Hay???

Anonymous-0 · Jun 24, 2011

hey folks,
If the weatherguessers promised you an 8 day window for weather, would you mow right away or wait a day or so for the ground to dry out some? Not muddy right now but still noticeably wet/damp.

Whatcha think?

Dave

Deere Scotty · Jun 24, 2011

It would depend on how greatly behind on this & other things mainly. The easiest job in the world is the weatherman(woman) as they say. You can be totally wrong every day, & still keep a job. Several days ago the forcast for yesterday was mid 80's, & partly cloudy here. Instead the high was 76 at 12:01am, & 70 by 5pm. With a very aggrevating light blowing rain off & on throughout the day. I wouldnt try in this weather!

Anonymous-0 · Jun 24, 2011

Can the tractor operate in the paddock?yes, go for it. no, no choice. It's officially summer up there.

TGIN · Jun 24, 2011

If it was 5-10 a. I might wait a day but I am behind on 100 a. so it would get put down .

Ken Macfarlane · Jun 24, 2011

We would mow into a narrow windrow then ted it out the next day.
10 dry days, unbelievable. We never get more than 4 days, usually
2-3 only.

showcrop · Jun 24, 2011

I'm with Ken. We always mow narrow, let the sun dry out the ground and the top of the swath, then after about five hours of good drying time, ted it out. With the moisture in the ground, if you mow wide you drive over it on the next pass, pressing it down into the tire tracks where the tedder can't pull it out. I would be mowing all that I could handle.

M Nut · Jun 24, 2011

Well, after a week of rain and clouds, the sun is shining here in MN. I have a lot of hay that needs to be cut asap, but the ground is just like a sponge. Unlike your situation, ours is complete saturation. Take a step and listen to the water run out of the ground. I know we need several days of ground drying weather. If I was in your situation, with just damp conditions, just like mentioned, cut it now and give the sun a day to dry between the rows, ted it out flat tomorrow, and you should have no trouble getting it baled before the end of your dry forecast.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 24, 2011

We are goig to get sun this afternoon sat and sunday sun till sunday evening then storms again.Trying to make big rounds for dry hay for wifes horses.Need 500 bales between beef and horses.Beeen wrapping bales because can not dry it down. Same as last year it sucks

Anonymous-0 · Jun 24, 2011

good thing I value y'alls opinion (for the most part anyway) and waited on it.........
blew up a rain this afternoon.......Not much but enough to set things back a day....

rrlund · Jun 24, 2011

Just speaking personally right now,if I had a guarantee of 8 days,I'd be out there cutting for 24 hours straight right now! I need at least 10 days to finish up and can't waste a minute of it if and when the rain stops.

tjdub · Jun 24, 2011

I would be cutting in the pouring rain if I was promised 3 days in a row coming without rain. It's getting kind of ridiculous around here.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 24, 2011

Just my $.02 Ever try a good old steel roller crimper instead of the tedder ? It fluffs up the row real good and bends the stalks open about every inch or so letting them dry out faster. Flat rubber rollers crackem down the length of the stalk letting out all the good nutrients. As for when to cut we back here in NY only get a 2 or 3 days in a row with out rain. Dad started by cutting the first day only what he figured we could bail the next afternoon. Next day as soon as the sun dried off the night time dew he would crimp the previous day's cutting and then mow down an other bunch. By noon or so we could rake the crimped hay and bail. He continued the cycle until we were done. He never lost an entire field to rain. He always bailed the hay no matter how dark and sold it for mulch or threw it over the bank. You may think throwing it out was crazy but leaving it was worse, it does not rot fast enough. It plugged up the knives during next year's mowing and would be raked up with the good hay. You probably round bale and don't need it as dry as he did, just my $.02

Anonymous-0 · Jun 24, 2011

Small bales but have a neighbor with a round baler if things get tight. Spent a few hours today staging hay and doing a couple things I need the tractor for so I can dedicate it to hay for a week. New knives on the mower, tedder, rake, mower, baler and tracter all pumped fool of grease and ready to go. I'll sleep a few hours when I get off work in the morning and start mowing. Don't have a lot but several smaler places with trees. Gotta mow the best I can and go back thru with the brushcutter to get corners and around trees. Then have about 5 acres of open stuff to do the next window. Then hope for a decent second cut. Got a feeling hay is gonna be expensive this year.

Leroy · Jun 24, 2011

What he needs is a good oldfashioned crimper or conditioner with either the steel or rubber rolls, that would not make that much difference but I don't think they have then in his area of Gremany tho I do not know why. Mow, then crimp, then ted and findlay rake to bale. Seems he is always missing a tool or more he needs to get the job done like those tools don't exist over there.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 24, 2011

(quoted from post at 13:13:05 06/24/11) What he needs is a good oldfashioned crimper or conditioner with either the steel or rubber rolls, that would not make that much difference but I don't think they have then in his area of Gremany tho I do not know why. Mow, then crimp, then ted and findlay rake to bale. Seems he is always missing a tool or more he needs to get the job done like those tools don't exist over there.

Bad manners to talk about someone like they aren't there................ Haven't been able to find a crimper in use or even a haybine.... Have asked around but noone knows what I am talking about. Gonna ask on a british forum just to see if something of the like is on this side of the pond.

Tyler Jackson · Jun 24, 2011

We were doin good on hay until today. We cut some yesterday since the news said it wasn't supposed to rain until Sunday, so what does it do today? Rain of course. Atleast it wasn't to much hay

Doug in Illinois · Jun 24, 2011

If I can get 3 days without rain forecast hay is going to get cut. We have had rain 15 of the 24 days of June so far, with the longest gap between rains being about 36 hours.

The gaps between the rains are still cloudy, no drying at all.

Rain is forecast for tomorrow, again Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

They are promising a warm up starting Wednesday, with rain coming back in next Saturday.

That is 3 days, