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SW Ohio | Someday (when i retire!!) I am going to write a book-Hud's Rules Of Haymaking, or maybe one of those yellow and black "Dummie" books.
Rule #14- once you cut it, dry it out as fast as you can.
Doesn't matter if you have a ten day window or three(three to four is about all we get here in the humid east). It depends a little on if the soil is wet or not, but "here" I prefer to cut with a conditioner, lay out an 80% swath,(dry soil,50% wet soil) run a tedder as soon as the top gets crispy, usually the next morning before all the dew has burned off. Ted it again if it still isn't drying well on the third day, if it is, rake it up when it is almost dry but before leaf shatter gets excessive(I use a finger wheel or a rotary, the rotary does make a fluffier windrow that WILL dry better "here", rake a double(or triple or quad) if it is dry(relatively), or if damp make a single. Sometimes when conditions merit, rake a double but don't put them together, leave a gap between, wait for some drying and them rake again to make a large single windrow Count on the last toughness to dry out while in the windrow, start baling the drier windrows as soon as it is ready, and hope you get it under cover just as the rain arrives. Use preservative if necessary. I know it seems as if I beat the hay too many times with iron but it is what works here and is the only way to get hay dry in our short windows. Count on this whole thing not working every time-you will lose some hay sooner or later. | |
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Speeding hay drying?
