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Swathing Heavy Brome, Windrow vs Lay Flat

B

big a

Member
Can't catch a break in the weather here, and I've got about 5 acres of heavy, fertilized broke I need to get swathed and baled.
Got maybe a 2-3 day window first part of next week, with rain almost certain after this.
Debating setting my old 1090 Hesston swather to just lay flat, after the crimper, as opposed to windrowing it, then raking into windrows.
My reasoning is thus: I can rake up smaller, more manageable windrows for my square baler, and I'm thinking the hay may dry faster laid flat and raked up.

Any thoughts???
 
The only advantage you'll loose it that if it's laid out wider,you'll drive on some and pack it down. I like to lay it just narrow enough to be able to straddle it.
 
I agree with rrlund. I lay it as flat as possible so that I don't run tires on the mown hay. Mower is 9 ft 3 in, tractor widened out to just fit that width, so the swath is 9, 3 less two 18.4 tire widths. That bit of ground can dry as the hay cures and that is where I place the windrows. Makes about a 3 ft wide place for the windrow. (18.4 in from right tire and 18.4 from the left tire the next pass)
 
Lay it out as wide as you can. Read a study some guy did comparing dry down timrs and he discovered that leaving tracks on a wide windrow really didn't bother dry down and I suppose unless I was running in mud I wouldn't worry too much about it either.
 

Depends on your ground. If your soil tends towards sandy and dries fairly fast after rain lay it out wide. If it is heavy and retains moisture put it in a swath as Randy and Wolfman said. Here in the Northeast if we drive over it after mowing the grass is pressed down into moist ground, greatly slowing drying. It sounds like you should be tedding it probably three times.
 
Heavy clay and never would have considered putting a fresh mown swath in winrow. The only time that is done around here was for haylage or silage as for that you did not worry about drydown. but for dry hay lay it as wide as possible and don't worry about driving on it. The front wheels on a row crop tractor were always in middle of swath. If ground is too wet that it will make a problem with driving on it then the ground is too wet to be able to pull the baler once it is dried.
 
I just use a sickle bar mower and I can usually rake 24 hours after mowing and follow up immediately with the baler. With a crimper and laying it flat drying time should be even faster. I have the same issue here - maximum of 48 hours between rains and with "horse hay" I can't let it get rained on. I $&%*( sure can't leave a bale of hay sit in a field over night.
 
(quoted from post at 13:13:37 06/18/15) I just use a sickle bar mower and I can usually rake 24 hours after mowing and follow up immediately with the baler. With a crimper and laying it flat drying time should be even faster. I have the same issue here - maximum of 48 hours between rains and with "horse hay" I can't let it get rained on. I $&%*( sure can't leave a bale of hay sit in a field over night.
Click to expand...

Horse hay here too! Sounds like we're in the same boat!
I don't think there is a tedder in the whole state of NE, but this'd be the year to have one!
 
Got gutsy, and decided to try wide. Was kind of surprised that even with that deflector set all the way down, the windrow is still about the same width.
Drying now...probably take early tomorrow. Just have to see what happens.
 
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