# How Bad Is My Hay?



## RuttedField (Apr 24, 2016)

The Haying Contractor mowed it on Saturday when everyone else was baling, but that does not matter now, it is what it is. Then Sunday afternoon he teddied it out to dry. Then on Monday he raked it in the afternoon in preparation to bale it.

Monday evening his baler broke after making one bale.

Tuesday night it started raining and rained until 4 AM today (Thursday).

He said he is going to borrow a baler if he has to and finish the job with today being the only day possible due to more wet weather arriving. So my question is as posted: how bad is it going to be? Mulch hay now? Feedable hay but with high nutrient loss?

This is the second time this has happened in as many years and I can honestly say I am DONE WITH HAY! 2 stinking weeks of weather without a cloud in the sky and my hay gets rain on...again. Time to go to silage I guess.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

It really depends on a lot of factors. Was the wet hay laying tight and got all wet and slimy from lack of air? Or was it spread wide so air could get to it? Did you end up baling it dry or was the hay still "wet" when baled? Bale it up, and store it. You will be surprised what animals will eat...

There is bale wrapper that is imported from Poland (or someplace over there) that can be bought for 5k new. Might want to consider that as an option...


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## Supa Dexta (May 28, 2014)

You're not terribly far from me - it would be pretty bad in my books. That's why I cant rely on others to do it for me.

I made 500 rounds just last week to get started, just a steady pace, didn't over do anything. And it worked great. If I had to wait for someone to bale others around me god knows when he may have got to mine. Out here by the ocean you can't bank on the weather too often, so gotta get at it while you can.

How much hay are we talking? You may even be better renting your ground out, and just buying known good hay in some instances, rather than having someone screw up your own or owning equipment yourself.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

I have no experience with Alfalfa hay.

Rain damage to hay depends on several factors. What type hay is it? Is hay going to be baled at 15% or under moisture content? Vit A & slight lowering of % protein at this point if it's grass hay but it would be far from ruined except for picky horse hay buyers.


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## Bishop (Apr 6, 2015)

I have had hay rained on multiple times, at various stages, and still made really ugly brown dry bales that my animals would eat.

The important thing after a rain is to get it dry fast. I do everything I can to stop it from going slime.

As long as you can get it in dry, with no mold, the quality will be low, but still good dry cow / sheep / goat hay.


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## RuttedField (Apr 24, 2016)

The Alfalfa/Orchard Grass/Timothy/Clover/Rye Grass has yet to be baled and was prepped just as I said...raked into windrows when the rain hit on Tuesday and just got done raining this morning, so definitely not spread out and not allowed to dry in any manner.

We are only talking 120 acres so its not that much hay, but enough to hurt when you are counting on it. Around here they are paying $25 an acre for stumpage so its not that great. Not enough to make it worth renting it out, and yet too many bales to justify buying.

I know of a dairy farmer who might plow it all under and put it in corn and then chop off enough silage for my sheep as payment. I would need 500 tons though, so roughly 20 acres would have to be dedicated to me, and 100 to him. I am not sure if he would go for that? (based on 24 tons to the acre)


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

If hay was mine if/when ground was dry enough to accept tractor I ted it out flat. I never rake until I'm ready to bale then operate baler closely behind rake.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

RuttedField said:


> The Alfalfa/Orchard Grass/Timothy/Clover/Rye Grass has yet to be baled and was prepped just as I said...raked into windrows when the rain hit on Tuesday and just got done raining this morning, so definitely not spread out and not allowed to dry in any manner.
> 
> We are only talking 120 acres so its not that much hay, but enough to hurt when you are counting on it. Around here they are paying $25 an acre for stumpage so its not that great. Not enough to make it worth renting it out, and yet too many bales to justify buying.
> 
> I know of a dairy farmer who might plow it all under and put it in corn and then chop off enough silage for my sheep as payment. I would need 500 tons though, so roughly 20 acres would have to be dedicated to me, and 100 to him. I am not sure if he would go for that? (based on 24 tons to the acre)


The differences in land costs- rents amazes me.Land capable of 24 ton corn silage would rent for a minimum of $200 an acre here and probably $300 here.You should also get more then 16.66% of the crop for share rent.50-50 here and share cost of the inputs.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

swmnhay said:


> The differences in land costs- rents amazes me.Land capable of 24 ton corn silage would rent for a minimum of $200 an acre here and probably $300 here.You should also get more then 16.66% of the crop for share rent.50-50 here and share cost of the inputs.


