# Haying and rain



## Hayburner

To set this up, I'm talking horse hay and small square bales...

I know the best hay is that which doesn't get rained on, but what do you guys do if you cut hay expecting it to be dry, and a day or two later the forecast changes and it rains?

If you have hay cut, do you rush it and try baling even if it's not completely dry?

Does it matter much if there may be less than a half inch of rain in the forecast?

What do you do if its cut? Do you let it dry an extra day before raking?

Does using a tedder make a difference in this?

I've seen a couple guys near me cut hay the day before it rains knowing it will be dry for the next three days. Does this matter much?

Any comments welcome. Trying to hay around the rain.


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## IAhaymakr

FWIW, I would rather have my hay rained on right after cutting than almost ready to bale. But no matter what let it get DRY before baling. Rain won't help it, but baling too wet will always ruin it. The tedder is nice for grass, but I don't like them for alfalfa. Good luck.


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## farmboy9510

Around here we like to see four or five good days then we cut if the forcast does change and it usually does we still let the hay dry down. One thing that really saves us is the tedder we had alot of hay get rain on last year and with the tedder we go in rate after the rain and start moving it. We can usally save us it may be a little dusty but we just water it before we feed. But I was always taughtif the hay gets rained on keep it moving or it will get moldy. If we get to much rain then we just give it to the cattle guys.


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## Rodney R

It all depends. Around here, if it's been cut for 2 days and the 3rd day will give rain, then you're up the creek. Wait till it dries on the top, and start over, ted it till it's dry. If it rains right after it's cut, that is ok. Not preferred, but ok. The longer the time frame between cutting and the rain = the worse quality it will be after it dries. We have had to ted hay almost every day to get it dry right now - the ground is so wet. If the baler guys drive on a roll, when they do bale the roll that was driven on, they say it is a MUCH higher moisture. Normally it is not that dramatic. With any luck we'll finally get the last off the ground that has gotten washed tomorrow, unless it washes it again for us till then.

Rodney


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## Hayburner

What tends to happen with me is I wait for a window to cut, get it cut, and on the third day it rains because the forecast changes.

What moisture tester is best to use? I saw a post on that a few months ago and checked one out that was hand held or could be mounted. Any ideas which type that would be?


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## hay wilson in TX

Hay Moisture Meters and Testers from Delmhorst Instrument Co.

You can use one of the other two meters that do not hook up to the tractor power if you get the sensor seperatly and hook it to the meter in the tractor. I use a C Clamp to hold the button down.

Look under accesories for:
For continuous monitoring during baling. Comes with 30' cable to run from the sensor mounted in the bale chamber to the meter in the cab. May be used with any model, but is recommended to use with Model FX-2000.

Also available as 1986/40 with 40' cable for larger balers.


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## Hayburner

That's what I was looking for...the Delmhorst. Just couldn't remember the name. Thanks.


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## elizabeth2012

We just mowed the hay yesterday morning and today there was thunderstorms! I'm having a fit! I don't know if we can make it dry enough to bale it so that it isn't a total loss. I'm a total greenhorn so any suggestions would be very welcome!


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## dubltrubl

Elizabeth,
If you have access to a tedder I would suggest tedding it in the morning after the top dries. Try to flip the dry side down, and the wet side up, inverting it so to speak. With good sunshine and a breeze, you should be OK. If you've had a lot of rain on it, you may have to repeat this process the following morning. Be gentle with it and try not to knock off the leaves. Like others have said in earlier post, the closer it gets rained on after cutting, the better off you are. The closer you are to having your hay cured, the more you lose nutritionally, and the more likely you are to have a mold problem.
Steve


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## jhag

In our area (Eastern Ontario) it seems that the hay buyers (hose owners) think that a little bit of moisture spoils everything. The people that bale the hay know that this is not always the case if they are diligent about saving the field. It seems like it takes a lot of rain to really spoil a crop. If a tedder is used, I have very rarely "lost" a field of hay. Of course, if you get day after day of precip it ain't good. If horse owners would just stop talking only to their own little circle of friends, there would be a lot less false info about hay and rain!

Jim


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## Waterway64

I am a veteran hay producer. I want my hay down at p[rime feed value, hopefully with at least enough drying before a chance of rain so as to stop plant respiration, and get it dry before baling. Rain will cause discoloring but unless you have a week long monsoon it won't hurt the feed value that much. Use comman sense and have the equipment to get the job done fast and right.

