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Carroll Iowa | How soon after cutting hay do you Ted. This is alfalfa orchard mix hay. Do you do next day. As soon as ground dries off. As soon as dew comes off. Do any of you Ted hay twice. This would be hay cut with windrower and crimped. |
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Central KY | The next morning while the dew is still on for anything with legumes in it. Straight grass hay wait for the dew to come off. The dew keeps you from knocking off as many leaves on legume type Hays.
Edited by UKag 5/25/2017 20:51
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VA | We lay it out wide as possible let top get pretty good and dry and then ted. This usually amounts to mowing one day then kicking the next morning if it's hot then baling that afternoon or next day depends on hay and all that. If ground is wet we will mow into tight windrow let ground dry then kick. If ground is wet and you ted it will pull moisture out ground |
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KY | So you're saying in some instances you can mow and then bale dry hay the next day? |
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southern middle TN | Here second or third cutting in the heat of summer, yes. Not usually on first cut though. |
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| it is rare that we only ted twice.
we ted right after mowing as it gets all the hay fluffed up and the driven over parts unmatted. it will dry faster and evener. it is important to ted SLOW the first time so you can pick it all up. you go fast and you will leave the parts that need it the most.
we typically ted 3 times. BUT we don't have any alfalfa. aside from losing leaves as an issue, the more you ted the quicker you bale. simple as that.
ted often and ted SLOW. |
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VA | If we get it cut early one morning then have a good hot day kick it when dew comes off next yes it'll most time go up that evening depends on humidity and how dry ground is as well |
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NE Iowa | I usually ted only 2-3 hours after cutting. The biggest advantage is getting the hay covering 100% of the field, bunches spread out, and any hay that got driven on fluffed up. Occasionally I wait to ted until the morning after cutting but if I do I make sure to do it early with full dew on. |
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We've found its best to ted 4-6 hrs after mowing |
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SW Ohio | I'm with fisher, usually mow around noon on day one(best sugar vs fast dry down) and ted the next morning, maybe as dew is lifting or maybe after dew is gone, depends. If soil is wet windrow tight to get soil dry then ted out, if soil is dry windrow wide,ted next day. If drying conditions are lousy and rain is coming or hay is heavy may ted a second time. This is for any type, grass or legume or mix, if lots of legume use slow rpm and do it with dew on. Often times you only have a few hour window to do it right. |
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Garland Maine | Here (1500 miles to the east) I do almost all plain grass hay, and to answer your question: it depends on how long the hay making window is. When trying to hurry the drying process we try to ted about 4 hours after mowing, ted early the next day like 9am, rake into small windrows that second day at noon so the breeze can get through them. Lighter grass hay will be ready to bale by 3pm on the second day, providing there was good wind and decent sun. Changing one factor there adds a day. With excellent drying conditions or a longer window we can skip one pass with either the rake or tedder.
My goal is always to get strings around some of the hay the day after mowing, and leave part for the day after. That reduces losses from popup thunderstorms, and has served me well for years.
Now with alfalfa to reduce leaf loss I would try the following:
Mow into a swath of about half the width of your mower. Do not drive on that swath because you want the wind to take some of the initial moisture out.
About 4 hours after mowing run the tedder across to spread the swaths wide.
The second day rake into small windrows to get the hay up off the cold wet ground and always roll that windrow over onto "clean" ground where you already raked. This will let the breeze through the windrow.
The third day roll the windrows over. A V-rake works well for this to merge two or four small windrows into one pass for the baler. Typically three hours of sun will bake the dew out of the windrow and you are ready to bale. |
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Breckenridge, MI | . |
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New to the Tedder world got some questions
