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Little River, TX | Also have a Delmhorst hay tester that will test in the windrow, in the bale and on the roll.
Here I only use it for on the go moisture testing. It is a real eye opener watching the needle swing on my meter. (Mine is a 7% to 35% analog meter.)
An old sucker.
Now I use the relative humidity down at ground level to get out to the field. Here the hay is allowed to cure to bone dry the night before baling. I start baling when the humidity is between 70% & 65%. At that time the bale will be close to 18% Moisture. Measuring two seperate moisture types, but they are inter related.
Usually here we have about 3 hours between when it is just barely dry enough to bale to it is so dry the leaves are shattering.
This last 3 weeks that was down to less than one hour.
It is not a wonder that the hay is still damp if the hay is dropped into a windrow. The bottom core will take weeks do cure in there. Better to open up the mower conditioner so it puts out as wide as possible swath. If the swath does not cover 55% to 75% of the available ground, come right behind the mower with a tedder and cover 100% of the ground with hay.
The first day hay that is in direct sunlight will allow up to maybe 30% of the moisture out through the leaves. Put the hay in the dark and those hole the water is coming out of will be closed.
The second day as well as the first day, the sun will heat the moisture in the stems, create a higher vapor pressure and steam the moisture out the nearest opening. This is where conditioning come in.
The moisture in the hay the third day is the last 20% and the hardest to get out. This hay might as well be raked up into a windrow. The windrow you expect to bale. When the hay is dry enough to bale there is still enough stem moisture to cause the hay to sweat. Sweat too much and the hay will look and smell like tobacco. A little more and you have mold. Hay that will sweat if stacked on cement or steel will for sure mold over night. | |
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Moisture tester for hay?
