Orchard Grass/Timothy hay

xcsp

Member
Need some help new to this orchard grass hay ,planted new field last fall took my first cut could not get the moisture down on small squares 18-20% moisture.

had 3 days of drying 85-90 degrees days,teddered every day before baling, hay is showing no signs of moldy hay,or dust, anyone know the trick to getting the grass moisture down to 14.5

My other field of Timothy/Alfalfa cut same time baled a day earlier all 14.5 moisture.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks Greg[/img]
 
Seems odd. I grow that same mixture and it should dry down easily in 3 days in my area, same temps, same humidity.
Are the stems real thick and still green? You may need to break the covering of the stems.
In the future, try tedding it daily, as soon as the dew is off, until ready to bale.
I never check moisture, do it by feel, and bale lots of grass horse hay every year.
 
How spread out was your windrow? Also
which way does your land lay have neighbors
both cut same hay same day but one faces
east on a hill the other is in a bottom the
hillside always dries first. More I look
at making hay the more I think it's
educated guess work
 
Humidity and ground moisture are factors.If useing a mower,stems may need to be crimped/'conditioned. If useing a swather/mower
concitioner,lay the windrow out as wide as possible.Around here,I've baled a lot of grass hay at 15-20%. Alfalfa heeds to be
drier.Do the "3 twist" test. Usually more 'accurate' than the fancy electronic tester.As was said,It's a guessing game
 
We have teaded hay twice a day to get
it dry. If ground is damp then you will
need to take it up in a windrow to get
it dry. Where are you located?? It is
September, harder to get hay dry this
time of year. What did you mow it
with??
 
You need a hay dryer in your mow , as a simple solution .When we did thousands of
small squares , the hay dryer was the best thing ever . You can make a very simple
dryer by building a tunnel 4x4 out of ply wood as long as you need. keeping the
bottom of the tunnel 6-8 inches off the floor . place fork lift skids on the barn
floor for the air to travel through , and pile your hay on top of the skids. A large
fan placed in the end of the tunnel blowing air in the tunnel , which exits through
the 6-8 inch gap along the bottom , and travels through the skids, and up through the
hay . the air blowing through the hay in this fashion will dry hay perfectly . I have
put hay in so wet , that the bales were really heavy to lift , and damp to the
touch. Never had any mold problems . Yes this is a cost to build , and operate but,
no more fooling around trying to get hay dry to 14.5% moisture in the sunshine .Bruce
 
(reply to post at 16:44:19 09/11/16)
Hello
I am located in northeast Ohio it was in June when my First cut was taken,it was high due to a rainy spring we had that might have contributed to the high moisture,
I cut the hay with a new holland 1465 haybine.
Thanks for all the replys trying to get it right for next time.
Greg
 

Greg, I would say that it is perfectly normal. New seedings almost always produce more tons per acre than established ground does. What is your humidity? that is a big factor. I believe that your ground there is very similar to ours here in NH, so you probably can have a lot of moisture in the ground, which can wick up into the windrow over the course of a couple hours. I have had to stop baling and turn the windrows after finding that the hay had wicked some moisture up. If there is moisture in the ground you CANNOT bale without the sun shining on the hay. With moisture in the ground you also have to mow into a narrow swath, let the sun dry the ground for about four hours, then ted it out. Like fspring we have sometimes tedded twice in a day, because there is often a threat of rain.
 
I'm in central Geauga county. I usually don't have trouble getting my hay dry. I ted once and rake once unless there is a heavy dew, then I'll rake again the opposite direction and just turn it over.
 
Try mowing with the wings wide open Let the hay dry flat then rake into windrows, Bale between 1000 and 5pm
 
I like to let the ground dry a day before tedding, otherwise the hay will absorb the ground moisture.
 
Hello I am trying new things to help get my moisture down in my orchard grass for baling.
I mowed with the hay laying down in a narrow swath,let it dry 2 days we had 86 Degree days ,Teddered it last night.

Here is the bad part they said no rain all weekend well last night we had a sprinkle or two. now should I just let the sun burn it off or tedder it today ????????????????

also plan on baling sunday afternoon,not real warm though in the mid 70s sunny low humidity.

Thanks Greg
 
(quoted from post at 05:29:39 09/24/16) Hello I am trying new things to help get my moisture down in my orchard grass for baling.
I mowed with the hay laying down in a narrow swath,let it dry 2 days we had 86 Degree days ,Teddered it last night.

Here is the bad part they said no rain all weekend well last night we had a sprinkle or two. now should I just let the sun burn it off or tedder it today ????????????????

also plan on baling sunday afternoon,not real warm though in the mid 70s sunny low humidity.

Thanks Greg

I mow into a narrow swath then ted it out after around four hours drying time.
 

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