Mel


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## hay wilson in TX

There is a forecast service that might work for you.

HAY CUTTING-CURING INFORMATION 
2 Day Curing Requirement Maps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | TABLE 
3 Day Curing Requirement Maps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | TABLE 
4 Day Curing Requirement Maps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | TABLE 
5 Day Curing Requirement Maps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | TABLE

Then if you know you location it will give a color coded map with four grades of potential for hay curing. 
What few will admit is with the number and location of the weather reporting stations we still are guessing much beyond 36 hours.

Check awis.com 
http://www.awis.com/
http://www.awis.com/quotes.htm
http://www.awis.com/Ag/Ag_Weather.htm

I pay for Hay Making in Texas Forecasting.


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## ARD Farm

Waterway64 said:


> I am a veteran hay producer. I want my hay down at p[rime feed value, hopefully with at least enough drying before a chance of rain so as to stop plant respiration, and get it dry before baling. Rain will cause discoloring but unless you have a week long monsoon it won't hurt the feed value that much. *Use comman sense and have the equipment to get the job done fast and right.*
> 
> Mel


Best answer of all of them. Common sense and gooid equipment or should I say the right equipment and not junk equipment either.

Way too many people think making quality forage is number one, easy and number 2, they can buy clapped out equopment and make first rate hay. It don't work that way. Interestingly, I cut and process 2 contract jobs where the land owners tried and failed to make their own. One of them never got a good bale from his field of alfalfa, not one good bale.... amazing, but understandable concidering the junk he used was always in the middle of a breakdown and should have been scrapped.

I don't own a tedder BTW. tedders are fine for grass that got rained on and needs to be spread to dry but a big no on leafed forages because they knock off the leaves. Thats what inverters are for as well as rotary rakes and adjustable side boards.

I've been known to mow just after a rain storm or during one because the crimped stem aspirates quicker with the addition of external moisture, besides, I like watching the ensuing fog behind the mowing machine......

I have cut and curing forage get rained on, everyone does. You can't fool Ms. Nature, she always wins. If it rains after it's cut and down, I get my butt out as soon as the sun comes out (early morning) and invert or rerake with a rotary. I never wait for the heat on the damp forage to start producing mold and changing the color to pissmuckle brown. My clients are very particular and willing to pay for what it takes to make good hay.


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## ARD Farm

Additionally, I've been using Delmhorst Instruments for years for moisture measurement and windrow sampling as well as a decision tool at hay sales.

The Delmhorst will make a liar out of even the best hay huckster at any sale..... One of the best investments you can make, not cheap by any means byt necessary.


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## wjkrostek

check with John deere they had meters cheeper and had a deal where you could send it back to be fixed for 50 bucks which I have done several times. these meters are the same that others sell but only have a one year return. meters only last me two or three years and need to be repaired and I don't do that much. a few thousand bales. Don't know if JD still does that but if you know let me know.


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## wjkrostek

I just sent my meter back and they repaired it for 50 bucks. The meter was over 4 years old


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## Vol

wjkrostek said:


> I just sent my meter back and they repaired it for 50 bucks. The meter was over 4 years old


Was that a Agratronix?

Regards, Mike


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## wjkrostek

Yes but it had to have the John Deere logo on it. It was sold as a John Deere moisture meter sold at JD dealers.I don't know if they still do it, so ask at the dealer when you buy it. This has worked for me.


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## Vol

wjkrostek said:


> Yes but it had to have the John Deere logo on it. It was sold as a John Deere moisture meter sold at JD dealers.I don't know if they still do it, so ask at the dealer when you buy it. This has worked for me.


I have had the JD version of the Agratronix BHT-2 since 2012....I asked because I have never had the first ounce of trouble out of mine and was surprised by your troubles....knock on wood. I really like mine and would not like to do first cuttings or alfalfa without it. It works very well and is very accurate. I also have a handheld Agratronix.

Regards, Mike


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## Tkekic

Getting rid of wet/ruined grass hay. Small time operation, small square bales for horse stall use. After two days of drying the rain came 12 hours early. Hay got soaked. Rained just under one quarter inch. Tried to dry it out yesterday but cloudburst soaked it. Got over half inch of rain. I know the hay is ruined. Got to get it off the field. There will not be a second cut. My question is....... will the following idea hurt our field in the long run. Use our tedder to scatter the winrows and then use a brush hog to grind up the hay. We would do this two times, each time grinding the hay as fine as we can. Can we then just leave the finely chopped hay on the field to rot away in time. Will this hurt our field? Or do we have to pick the hay off the field and burn it. We figure there is about 500 bales in the field. What do all the experts think?


