# Bales left in field overnight



## Haymaker101 (Sep 1, 2014)

Hey everyone, square baled about 300 small square today finishing up around 4pm. I bale with a Kuhns accumulator dropping packs of 15. I had a family situation come up while baling and was not able to get the bales loaded and in the barn. The weather is clear overnight and tomorrow is sunny With clouds late afternoon and breezy. Will the bales be fine if I pick up tomorrow after work at 4pm? The are on edge, cut side up. I'm hoping that whatever dew is on them in the morning will just burn off during the day. Anyone had to do this before? Let me hear the good, the bad and the ugly....thanks
Should I salt them? They're 2nd cut orchard, Timothy and clover mix


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Dew will burn off. No harm, no foul. If, on the other hand, you have moisture coming up from the ground, that won't quickly dissipate.


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## CaseIH84 (Jun 16, 2013)

We leave bales in field all the time. Have had decent luck waiting for dew to burn off and then picking them up. We were working on dry fields though. I really wouldn't leave them on field that had a lot of ground moisture.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

If we did not have fire ants I imagine more people down here would leave them out over night.


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## Haymaker101 (Sep 1, 2014)

Alright, just got back from field. Was able to pick them up and get onto 2 wagons. Thanks for the quick replies guys. At least now they won't pick up ground moisture and I'll get the wagons in the barn tomorrow afternoon. Thanks as always everyone


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

I'd be more concerned about ground moisture than dew. By 4pm the dew will be long gone. When you pick them up with your grabber, check the bottom side. You may need to salt them if they are damp.

Rodney


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## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

It's pretty rare for us to not have at least half of every field sit for 1-2 nights.

Biggest problem is rain. If more than say 1/4" of rain (or if the ground is pretty wet to start with) , you must dry the top/sides of bales first, then you may have to turn bales 1/4 turn, let them dry for several more hours, then pick em up.

EDIT: Actually, our biggest problem is small bales occasionally sprouting legs and walking off overnight....


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Hard working thieves!



PackMan2170 said:


> EDIT: Actually, our biggest problem is small bales occasionally sprouting legs and walking off overnight....


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

slowzuki said:


> Hard working thieves!


Now that is an oxymoron.


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## Bishop (Apr 6, 2015)

As a kid I remember my brother would bale with the thrower and bale wagon and miss hitting the wagon with a lot of bales, then when he was done my dad would send him out with the loader tractor to pick up the ones he missed.

One morning before milking I saw my dad out in the field early putting a couple bales back. When he came up from the field he had the crazy grin on his face and said, "Don't tell your brother."

When my brother came in the barn my dad told him, "Looks like you missed a few bales out there....".


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

With current Texas weather conditions there shouldn't be a problem with leaving sm sq bales in the field overnight, but need to gather them into the shade of the barn as soon as the dew, if any, burns off the next morning to hopefully avoid excess bleaching. Hope a renewed drought hasn't started in this region.


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