If rent is only $25, 16% percent of the crop as a share sounds about right, though not if one is sharing the inputs.

To the OP, if the baler is going to make no effort to get the hay dry, it sure sounds like it's going to be mulch/garbage, depending on if you have a market for mulch. Here, I'd sell it for mulch in a heartbeat because I can usually buy good hay for $30 more per ton than I can sell junk.

If your hay is still wet from the rain, I'd rather let it get even worse with more rain and then dry it properly before baling than cram it into a bale and end up with solid mold bales.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Have had that happen many times thru the years. Ended up running it thru the tub grinder and used it as bedding. They eat a little and lay on the rest. It makes the best of a bad situation.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Only 120 acres! Just buy the darn equipment (I mean this nicely, equipment would pay for itself fast).

If it's that bad, I'd ted it out and let it rot back into the soil. Baling it without tedding it back out is a really bad idea.


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## Swv.farmer (Jan 2, 2016)

I would tedd it out and make shure it was dry and then bale it and if the guy didn't want to tedd it out and dry it I would show him the road because moldy hay isn't going to do you any good.


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

What I think is this.....

I look at hay as something on the order of tea leafs. Green tea leafs, rinsed by water probably isn't going to give much flavor. Once it dries and you pour water over it - you got tea. Green, fresh cut hay - get a rain, not a problem (so long as it's tedded out ASAP), the day of the baling, nice and dry, you get rain, much nutrients washed out and of course big color change.

I had some hay a few years ago on the ground and repeatedly rained on over probably two weeks. I kept turning it (another story) and finally when the equipment was fixed, I baled it up - just to get it off the field. Stuff was very light brown in color, I'm SURE it was pretty much all fiber - near zero nutrient. It came out smelling great, no dust or mold, baled great. I sold it as "goat" hay. Everyone was so happy with those bales, I kind of wished I'd raised the price a dollar or more!

If you are feeding your own cattle, goats, horses, etc., something is better than nothing IMHO and they will eat it. You might have to supplement with some grain, etc. If you are selling it - bale it up and knock the price down.

Are you wrench handy and physically fit? If so, probably for not much investment, buy some old equipment and make your own hay. At that point - you're in complete control, except for the weather and random equipment failure.

Good luck,

Bill


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

RuttedField said:


> The Haying Contractor mowed it on Saturday when everyone else was baling, but that does not matter now, it is what it is. Then Sunday afternoon he teddied it out to dry. Then on Monday he raked it in the afternoon in preparation to bale it.
> 
> Monday evening his baler broke after making one bale.
> 
> ...