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## Swv.farmer

I think personally I would dry it get it up sell it for cow hay.
If you don't get it up it will just be raked up with your second cutting.


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## Fossil02818

Tketic, if you are certain that you will not be attempting to harvest a second cutting then I suspect that your plan to chop and mulch the first cutting would be fine. I have done the same thing with a second cut that was heavily rained on several times late in the season and we never could get it dry enough to bale. Of course HERE we have a long winter with lots of freeze and thaw cycles to break down any plant fibers before the next growing season. So the following year first cut was not impacted by that lost cutting. If you can get this first cut dry, baled and sold for more than its fertilizer value ( I read somewhere that a bale of decomposed hay has around $2 in nutrient value) then that would still be your safest option. Hope this helps you figure it out.


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## Gearclash

"Here" 3/4 inch rain would not ruin hay, but we have an ample demand for grinding hay for feeder cattle.


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## skyrydr2

Rarely do we need more than 2 drying days here, but not this year... just cant catch a break... just about get a window and get shorted by 4 hours...this is why I am going to get a Harvest Tec system unless there is something better out there?


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## SVFHAY

If remnants are spread well, without piles, you will be fine. Eventually the majority of nutrients are returned to the soil. Your only issues are cost of running the machines and some residue picked up in subsequent Harvests.


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## Bishop

Your best way forward is to make a decision, get it done, and move on.


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## Idaho Hay

I had about 300 bales one time that were completely ruined. I took them out into my timber and spread them with my two basket tedder all over the old skid roads. come spring it was a nice, thin, flat mat of hay with new grass sprouting up through it. Personally, I would never consider spreading and mulching it over the hay field. I would think that the amount of trash that you would pick up next haying season would be a mess. Especially if you use a wheel rake!

That's just my opinion though ^_^


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## vtlpluyr

If its first cut for you it is probably pretty mature. I am planning to cut very early morning, tedder early the next morning, and then rake and bale late that afternoon or early evening. If it was earlier in the season you could not think of that but with mature hay it often works out. Bottom line you want close to full days of sun on it. As for rain and horse hay - my Grampie's rule was less than 1/5" (or 5mm) of rain and you are ok for horse hay (especially if it rains on it while it is really greener), obviously totally dry for baling. In fact my father claims that he (my Grampie) would sometimes purposely cut hay knowing it was going to get rained on during extreme years like this if he thought it would be less than a 5mm accumulation (even at 90% probability). At some point you have to cut it or it has the value of straw. Its clear that we are not going to get 3 days of sun anytime soon in Western Quebec.


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## Tkekic

Well recovery is underway. I have a rotary rake and this morning I moved the rows a few feet to one side. The bottom of the rows was starting to turn black and the grass turning a lighter green. Let it sit most of the day. No rain today. Then I tedded all the rows. Put very sharp blades on the brush hog and chopped the tedded rows. It was slow going but it seems to be working. Set the blades 9" off the ground. Expecting a lot of rain starting tomorrow morning. Flood warnings. Will go over the rows at least two more times. I might scatter the residue later using my rotary rake without the hay curtain in place.


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## Uphayman

Bishop said:


> Your best way forward is to make a decision, get it done, and move on.


Exactly: hopefully going to bale 30 acres of brome alfalfa today that now has 3" of rain on it in the last 10 days, move it as 4x6 rounds for mulch. Grandson says it smells like dead fish. Weather forecasts have been terribly wrong this summer. 30% of an expected accumulation of .15" ..........2 1/2 inches in a half hour. FAKE WEATHER !!!!!!!!!


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## mlappin

Uphayman said:


> Exactly: hopefully going to bale 30 acres of brome alfalfa today that now has 3" of rain on it in the last 10 days, move it as 4x6 rounds for mulch. Grandson says it smells like dead fish. Weather forecasts have been terribly wrong this summer. 30% of an expected accumulation of .15" ..........2 1/2 inches in a half hour. FAKE WEATHER !!!!!!!!!


Thats what we've had here, 80% chance gets you nothing, 20% chance and you get a deluge. I still have 12 acres of first cutting to make, I already have plenty of silage bales and until it drys out, I can't make it anyways without tracking the field up.


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