# Hay Curing Over Wet Ground???



## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

I was hoping to cut some hay over this Labor Day weekend. I've got a small third cutting of my Clair Timothy, second cutting of a Timothy mix field and some grass weeds off a couple new fields I'm reclaiming for next year just to get the thatch off the field.

However.....

We've had rain all week. Where there has been a break in the rain, it's been cold, humid and sometimes foggy. Everything is saturated. Even if the wind picked up today with clearing weather and I cut/conditioned the hay dry, the ground underneath is still soaking wet. Some of it goes into the ground, but also evaporates up and through the hay - which rehydrates to some extent? My haying window is shut now for at least two weeks.

What is your expectations for dry down days with conditioned hay, tedding - but rain soaked ground? Speaking of square bales. I'm assuming a three day window ain't going to work, even with square bales and preservative.

How do you deal with such conditions with square bales; what's your timeline?

Thanks,
Bill


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

I wouldn't give it a timeline as you could have 3 great days and could get it baled. What is your cutting height? I run with about 3 inches and that gives you some good stubble height to keep hay off ground. We have baled hay before where there is water standing in the field and the hay is dry however for us this time of year our windows are getting shorter and a senerio like your would probably be 5 days min.


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## hillside hay (Feb 4, 2013)

I just baled exactly what you described. I left 8" stubble. Tedded twice always splitting the windrows so the fluffed hay lands on dry ground. Raked a few hours before baling. By the end of the baling day the bottom of the window was wet enough it needed to be moved again. Took 5 days on the lighter field and 7 in the heavier. I'm glad the last couple days we had a good steady wind without it the hay would be getting soaked today.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Been the story of my entire summer. 2 days of sun, 2 days of rain, 2 days of sun, 2 days of rain. All my hay is pretty lousy. High teens moisture-if I can even get baled. Made 800 bales like that.
Started 2nd cutting last week. All my ground is saturated. More rain coming this week. The last day of august daytime high was 59 degrees. Should be about 82 degrees. People were at our HS football game in heavy coats, usually what you see in late October.
Worst haying summer in my short 5 year career by far. Fuel bills higher from so much Tedder work.
I don't think I made 200 4x5's under 15%


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## 2ndWindfarm (Nov 11, 2014)

Most years up here are like that - cool, wet and saturated ground. As others have mentioned, leave a good stubble. I leave around ~5 inches.

I'll rake the field into windrows at night, just before the temp drops and the onset of dew. That gives the ground added time for any possible dry down. And reduces the exposure of the hay to the evening dew.

I also start tedding in the morning before the dew has completely dried from the windrows. That helps to reduce some of the leaf shatter and loss.

Unfortunately, later season hay; with lower daytime temps and shorter days usually means more tedding and a loss of quality. But... You can put up 10-12% hay!


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

With these conditions, how beneficial is hay preservative, i.e. buffered propionic acid?


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

leeave96 said:


> With these conditions, how beneficial is hay preservative, i.e. buffered propionic acid?


High stubble, a Tedder and acid are the only tools I'm aware of.
I'm getting into the month of September with an unusually large amount of hay left to cut/bale.


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## rankrank1 (Mar 30, 2009)

Besides high stubble there is one other thing that does work.on wet ground and that is anything that moves the hay into a loose fluffy swath such that half the ground is exposed to the sun so the exposed ground can dry. Once that ground is dry you use that same machine to refluff the swath and move it over to the dry ground.

The are fancy expensive machines that can do it and even further recondition hay too but they are quite pricey and out of reach for a small time operator like me. I do it simply with an old JD 594 rake as it makes loose fluffy windrows that do not rope so they dry well. The windrow it creates leaves half the ground exposed so the ground can dry. I can do everything with it except recondition the hay like the fancy machines claim.

A standard tedder is a great tool but falls short IMOP when the ground is wet underneath. Likely its only weakness besides leaf loss on leafy crops if used at the wrong time.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I took the swather board off my rake to make the windrows more open. I do this with my flood plain fields and it does help a bit.


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## 2ndWindfarm (Nov 11, 2014)

My rotary rake is real good at moving the windrows left or right and leaving them nice and puffy. So, when I put the field "to bed" at night with a final windrowing, I might shift the whole field over one swath or so.

Late hay is more work! I end up tedding more and raking more to get it dry.

I do have a Harvest Tec setup on the JD 347. I have not used it very much... There's a real strong bias with horse owners against acid treated hay in my area. I don't want any scuttle-butt among those folk's that I use acid on my hay!

I'll use it for my own horses hay but not for sale.


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## chevytaHOE5674 (Mar 14, 2015)

This time of year with our short cool days and wet ground I leave lots of stubble and then narrow up the swath shields on the back of the mower as much as possible. Gives the ground lots of area to try and dry out, then after a day or two I take the rotary rake and move the curtain out as far as possible and move/fluff the swaths onto the dry ground. Then the next day I ted the hay out, then rake and bale when its ready.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

2ndWindfarm said:


> My rotary rake is real good at moving the windrows left or right and leaving them nice and puffy. So, when I put the field "to bed" at night with a final windrowing, I might shift the whole field over one swath or so.
> 
> Late hay is more work! I end up tedding more and raking more to get it dry.
> 
> ...


