# Conditioning Alfalfa



## Hugh (Sep 23, 2013)

I want to try a small alfalfa patch, a little over two acres. I have a bailer, can borrow a neighbor's mower, but it doesn't have a conditioner. Question: does alfalfa have to be conditioned, or is just mowing and then raking it into windrows good enough? I'm thinking the stems will dry much slower than the leaves, and then the leaves will be brittle and crack into pieces when raked. Any input will help&#8230;


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

Put the handle Hay Wilson into the search box at the top right after clicking on members. Mr. Wilson has presented excellent advice on the topic of baling alfalfa. Also click forums at the search box and enter conditioning hay for numerous articles on this topic.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

What you will have to do is wait for the stems to dry then wait for some dew to rake it. But without conditioning I think it might take awhile for the stems to cure


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## BPatrick (Aug 30, 2013)

Hugh, this is my first year baling alfalfa also. I too will be cutting with a disc mower(no conditioning). My plans are to run a Tedder through the alfalfa behind the mower, hoping to achieve some conditioning of the crop.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

That was SOP here 30-40 yrs ago.

Mow it let it dry pretty good then rake with a dew on it.

Do not rake to wet you end up with a rope that doesn't dry.

If rakeing 2 mower swaths together we would usualy rake 1 swath over and rake the other one back the next day.

In lighter hay rakeing 3 swaths rake swath 1 and 3 onto swath 2 leaveing a gap and then finish rakeing the next day.In doing this you fluff up the hay and aids in drying.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Hugh:

Around here, a moco (mower/conditioner) takes about a day less to dry (3-4 days total-high humidity, moderate temperatures climate).

In your climate, I would guess 3-5 days drying time without a moco, in that you have lower humidity with lower temperatures.

I've done it both ways. Always takes too long, even when it only takes a day.

Hope this helps

Ralph


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## Hugh (Sep 23, 2013)

We do have low humidity here. When its 95F, you don't feel sweaty. Most mornings there is no dew. I would like to grow some alfalfa for the heck of it. Two acres won't pay for a moco, so I'm kicking it around....


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Hugh said:


> We do have low humidity here. When its 95F, you don't feel sweaty. Most mornings there is no dew. I would like to grow some alfalfa for the heck of it. Two acres won't pay for a moco, so I'm kicking it around....


2 acres wouldn't be to bad to just try out. Your climate is pretty much like mine I'm sure. We use conditioners and sometimes it still take 3-5 days to cure the stems. You will know the stems are cured when they break easily and there is no gummy feeling or waxy feeling on the outside of the stems. I suspect you are going to use a small square baler? I wouldn't recommend raking it at all unless your neighbors mower can't put it in a windrow that your baler can cover. When I did small bales of alfalfa I wouldn't rake it at all. Now I only rake it to put the two windrows together.


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## Hugh (Sep 23, 2013)

I have a small bailer, a NH 277. I bought it on a whim, saw it in a guys front lawn, paid $700. My neighbor used it to bale 6 acres of alfalfa and said the bailer worked just fine. I have a 50hp tractor and water rights. My main thing is apples, but the thoughts of growing alfalfa has me itching. We are going to open a fruit stand, and a few bales would sell easily, and probably for a premium. People drive down our highway here all summer looking for hay. Some from Colorado, Utah, etc. If I can break even, sounds like something to do in the summer. We are at 3500 feet in a valley in the northern rockies. I did find an old post by Hay Wilson where he said conditioning has no/little benifit. In fact, I replied to his post, my memory is getting poorer every year...


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## Nitram (Apr 2, 2011)

What is the title of thread? Might be out of context. Quality of hay isn't changed by conditioning but process can help save leaves which does


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## Hugh (Sep 23, 2013)

Nitram, go down the page a bit to H.W.'s 3-4 post&#8230; http://www.haytalk.com/forums/topic/20403-alfalfa-procedures/ Good Info!


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## Nitram (Apr 2, 2011)

Okay yes I missed that speaking on initial dry down ( day one). I have for past couple yrs put it into practice with grass hay. Leaving in wide swath...even impeller conditioned hay drys faster Here. One in windrow vs not windrow .


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## Hugh (Sep 23, 2013)

Nitram, I found this: http://www.ars.usda.gov/sp2UserFile...tions/pdf/2006/wde2006/wde2006_kilcer1.pdf%C2 Also google "Tom Kilcer Alfalfa" for more. Thanks Hay Wilson for T.K. name. Looks like the trend is wide swathing or just mowing without conditioning. I think i will do the ladder.


