Can you bale hay the same day you cut it?
Subject: RE: How long does your hay lay to bale dry? Cut first thing in the morning, ted about 2-4 hours later, do nothing the next day, rake as soon as dew is off (-48 hours after cutting), let dry about 3 hours, and bale. Sometime takes an extra day to dry or occasionally a day less if perfect weather.
How long do you wait to bale hay after cutting?
It basically takes about three days of good weather to cure hay. This can be a challenge in late May or early June. A good strategy is to mow just before or right after a rain, because of the likelihood of good weather for the next few days.
When should you not cut hay?
In hay fields, 24 degrees F is often considered a killing frost. In pastures with plant growth of a shorter stature relative to a hay crop (closer proximity to radiant heat from the soil) may require a colder temperature. But even 26 degrees F will cause some frost damage.
How long do you leave hay after cutting?
So how soon can you feed new hay? If the hay is cut and bailed in perfect conditions with less than 12% moisture in the bale, it should be safe to feed straight away. But due to how hard this is to get accurate; it is recommended to wait 2-8 weeks before feeding.
Can we bale 80 acres of hay in two days??!!
Can you feed hay straight away?
In perfect conditions — where the hay has been baled at less than 12% moisture and is very dry — it is safe to feed straight away, but this isn't often the case, Tim explains: “The main reason for allowing a period of anywhere between two and eight weeks before feeding freshly made hay is to allow for a process called ...
What is the best time of day to cut hay?
Though starches and simple sugars accumulate during the day, a substantial amount of these carbohydrates are used up during the night for growth and maintenance (via the processes of respiration). Therefore, cutting the crop at night will likely maximize the sugar in the crop, at least at the time of cutting.
Can I cut hay early in the morning?
With all of these factors in mind, it is best to cut hay when there is the greatest opportunity for successful drying, or early in the morning after the dew has dried off.
Can you bale hay at night?
Baling at night is nice if your climate will allow. Then the leaves start to toughen up before the stems and the outside before the bottom. “We used to go to the field when the air felt right. That is above 50 percent relative humidity.
Does hay dry faster in windrow?
Make A Wide Windrow
A wider swath will dry faster, because more drying area of the hay is exposed to sun and wind. Solar radiation cannot penetrate very deep into the swath. University of Wisconsin research indicates that a 12 foot haybine laid into a 9 foot swath will reduce drying time by 35% versus a 6 foot swath.
Can hay be too dry to bale?
When hay is too dry before baling, the leaves of the forage become stiff and brittle, making them much more likely to fall off. In many cases, a significant portion of hay's nutritive value lies in the leafy portions of the herbs used to make the hay.
Can you cut hay with dew on it?
Avoid cutting hay until the morning dew has fully dried. “There is enough water that must leave the plants already without adding more from the nightly dew,” Kaatz says. “The bottom of windrows also absorb moisture from the soil, so keep drying hay off of wet soils as much as possible to avoid added moisture content.”
Is first cut hay better than second cut?
Hay is often cut three or more times each season. The first cutting in any cut will have thicker stems, perhaps have flowers (usually called tassel), and is the highest in fiber of any cut. The second cutting is softer, greener, has a higher protein but lower fiber than first cutting.
How long does hay need to cure?
When preparing to bale hay, the transition from freshly cut, high-moisture grasses and legumes to dry forage is known as curing. This process takes on average 3 days—in good weather.
Does rain hurt cut hay?
Research at Iowa State University found that fresh-cut hay with less than 1 inch of rain took a few more hours to dry, but didn't suffer much, if any, quality or quantity loss. A light rain on nearly dry hay, though, caused significant losses.
Why do farmers cut grass at night?
The main snag with making silage over several days is that the more days it takes the less chance there is of them all being fine. Sheeting at night helps cut silage losses between clamping and feeding out.
Does raking hay help it dry?
Raking tends to roll the wetter hay from the bottom of the swath to the outer surface of the windrow, which improves drying. Following the initial improvement, the increase in swath density can reduce drying rate, so the crop moisture content at raking is important.
How long should hay dry before raking?
Generally, raking should be done during the late morning once the dew has dried and the sun is near its peak. If possible, it's best to then allow at least two hours before baling.
Can you cut hay right after it rains?
Rain doesn't hurt the freshly cut hay really at all and when the weather clears the ground is much dryer than if you try to cut right after the rain.
How many times can you cut hay?
In most areas of the country, grass hay can be cut twice, sometimes three times, per year. The first cutting generally has the largest yield.
How tall does hay need to be to cut?
The first cutting in the spring should be when grass has greened up and reached 12 – 16 inches tall. This should clean up all the old growth of winter weeds and such. Then each subsequent cutting is at 3.5 to 5 week intervals.
What height do you cut hay?
For hay production of cool-season pastures, mow or graze before seedheads develop, and down to 3 to 5 inches. For warm season pastures, mow or graze down to 8 to 10 inches for proper regrowth.
Is fresh cut hay bad for horses?
First cutting hay is generally high in nutritional value if harvested at the proper time and does not contain excessive amounts of weeds. Putting the hay up at the proper time without getting rained on after cutting is more of a concern.
Can horses eat hay that has been rained on?
Rained-on hay can be a suitable forage, especially for horses prone to laminitis. Forage quality tends to be retained if: The rain occurs soon after cutting when the forage has had little time to dry.