Use another type of preservative other than acid.

Regards, Mike


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## Beav (Feb 14, 2016)

Late season hay can be a PIN but it can be done

first figure 1 to 2 days extra short days lower temps

second expect lower quality mostly from color loss

third expect to ted once and sometime twice

forth cut more hay then you normally do if you get a window be prepared to go all in this time of year it might be your last chance to bale for this year

If the hay will not dry don't fight it there is always next year I left 20 acres of 4th cutting alfalfa last year because I knew it would never dry enough to bale sometimes mother nature wins


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## 2ndWindfarm (Nov 11, 2014)

Vol said:


> Use another type of preservative other than acid.
> 
> Regards, Mike


Doesn't seem to matter what it is...

Somebody would come up with a "Al, Earnie, Bud, etc. had a horse get sores all over inside his mouth from that stuff" story!

Nah, everytime somebody asks if I sell preservative hay... Gonna be a nope!


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Standard procedure here on wet ground is to make the windrow as narrow as possible so more ground is exposed to dry out, may even leave it for several days before tedding if required. All mine is some mix of alfalfa though, so if too wet we don't mow anyways as not to damage the crowns and kill the alfalfa.


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## Farmineer95 (Aug 11, 2014)

What preservative works if the hay was rained on? Propionic acid isn't working.

Dismal year to make dry hay. Even if the tedded hay was dry we raked more green into the row cuz the rained pounded it into the cool season grass regrowth that never slowed down. 
Kids are back at school and gonna be in the 40s tonight. Usually hotter than a bugger.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Im down to making, if I'm lucky, about 30 bales a day at about 17-18%.
Theres a window from about 3-5, where if you rake the windrows, then flip them again, you can quick bale for about 30 minutes, then the hay starts absorbing moisture from the mud again.


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## 2ndWindfarm (Nov 11, 2014)

JD3430 said:


> Im down to making, if I'm lucky, about 30 bales a day at about 17-18%.Theres a window from about 3-5, where if you rake the windrows, then flip them again, you can quick bale for about 30 minutes, then the hay starts absorbing moisture from the mud again.


Tedd it to around 40% roll it and bag it! Good haylage year.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

2ndWindfarm said:


> Tedd it to around 40% roll it and bag it! Good haylage year.


Meh, me don't think JD has any market for haylage.

Best balege I've been making is mow it in the morning, bale it that afternoon and have it wrapped in 24 hours or less from the time its baled. 40% is starting to get too dry.


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## 2ndWindfarm (Nov 11, 2014)

mlappin said:


> Meh, me don't think JD has any market for haylage.
> Best balege I've been making is mow it in the morning, bale it that afternoon and have it wrapped in 24 hours or less from the time its baled. 40% is starting to get too dry.


You know what they say... "When the world gives you lemons" - make haylage! Somebody's gotta have a cow living' near him!

No green slime flyin' off the belts @ 40%.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

2ndWindfarm said:


> You know what they say... "When the world gives you lemons" - make haylage! Somebody's gotta have a cow living' near him!
> 
> No green slime flyin' off the belts @ 40%.


I was darn near ready to start doing this, but my customers wouldnt appreciate the long white plastic tubes ruining the "views" on their land.
Really wish there was another alternative.

We just had another 24hrs of rain. Looks like I'm going to be making hay into October.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

2ndWindfarm said:


> You know what they say... "When the world gives you lemons" - make haylage! Somebody's gotta have a cow living' near him!
> 
> No green slime flyin' off the belts @ 40%.


Not that bad an issue here, have the Circle C conditioning rolls in my 1431. Most of the time if I'm trying to make wet hay its the best drying days of the year.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

JD3430 said:


> I was darn near ready to start doing this, but my customers wouldnt appreciate the long white plastic tubes ruining the "views" on their land.
> Really wish there was another alternative.
> 
> We just had another 24hrs of rain. Looks like I'm going to be making hay into October.


I'm seriously wonder if its even worth it by then, I've done it as well in October, the daily trips with the tedder for sometimes a week and the use of preservative quickly cuts into profits.


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## chevytaHOE5674 (Mar 14, 2015)

I haven't made any hay since the first week of August. Been raining pretty steady since last friday with about 7" so far, but after today they are calling for clear skies and 60 degree temps. Yesterday I put duals on the mower tractor and I'm going to attempt to get dry hay over top of saturated ground with temps in the 50's and 60's.... :lol:


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## 2ndWindfarm (Nov 11, 2014)

mlappin said:


> I'm seriously wonder if its even worth it by then, I've done it as well in October, the daily trips with the tedder for sometimes a week and the use of preservative quickly cuts into profits.


There is no profit... When it gets that late. The very best outcome is to salvage (some) of your input costs.

And, up here to get that tall, rank hay off before before it starts to freeze and next spring you've got bad winter kill in your field(s).


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