Re: Orchard Grass/Timothy hay

Leroy · Sep 24, 2016

How much is light rain and how deep in swath did it go? Makes a big difference. Mist, .01", .05", .1", .25",.5"?

xcsp · Sep 24, 2016

(reply to post at 05:34:39 09/24/16)

It was a sprinkle The car had scattered drops on it lasted 5 minutes or so.

The hay is light for my third cut not real thick

DeltaRed · Sep 24, 2016

Let it dry till this afternoon.Then decide if it needs to be tedded. Warm sun and little bit of air movement dries a lot.

JD Seller · Sep 24, 2016

They hay is better off tedded when it rained on it. Just the few drops or light rain your talking about should not bother it much IF you get sunshine and wind later. Also how are you going to bale it??? Round bales or small squares?? That makes a difference too.

coshoo · Sep 24, 2016

I noticed you said you left the hay in a narrow swath after mowing. In western Washington, where drying is often a problem even in the summer, most guys now ted the hay right after mowing (or use a mower/conditioner with the wings wide open). The more spread out it is, the faster the drying.

xcsp · Sep 24, 2016

(quoted from post at 06:15:07 09/24/16) They hay is better off tedded when it rained on it. Just the few drops or light rain your talking about should not bother it much IF you get sunshine and wind later. Also how are you going to bale it??? Round bales or small squares?? That makes a difference too.

Small Squares the hay looks good today ,we have sunshine and a good breeze ,I tedded it around noon should be okay .

xcsp · Sep 24, 2016

(reply to post at 06:34:35 09/24/16)

That is what I did for my first cut I had the wings wide open and tedded next day and every day after ,and could not get the moisture down in the small Squares.
I figured with the narrow swath ,the ground beneath the hay will dry out faster,I thought maybe that is why I was getting high readings on moisture.
Will find out tomorrow afternoon if this helped .

Thanks for all the replys.

showcrop · Sep 24, 2016

That is what I did for my first cut I had the wings wide open and tedded next day and every day after ,and could not get the moisture down in the small Squares.
I figured with the narrow swath ,the ground beneath the hay will dry out faster,I thought maybe that is why I was getting high readings on moisture.
Will find out tomorrow afternoon if this helped .

Thanks for all the replys.[/quote]

Yes, you need to give the ground a chance to dry, but not two days, just 4-5 hours. Another reason for the narrow swath is to reduce driving on the hay and pressing it down into the wet ground where the tedder may not pull it out.

David G · Sep 24, 2016

I do not think a sprinkle will hurt it, I also think you are best keeping it tight so the ground dries before tedding.

Re: Orchard Grass/Timothy hay

Leroy

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xcsp

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DeltaRed

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JD Seller

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coshoo

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xcsp

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xcsp

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showcrop

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David G

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