That's pretty typical when you rely on custom guys to do your hay. Usually they're doing their own or doing somebody else's hay first, while yours ends up getting over-mature and past its prime waiting for someone to show up and cut it, or the weather window plays out before yours gets up off the field. Breakdowns happen to everybody, weather happens to everybody, but IMHO relying on custom operators just compounds the difficulties in getting good hay put up. I used to be a custom guy years ago; I know how it works. I was a "little custom guy" and hardly ever had more than I could handle, but I did have to turn jobs away from time to time simply because I couldn't get it all done in a timely manner, and I didn't think it fair to guys to keep them "waiting" for me while their forage got over-mature and lost quality waiting to be cut. I had more than a few guys asking me to come cut for them when they were "stood up" by the big time operator who usually cut their hay, who was over-extended and off doing someone else's instead. One time I was hired by my boss at the bus barn (school buses) to come cut his prairie hay... he'd been waiting nearly a month for the BTO custom guy he usually used to come cut it. I came over that afternoon and started cutting, and within an hour, before I could finish the first 15 acre patch and move around the road to the 20 acres on the other side of the fence, the BTO pulled into that field and started cutting it-- he didn't want to lose the income from the custom job, but he wasn't too worried about getting it done "on time", just "on his schedule" or "at his convenience". It was the time of year we get frequent spotty afternoon thunderstorms, and it showered a little on the hay the next afternoon after I raked it, so I made another 8 mile trip with the tractor and rake to roll it over again after it dried out til about lunch the next day, so the windrow could dry out thoroughly. I baled it the next afternoon. The BTO left the rest of the hay lay flat, burning in the sun for another couple days before he FINALLY showed up to rake it on day six after cutting it. I know because I brought the tractor back to move the bales off the field to one end, and he was raking the crispy "hay" (straw by that point IMHO) into windrows for the baler running a few minutes behind him.

I know we had the same experience EVERY TIME I've tried to hire something done on the farm-- it's either not done timely, or not done right. More trouble than it's worth, and custom work is EXPENSIVE. I've found if you want the job done right and done "on time", and if it's something you're going to have to do often, in the long run you're just better off to get your own machinery and do it yourself-- ESPECIALLY if it's "time critical" or "weather dependent" like making hay.

Later and best of luck!

OL J R


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

leeave96 said:


> What I think is this.....
> 
> I look at hay as something on the order of tea leafs. Green tea leafs, rinsed by water probably isn't going to give much flavor. Once it dries and you pour water over it - you got tea. Green, fresh cut hay - get a rain, not a problem (so long as it's tedded out ASAP), the day of the baling, nice and dry, you get rain, much nutrients washed out and of course big color change.
> 
> ...


Absolutely... best advice I've read yet.

Later! OL J R : )


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

I had hay just last year that got washed 3 times, as others have said, spread it out soon, get dry and bale. I tested mine, just for grins, before I tossed it in the swamp. Test came back A LOT better than I expected (actually was better than a neighbor's best not rained on hay, of course he waits until the OG is dead ripe and alfalfa has seed pods to cut, but that is another story). I feed my to the cows, let them pick out what they wanted and let them sleep on the remainder.

I also agree, look at your own equipment, I only do 3-4 cuttings off of 85 acres and own my own equipment (took years to finally get newer equipment as a disclaimer). My first haybine was a NH 469 I believe, probably 25 years old when I bought it. The first round baler NH chain 5x5, was maybe 30 years old when I purchased it, as examples.

Larry

PS a hay test could cost you $15-25, could be money well spent to know what you have (or don't have). I am a fan of testing (soil or hay) and weighing my hay, that way my guess estimates are not just the SWAG method (Scientific Wild A$$ Guess).


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## Redbaler (Jun 10, 2011)

Lol only 120 acres he says. Guys around here have all new stuff to bale half that. I'm no better myself, I have twice as good of equipment I need but farming is my second job so I need to be speedy and reliable.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

BWfarms said:


> Only 120 acres! Just buy the darn equipment (I mean this nicely, equipment would pay for itself fast).
> If it's that bad, I'd ted it out and let it rot back into the soil. Baling it without tedding it back out is a really bad idea.


I tend to agree with BW. I started in the hay business over 10 ac that I could not get Cut and baled when I wanted it done


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## Cmm (Jun 5, 2016)

Wish I had 120 ac

There is not a 120ac hay field within 90 miles of me


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## Swv.farmer (Jan 2, 2016)

I would love to have that much to hay.
You could take that and use what you need sell the rest and pay a pretty hefty equipment payment if you were making good quality hay.


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## RuttedField (Apr 24, 2016)

Redbaler said:


> Lol only 120 acres he says. Guys around here have all new stuff to bale half that. I'm no better myself, I have twice as good of equipment I need but farming is my second job so I need to be speedy and reliable.





