upper teens is OK if it’s not a tight barn. Anything over 19 goes outside for me.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

After I put about half the field in windrows so I will try again tomorrow, I'm wondering if I should roll those windrows over tomorrow just to get air moving back through them or run a tedder back over it and then windrow again although I hate to do that. Opinions?

I wanted to roll it yesterday and really believed that putting it in a windrow with it being close to ready that I would be able to get it but the sun shined very little yesterday afternoon and it just didn't work out, I think I will flip the windrows about noon today and try it about 2pm and see how it goes, I am like you I have to rake my own and then bale so with the daylight being short every minute counts.

Charlie (and others), thank you for sharing your experience this week and I have a question for you.

Knowing that it costs money each time you have to rake or ted your hay, does there come a point where you think "If I have to ted this again and then rake it again then I'm losing money on this cutting."

Thank you again for allowing us to enjoy your experience and the pictures you post.

 

[Wolverinefarm22]

Charlie (and others), thank you for sharing your experience this week and I have a question for you.

Knowing that it costs money each time you have to rake or ted your hay, does there come a point where you think "If I have to ted this again and then rake it again then I'm losing money on this cutting."

Thank you again for allowing us to enjoy your experience and the pictures you post.

There is always a point where you “could” consider it losing money as in value compared to your expected value, but leaving it on the field is actual lost money. And people like some of us that have cattle will feed it there to at least get some feed value out of hay that may be unfit for the hay market we typically sell to. We had contracts with a few stables selling Timothy/clover mix. What I sold to them was some of the best quality hay you could find. But my beef herd loved the “ruined hay” just the same as our native grass field we cut them in the back 20 acres.