# Hay standing , RAiN, got to get hay off



## Timothybrome (Aug 20, 2021)

Northeast has had lots of rain, ground has been wet, we’re on clay. Had some dry ground and squared and rounded right along but we won’t be finished by fall. Trying to get neighbors and locals to come and cut and bale , wrap or chop so fields will be ready for next year.
days will be getting shorter and every time we get 2 inches of rain we can’t get on fields with out breaking through sod for 5 days to a week
suggestions for getting the first and second off before winter if hay still standing by end of October so we’ll be ready for next year.
burning Rows cut down hay?
or?
suggestions appreciated


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Or have faith the weather will change for the better. Same boat here, still have 1st standing, orders to fill and haven't touched 2nd and have 7000 bales worth of orders to fill.


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## Timothybrome (Aug 20, 2021)

IH 1586 said:


> Or have faith the weather will change for the better. Same boat here, still have 1st standing, orders to fill and haven't touched 2nd and have 7000 bales worth of orders to fill.


Same here, unfortunately I notified some clients we will be short on hay. Never have done that before!
keep me posted as October gets closer what your plan is going to be for uncut fields
brush hogging leaves to much chaff for next years hay crop
thnks


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## danwi (Mar 6, 2015)

Hope the ground freezes and you don;'t get an early snow and make hay in November and December, They did it here a couple of years ago, it didn't seem right but they were able to sell the hay to someone who needed it.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Same boat here. I have 30 acres of first cut standing, friends have a lot more first cut still standing. I've got a 2/3 finished acid setup I'm considering finishing. Also looking at renting a wrapper. Currently have 250 bales in my shop with fans going trying to get them to dry before they go dusty. We have a big 7.5 hp fan from a barn hay dryer I need to get installed eventually.


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## ttazzman (Sep 29, 2019)

still on first cut hay?


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

ttazzman said:


> still on first cut hay?


does it seem hard to believe? It’s not the latest my uncle has seen. I believe that is the 26th of August but it is fast approaching. Just one of those years going to have to fight for all of it. I’m one of the few that chickened out at the right time and again have not had hay rained on. Last Sunday we played in the mud for some then got another 3 inches this week.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

slowzuki said:


> Same boat here. I have 30 acres of first cut standing, friends have a lot more first cut still standing. I've got a 2/3 finished acid setup I'm considering finishing. Also looking at renting a wrapper. Currently have 250 bales in my shop with fans going trying to get them to dry before they go dusty. We have a big 7.5 hp fan from a barn hay dryer I need to get installed eventually.


Hey Slow, that sounds miserable. Guess you are not getting your 3 days of sun


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## HayMike (Mar 22, 2011)

Same situation here, 25+ A of 1st to go, mud to drive on. I have brush hogged before, or left it standing. No problem the next year either way.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Hayman1 said:


> Hey Slow, that sounds miserable. Guess you are not getting your 3 days of sun


Rained this morning, but I mowed anyways. The rain this afternoon missed us luckily. Two days of humid 80 F weather with rain predicted Sunday evening, will be fun. Have 800 bales for a customer sitting on wagons waiting to see if it’s going to go dusty or not before I deliver it.

Thinking we will spread sundays hay over the entire barn single layer and hope.


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## ttazzman (Sep 29, 2019)

Does make a case for having a acid sprayer on your baler


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

We got 3/8" the other day. I tried to get what we had down baled the night before, but broke down with the baler. It would of had been some nice hay. I guess it will make a turd, I hope my cows are not to picky, not that they are going to have much of a choice.


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## Markpnw (Dec 27, 2019)

Ya it’s probably better to deal with too much moisture than no moisture in the Northwest hay barely grew.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

slowzuki said:


> Rained this morning, but I mowed anyways. The rain this afternoon missed us luckily. Two days of humid 80 F weather with rain predicted Sunday evening, will be fun. Have 800 bales for a customer sitting on wagons waiting to see if it’s going to go dusty or not before I deliver it.
> 
> Thinking we will spread sundays hay over the entire barn single layer and hope.