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## Nitram (Apr 2, 2011)

But once the sun goes down the leaves no longer draw the moisture out of the stems. That is when the conditioning process kicks in remember that we want the stems and leaves as close as possible in moisture content


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Hugh for what you are doing with the 2 acres I would advise you to pay attention more to saving color then producing the highest feed value. Also getting the most tonnage per acre then highest feed value. Why? You are selling it by the road on a per bale basis. Those kinds of hay buyers generally want it to look pretty and have some leaves (some buyers don't know anything about leaves in alfalfa either). They don't particularly care about feed tests. To save the most color is to put it in a narrower windrow, but since you aren't conditioning you will have to spread it out some to get it to cure in a reasonable time. But if you can find a swather with a conditioner have them put it in a 3-4 foot windrow depending on how heavy the crop is. The sun and dry climate in our part of the world really bleaches it out fast. So a narrow windrow means less exposed to the sun. Also don't cut so very short. Leave some stem so air can get under the windrow. I don't spread out my alfalfa more then 5 feet depending on how heavy the crop is, but I have a double conditioner. If I wasn't planing on raking 2 windrows into 1 I would have it even narrower. Also to save color try not to leave raked hay out overnight. Because when you rake you are exposing more hay to the sun to get bleached. If you have a light crop of alfalfa like a 3rd cutting tends to be and spread it out over 7-9 feet you are going to end up with alfalfa that isn't very green looking.

Most of what you are reading from Hay Wilson and this Tom Kilcer is for alfalfa grown more for dairies and in a different location with much higher humidity especially from what I read of Tom Kilcers work.


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## Hugh (Sep 23, 2013)

Nitram - I don't disagree with that. My situation is that with my small patch, I'm looking to get into it for as little $ as possible. I'm thinking a disc mower as soon as the dew is gone (we get little dew here) which gives it 12 hours of sun the first day. We get little rain in the summer (12" the whole year) and the humidity is very low 15-25% is not uncommon.

Telsen, - I already have some RR seed, a 50HP (40PTO) tractor that doesn't have enough muscle to handle a MOCO. With 2 acres I can't invest in the big equipment. There is a need around here for certified weed free hay, as there are people who take horses into the back country on fed lands and weed free is a must. I see what you are saying about color, would be nice to have it green. I'll plant the two acres in the next couple of weeks and see what happens. Could spray it with green food coloring...


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Hugh said:


> Nitram - I don't disagree with that. My situation is that with my small patch, I'm looking to get into it for as little $ as possible. I'm thinking a disc mower as soon as the dew is gone (we get little dew here) which gives it 12 hours of sun the first day. We get little rain in the summer (12" the whole year) and the humidity is very low 15-25% is not uncommon.
> 
> Telsen, - I already have some RR seed, a 50HP (40PTO) tractor that doesn't have enough muscle to handle a MOCO. With 2 acres I can't invest in the big equipment. There is a need around here for certified weed free hay, as there are people who take horses into the back country on fed lands and weed free is a must. I see what you are saying about color, would be nice to have it green. I'll plant the two acres in the next couple of weeks and see what happens. Could spray it with green food coloring...


Isn't it certified grass hay most people want though rather then alfalfa for taking horses on to public lands? That's how it is here. I really haven't heard of certified weed free alfalfa, but with RR alfalfa it sure can be done. I didn't mean for you to buy other equipment, but if there was someone around you locally that could cut it as they were passing by or something with a conditioner.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

Well My computer will work with Hay Talk again.

Curing hay is so simple that even I can understand it. 
HERE we want to lay the hay out in a wide swath, & flat on the ground. Cover 80% to 90% of the ground with the hay.

Give the hay 5 or 6 hours laying in the direct sunlight. This keeps the little holes in the leaves open and the moisture will p;our out those stomas. 
By sunset the leaves will be down less than 40% moisture while the stems will still have more moisture.
On theory in curing hay is the sunshine heats the sap, creating a vapor pressure and forcing the moisture out the nearest opening. 
( Here hay left flat behind a simple mower will cure before conditioned hay that is dropped into a windrow. )

Usually the next morning, at first light & with the dew, rake the hay. Done correctly you have all the easy moisture out of the leaves and much of the moisture out of the stems.

Approaching Supper time check the hay for dry stems. If the hay stems are snapping dry then the hay will bale just fine as soon as the humidity is high enough to hold the leaves. 
The humidity is measured down next to the windrow. I use a simple indoor humidity gage with nice easy to read digital read out.

This is from West Virginia.
90% humidity the hay will be no drier than 40% Moisture.

70% RH the hay will be no drier than 18 to 20% Average Moisture.

65% RH the hay will be no drier than 16 to 18% Average Moisture.


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## Hugh (Sep 23, 2013)

Hay Wilson,

I'm guessing I won't need a tedder, just a disk mower, rake and a bailer. If this is so, I'm ready to go as my neighbor has a rake and borrows my bailer - he owes me, thanks for all the input everyone!


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