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Whether to mow hay today or not...advice?

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Tom A

05-30-2003 04:15:58

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Weatherman says no chance of rain here today, slight chance of a shower tomorrow and no chance on Sunday. My ground is very soft from a month of *daily* rain and some pretty serious rainfall even before that.

My grass hay is all too tall and getting stalky. It is all covered with heavy dew this morning, too.

I think I have to take advantage of the weather and mow hay today, right? My idea is to mow as early as possible today despite the really soft ground and hope I don't get stuck or ruin the soil. Then I'll crimp since it is so stalky. Rake either this afternoon or tomorrow (or both if need be) and try to get it all in the barn on Sunday.

So, am I right to mow today? And if yes, should I wait for the dew to dry up (could be noonish...) before I mow, or just get out there as soon as I can get the mower hooked up? Looking for advice from all you old-timers!

thanks,
Tom

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larry

05-31-2003 07:26:13

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Re: Whether to mow hay today or not...advice? in reply to Tom A, 05-30-2003 04:15:58

on thing to rember is hay that is tough will not burn but rain on hay will also if you mow turn on edge and spread salt or preservite to cure

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paul

05-31-2003 11:57:40

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Re: Re: Whether to mow hay today or not...advice? in reply to larry, 05-31-2003 07:26:13

I think you're trying to say wet hay that is baled will spontaniously combust & burn. Be careful of that.

As to cutting it, welcome to the hay business. If we all had a crystal ball..... You make your best guess, and try it. Either way your hay will not be an excellent crop this cutting. Try to get it out of the way & hope for a better 2nd cutting. Sometimes that's all you can do. If you wait too long, you will lose both cuttings.

Your mower is just fine for making hay. If you have 15 acres or less, no need to spend a ton of money. It rained on me last evening, the dew had come in, & I still made 4 rounds in the alfalfa with my 501 sickle & was running in 4th gear on a Ford 5-speed, so they can cut wet hay too. Carter usually has very good advise, but I think ecconomy of size (or lack of it) got lost on him in this message. :) If we all need the best possible system for making forages, the Claas self-propelled forage chopper with widrow head & a bagger with a 14' self propelled swather-crimper is the way to go: fast, efficient, very little weather exposure, almost always top feed value, long-term storage - we all have $500,000 for harvesting our forages, don't we? :)

--->Paul

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Carter and Carter Machine

06-03-2003 22:20:33

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Re: Re: Re: Whether to mow hay today or not...advi in reply to paul, 05-31-2003 11:57:40

For a large commercial alfalfa operation I agree. There are about 200-500 swathers sold each year while 8,000- 10,000 disc mowers are sold each year. The fact is most farmers do not grow a pure alfalfa crop, it's mostly grass hay with some legume mix in it. Alfalfa in the USA is harvested 65% by sickle cutters whether they be haybines, sickle bar mowers or large swathers. 55% of the USA cattle heard is owned by farmers that own 120 acres or less. Retailers look at numbers of customers not the number of acres a farmer operates on. If that less than 100 acre farmer comes home from his public works job he wants the fastest equipment he can afford for his economy of scale. The sickle bar mower for harvesting purposes just is not feasible time wise for these sundowner farmers.

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mike

05-30-2003 10:30:22

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Re: Whether to mow hay today or not...advice? in reply to Tom A, 05-30-2003 04:15:58

if the ground is soggy the hay will wick up moister as it dries, and will take longer to cure, we are in the same boat, the hay is ready and the weather is against us. we are going to wait.-- mike, aka pappy

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Carter and Carter Machine

05-30-2003 05:34:26

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Re: Whether to mow hay today or not...advice? in reply to Tom A, 05-30-2003 04:15:58

If you have heavy hay and cut with a sickle bar mower then you will have to wait until dew is gone. If you had a drum or disc mower you could mow in the early morning and gain almost a day's curing time. Drum mowers start at $1,750

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Bruce

05-30-2003 13:45:38

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Re: Re: Whether to mow hay today or not...advice? in reply to Carter and Carter Machine, 05-30-2003 05:34:26

I agree with Jerry. It sounds like you are trying to sell your brand of equipment here. I checked with many sources and a 8/9N does not have the power to handle a dick/drum mower. A sicle bar works fine on them. And about cutting "moist" hay I cut mine first thing in the morning 2 days ago and it was still damp. 4' tall in Oregon it will always be wet at the bottom. Yesterday I cut the 1 1/2-2 acre parcel that had been fertilized and was thick with clover. If you have sharp sections on your bar and the adjustments are right it WILL cut through thick gamp hay.