I got the little haygard applicator last year and it paid for itself this year alone.


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## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)

Hard to believe what a difference location makes. This year we were in a drought for first cutting. Had all the dry weather in the world, just poor yield and tonnage. I started first cut on Memorial Day.


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

They cut us back on our water for our second cutting this; it took me longer to get everything irrigated. Normally we get three cuttings, but this year we are only going to get two. I was hoping to get a third so that I had some to sell, but it looks like I am just going to have enough for my own needs. I think they are going to cut our water off early this year.


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## danwi (Mar 6, 2015)

Looks like the east coast is going to get more rain Preservative doesn't work if you cant get the hay cut and close to dry. Time to go on vacation but you can't do that if you have animals to feed.


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## chevytaHOE5674 (Mar 14, 2015)

Feel for you guys I've been there. I've made plenty of 1st cutting with duals on the tractor in October and November. Cows still ate it and made the winter just fine.

We had the opposite here this year just over 2" of rain since April. The fields "worth cutting" yielded 50%, other fields we just skipped as there was nothing to make. Hay is scarce and low quality, and many cattle guys are already feeding what little they have (we usually graze thru November or December depending on snow), others are selling out.


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## PaulN (Mar 4, 2014)

The pendulum swings both ways. Two years ago, many parts of Minnesota set a new record for rainfall. Needless to say, we didn't get much quality hay put up. This year, just the opposite. First crop was done in record time, second crop was so poor that many people didn't even to bother cutting. There won't be a third crop. Normally we chop corn silage in mid September, this year it's happening a month earlier.


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## Onthayman (Jun 13, 2019)

You guys are right there never seems to be a perfect year lately. To much rain can’t get it dry or off . To little make a great first cut but 2nd and 3rd are disappointing. Perfect would be , a forecast of rain on Saturday nights with clear weather Monday through Friday . It’s nice to dream ! Lol


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Onthayman said:


> You guys are right there never seems to be a perfect year lately. To much rain can’t get it dry or off . To little make a great first cut but 2nd and 3rd are disappointing. Perfect would be , a forecast of rain on Saturday nights with clear weather Monday through Friday . It’s nice to dream ! Lol


That is exactly what my uncle says would be perfect weather. Since 2015 I would have to say have had 2 perfect years. One was last year. To me a perfect year is where you can stay caught up with cuttings. Usually requires long stretches of great weather for first cutting. 2-4 cuttings of dry hay hay over all.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

CowboyRam said:


> They cut us back on our water for our second cutting this; it took me longer to get everything irrigated. Normally we get three cuttings, but this year we are only going to get two. I was hoping to get a third so that I had some to sell, but it looks like I am just going to have enough for my own needs. I think they are going to cut our water off early this year.


Welcome to our world. Have not had a full water allocation since summer of 2016. Even this year following 2 good winters , storages filling and spilling , they have only given us 30% so far. We are at the bottom of the food chain it seems...


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

September 1st and first cutting still standing. Down to 8 acres of mine and 15 for neighbor. 2 custom jobs canceled, one the goldenrod is flowering nicely and the other is below the water table and will be 3 weeks or so before able to get on. Taking this 3 day window and pick off another 9 acres to bring our 2nd cutting total to 21 for the year. Only 150 to go.

Glad Ida is going to miss us.


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## dieselmike (Feb 24, 2018)

Make baleage. Wrap it and let it ferment into cow hay. Semi wet stuff will be wet and nasty looking but cows love it.


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## Yankee784 (Jan 7, 2013)

Baleage is an option, except now i have too much. Not much sales opportunity for it around here. Still need around 1000 sm square bales to fill orders, so baleage doesn't help. Even if you can get it dry, the bales pick up moisture from the ground before it can get picked up. Oh well, maybe I'll get to do some 'freeze dried' hay this year.


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