Making green hay

Just out of curiosity, how do you guys make greener bales of hay (more of a solid color, not wet bales) and not like straw color? Is it less drying time or the type of grass

Hi Mike

I am in eastern Australia so conditions are very different to you overthere. We make lucerne (alph alpha) hay. The green colour comes from a lack of bleaching. Bleaching is due to the wetting and drying cycle of moisture due to showers or heavy dew while the cut material is on the ground. I can
do six or seven cuts in a season. Tend to find in the hotter months of summer you will see less bleaching and just timing cutting so you are not getting rain. With rain we see at least three big dews after the event so you can really get caught. To reduce the visual impact if the hay is handled less
then the bleaching will be less but you have to balance this with retaining leaf and getting the material dry, you will have less of a problem with grass than lucerne. I am often amazed at what the windrow looks like and what the baled product looks like, balers can make the colour look better. If
you have experienced hay makers in your area talk to them and learn from their experience. Hay making is a challenge as conditions change all the time and that is what keeps it interesting. Big thing I have found is you have to do what needs to be done when the hay and conditions tell you not
when you are ready or get around to it.

The longer it lays in the sun the more the color bleaches out. I found I can cut a day off drying with my new rotary rake.

I live in very humid very wet southern MN, dry hay making is an adventure......

One fall I cut alfalfa very late, then had a frost that night and soybeans went so I started combining, forgot about the 2 acres of alfalfa I cut. We had a very dry but very
cloudy and cold spell, 2 weeks later I looked at the cut alfalfa, and it had sort of freeze dried, it had its leaves on, it was dry but playable, it was dark green.

Aside from being busy with the combine, when I drove past it it always looked wet so I never had stopped to look at it.

Got the baler out and made the darkest green, dry, most leafy alfalfa I ever baked! Was sad it was so few bales.

This doesnt help you at all, but a memory of odd hay making here.

Paul

A New Holland 144 inverter has really improved my game. Can get the hay to the point where it's almost too dry. The bales will be nice &
green every time though.

Mike

I find that a MOCO and tedder get the hay dry the fastest hence best color and nutrition (I guess). I ted as soon as I get off the
tractor with the MOCO. Hot, shiny, low humidity days are a big help too.

Alfalfa holds its color fairly well. Our grass fields are late maturing orchard grass and early Timothy. The
Timothy is dark green. I really like that grass mix. We also tedd the hay 3 times to dry it asap.

Um Um Good. Really a nice crop.