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Carter and Carter Machine

05-30-2003 18:18:44

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Re: Re: Re: Whether to mow hay today or not...advi in reply to Bruce, 05-30-2003 13:45:38

Bruce, It is apparent you are a novice, we currently harvest 600+ acres of hay 2 times a year with disc mowers. A disc mower and a drum mower work on the same principle. As a hay equipment dealer for 30 years, we have sold thousands of sicklebar mowers, haybines, drum mowers, disc mowers, & mower conditioners. There is no single action sickle bar mower that can be operated by an 8N that can keep up with even the T-135, 53" drum mower on an 8N. The next thing you do not realize is a sickle bar mower chews the stem and the drum mower shears the stem cleanly. It takes grass mowed with a sickle bar mower 5-7 days before it starts growing back but the grass mowed with a drum mower will start growing the next day after cutting. This can be proven just by looking at the color of the grass after baling. The sickle bar mower was invented in the 1800's and if you want to live that far in the past that's your choice.

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Sid

05-30-2003 20:18:24

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Re: Re: Re: Re: Whether to mow hay today or not... in reply to Carter and Carter Machine, 05-30-2003 18:18:44

It is apperant you are a salesman peddling your wares on this board. Yes a drum or a disc mower will mow faster but when I see a lot of guys around here busting three and four hundred dollars gears I will keep my sickle bar and haybine for my operation I am not against new ideas but in my opinion Tom and others like him are a little closer to the earth and being real farmers than wheeler dealers who do thousands and thoudands of acres of hay . In my opinion farming is more about a relationship with the land not how much land you can drive over in an hour. If you truly are trying to help please make more of an effort to do so with out pushing the fact you deal in equipment. If I seem to have an attitude it is because I think your remark about the "novice" is out of line, Bruce gave good sound advice dealing with the situation Tom A is dealing with.

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Carter and Carter Machine

05-31-2003 06:21:15

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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whether to mow hay today or no in reply to Sid, 05-30-2003 20:18:24

Sorry you like to hug the trees, I'll cut them down if they get in my way.

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Steve

05-31-2003 18:35:18

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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whether to mow hay today o in reply to Carter and Carter Machine, 05-31-2003 06:21:15

With an attitude like that, I would never buy anything from you. You should keep in mind that some people on these boards are hobby farmers who spend their play money on having a little fun with their tractors, and some people make their living farming. Both groups could be potential customers and i'm sure we can all find some place else to shop!!

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Carter and Carter Machine

05-31-2003 21:22:24

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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whether to mow hay tod in reply to Steve, 05-31-2003 18:35:18

We sold 5 drum mowers today and 3 were off the net. We only want the best customers. If you choose not to purchase from us, there are other good dealers out there and they need your business.

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JMS/MN

06-01-2003 13:23:33

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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whether to mow hay in reply to Carter and Carter Machine, 05-31-2003 21:22:24

I've seen many posts by you over recent months, and you're always trying to sell something, rather than help honest folks asking a legitimate question. I agree with the others regarding your sales tactics. The poster was simply asking about a good time to cut hay, and not knowing what equipment he had, I would simply say, if he had a mower, mower-conditioner, SP swather, or a discbine, cut whenever the machine will cut it without plugging. Dew on the hay when cutting is no big deal. I've used all of the listed machines over the past thirty years, and don't mind if the hay even gets a bit of rain on during or tight after cutting. Worst case is when it is ready to bale or chop and it gets hit with rain. Then the re-drying process starts all over again. My real farming experience is 60-140 acres per year over the last 20 plus years----- -salesman guy, what is yours?

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Carter Carter Machinery

06-01-2003 21:05:41

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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whether to mow in reply to JMS/MN, 06-01-2003 13:23:33

35 years of hay experience on 1000+ acres. We have 8 JD tractors from 40 HP-120HP.I've used every type of mower made.

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Jerry D in NC

05-30-2003 10:40:30

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Re: Re: Whether to mow hay today or not...advice? in reply to Carter and Carter Machine, 05-30-2003 05:34:26

This is probably a bit overstated as the dew will have to dry off of the grass standing or laying and curing ain't going to happen until then anyhow. The drum mower you reference in your post to fit Tom's 8N would be a 53 inch mower. Given the size difference I think 90% of the time the 515 Ford mower will out mow a cutter that short on an 8N. He doesn't have that many gears so he will probably mow in the same gear with both and make 3 rounds with the drum mower to 2 rounds with the 515. Having the option of mowing very wet hay is good if you are baling 1000's of acres a year and can mow early in the morning or at night. However I have mown some thick Alfalfa at midnight with a 6' 501 mower. Heavy orchard grass or Fescue is a little tougher but waiting from 7 am to 10 am to start mowing twice a year may not be worth $2000 in equipment investment.

I agree that a drum mower has some benefits but also getting parts and blades and other things may be more difficult on a off brand such as the CCM which I assume stands for Carter & Carter Machines own store brand. The local farm store will carry knives to fit the Ford Mower.

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05-30-2003 05:31:42

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Re: Whether to mow hay today or not...advice? in reply to Tom A, 05-30-2003 04:15:58

I like to make sure I have 3 ideal drying days when I cut hay, that means dry ground low humidity (if possible) and a gentle breeze. If you do cut now dont rake until its nearly cured and all chance of rain has passed, Hay thats left just flat after cutting will shed rain a lot better than windrows do after raking

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