Cmm said:


> Wish I had 120 ac
> 
> There is not a 120ac hay field within 90 miles of me


Sorry for the misunderstanding, there isn't a field that big around here either, this is spread out over several fields. My biggest field is only 37 acres in size, but even then it is mostly farmed in three different sections. Even then the sad reality is, my farm consists more of woodlot then fields, but SLOWLY I am trying to convert more forest back into fields. With so many paper mills closing, I got to do something!!

UPDATE:

We were able to bale the hay and it came out surprisingly well though I am not sure why. He never tedded it out but re-raked it into rows then baled it after it was dry. It was not slimy, nor smelled bad, in fact it was still green in color (but not wet) and smelled like fresh cut grass. I can only think that maybe because it was of good grass varieties that it kept well?

The contractor was also very understanding giving me the option of taking hay off another field he has yet to do if I did not feel this hay was good enough. He would take this hay and give me the better stuff even though it would be far more costly for him to import hay from a different place. "My unprofessionalism", he kept saying, but things happen I know, and the hay worked out so it can still be fed out. Still it was nice to hear that he would make good on it, but it goes t show how nice it is to work with another fellow Christian Farmer...ethical.


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## Hawk40 (Jun 28, 2015)

When I first started growing hay as a rotation crop I envisioned the aroma of fresh cut alfalfa and nice green bales, only to watch the first two years get rained on waiting for the custom guy to get it done.
Got really tired of watching a beautiful crop of hay getting trashed because poor planning,junk equip,or just plain lazy. Picked up good used equip piece by piece with a focus on getting the hay off the field and under cover quickly. I'm sure my days coming but so far in 3 seasons have not gotten rained on yet.
Have finished just minutes before the rain a few times but so far I've gotten by just fine.
Plus I've learned way more by depending on myself to get it right.
But I'm sure I'll get whacked soon enough cause as they say " the sun doesn't shine on the same dog every day".


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## RuttedField (Apr 24, 2016)

I hear ya, and I am darn near there now.

The problem with this guy is that he is a livestock dealer as well, so he makes many trips out of state, and being his bread and butter, they come before haying. That was why he was mowing while most people here were baling! he thought he had enough time...then boom, a hydraulic line broke. He also admitted he is not much of a mechanic. Me, I am the opposite, I would rather wrench on something than operate it, but that gets expensive quick.

If I get anything it will not be haying equipment but a flail chopper just for the rain reason. If that breaks down, you don't have acres of hay down with rain blowing in from the east. I guess being a former dairy guy, I just prefer silage over hay.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

RuttedField said:


> I hear ya, and I am darn near there now.
> 
> The problem with this guy is that he is a livestock dealer as well, so he makes many trips out of state, and being his bread and butter, they come before haying. That was why he was mowing while most people here were baling! he thought he had enough time...then boom, a hydraulic line broke. He also admitted he is not much of a mechanic. Me, I am the opposite, I would rather wrench on something than operate it, but that gets expensive quick.
> 
> If I get anything it will not be haying equipment but a flail chopper just for the rain reason. If that breaks down, you don't have acres of hay down with rain blowing in from the east. I guess being a former dairy guy, I just prefer silage over hay.


a hydraulic line is a minor repair.He should of been able to get it going in a hr or 2.


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## Three44s (May 21, 2016)

I'd get your own equipment if it were me ....... and you like to wrench ....... you'll be in hog heaven with some "seasoned" hay machinery!

I'd be cautious that the hay your custom guy baled is not still too wet ........ it all seems too good to be true that it was not needing tedding in your conditions after being soaked that much?

For me, rakes rope hay .......... before my PZ 2000 gave up the ghost, ............ that got the air in real quick ...... you did not want a wind though .......... you'd be running across half the State to gather it all back up again ............ geeze!

Three 44s


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## DYNOBOB (Nov 29, 2011)

Prob a long shot.. Maybe the custom guy could get the equip to your place and you could run it when he's unavailable to take advantage of good windows.


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