# Hay Baling Question - Rain



## beautancushayfarmer (Apr 17, 2011)

I am a first year hay farmer in eastern north carolina. We haven't had rain in over a month. The weatherman said we are 9 1/2 inches below average rainfall for the year. I cut and teddered my hay for a couple of days and began to bale today. After baling around 250 square bales, the rain began to pour (around 2 inches). Can I still tedder the hay that hasn't been baled and dry it out to bale later? I am selling the hay as horse hay. Also, can I cut the bales and tedder and rebale them after they dry out. Not the way I wanted to start my hay cutting. So much for a 10% chance of rain. Any help would greatly be appreciated!


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## NCSteveH (Jun 30, 2009)

I take it that you are talking about yesterdays storms that came through, if you weren't on the tractor last night and this morning tedding it to knock off the water your quality will suffer, it will be bleached out now no matter what. as far as what was baled, sell it as mulch hay, it will mold.


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## beautancushayfarmer (Apr 17, 2011)

NCSteveH said:


> I take it that you are talking about yesterdays storms that came through, if you weren't on the tractor last night and this morning tedding it to knock off the water your quality will suffer, it will be bleached out now no matter what. as far as what was baled, sell it as mulch hay, it will mold.


We did not get any of the rain from yesterdays storms. I mowed the hay on Thursday, Teddered on Friday and Saturday before I began baling. No rain had hit the hay when I started baling. I have talked to a few people who have cows that were interested in buying the bales that got wet for a discounted price. My main concern was the hay that was not baled. If I continue to tedder the hay for a couple of days, is it going to be OK to bale and sale as horse hay?


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## Dolphin (May 21, 2010)

nope . probably not


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

Rain happens all the time on hay that's ready to bale. Get it dried back out and it'll be fine for horse hay. The quality will be down though. If the rain continues, it will be a loss.


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## jddoerr (Mar 24, 2011)

Horse hay buyers don't like to hear anything about rain on hay. They will immediately shy away from it. If you can get the hay dried and put up, I would recommend getting it tested. People like pretty looking hay, but even some bleached hay can have value. Having the hay test report will help establish that when you go to selling it.


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## mulberrygrovefamilyfarm (Feb 11, 2009)

Dry it out and bale it up but don't try to sell it to horse people. As others have said, rain happens on cut hay all the time in most of the country that gets _normal_ rain amounts. I only market my "perfect" hay to horse customers. Sell a horse customer dusty, poor quality, or godforbid, moldy hay, and you'll probably lose more than just that horse customer. (Horse people love to tell the story of getting bad hay. My daughter is a horse person so I get to mingle with them...) If you build a customer base for each of your hay qualities you won't have the stress that comes from mistimed cutting/baling for one market. IMHO - The best investments for a hay farmer are a hand full of stock cows and feeders. They'll give you a higher return on your _junk_ hay that wouldn't bring enough to cover delivery, and cows rarely get rained or hailed out. By the way, my daughter's horses get the same _junk_ hay that my stockers and feeders get and come out of winter overweight. Just goes to show you that horse people are - discerning customers!


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## K WEST FARMS (Apr 4, 2011)

Up here in the North , I bale everything I cut. If it gets rained on lightly once , it goes in the better quality mow. If it gets rained more , then goes with lesser quality hay. I price according to quality , ( cutting date , stage of growth , amt. of grass and alfalfa , rained on or not , etc. I have always sold every bale of every quality. You would be surprized what a horse will eat when the owner can not find the quality of hay the owner thinks the horse needs !! Horse hay must be dust and mold free , but after that seems to depend on the net worth of the owner !! Thats my view from this corner of the hay world. Have a good one !!! John


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

If I read you correctly you may be using the tedder more than necessary.

If your mower conditioner will not spread the hay out to cover 80% to 100% of the ground, then come in right behind the mower with your tedder & get 100% of the ground covered. 
This is important as the little breathing holes in the leaves will close if not in direct sunlight. As far south as you are you can loose 30% to 50% of the crops moisture if you have 5 hours to sunset. 
When ever yo are using your tedder keep the PTO at 350 to 300 rps's.

If it is a good cutting, 2 or more tons/A, use the tedder again the next morning, at first light. Rake the hay, again in the morning early, not the day you are going to bale but the day before the day you expect to bale.

Note, when the air down at the hay, is 90% humidity or better is the time to rake or use the tedder.

IF you do experience rain ruined hay, turned black, turned white, or has turned green with mole, THEN use the tedder at 540 RPM in the after noon, the idea is to beat as many leaves off the hay as possible, reduce the dry matter hauled off the field. Then rake and bale to taste. Haul the stuff to a hiding place.

IT happens from time to time.

Personally I do not rely on the entertainment media for weather, but pay for a weather forecasting service. 
AWIS.com : Consulting, Data & Forecasts for Ag, Energy, Retail and Industry


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## J & G Farms (Mar 20, 2011)

It wont make horse hay. Cant believe the wheather man, If he"s calling for a 20% chance be looking for the other eighty , Typical eastern NC wheather.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

I didn't see where you stated what type of hay, grass or alfalfa, so I'm thinking it's grass.

With 2 inches of rain on it, you're facing at least two issues:

First, getting it dry. I think I would check to see if it's been pounded down onto the dirt. If it's laying on top of the stubble, you're probably OK, otherwise it might be a good idea to run the tedder over it.

Second, tearing up your field. You're probably going to have to wait 1-2 days for the ground to dry enough that you can get out there without creating ruts and tearing up the root system.

As a general principle, I try to run the tedder over alfalfa within 12 hours of mowing and 24 hours for grass. Only ted it once to bust up clumps and spread it out over the field. Too many trips simply tramples it down into the ground, uses time and fuel, and beats up the hay too much.

As far as horse hay, probably will be too sun bleached to be salable. Horse owners want "green"; don't care too much about quality--that's why I add green food dye to my hay when baling ;-).

Ralph


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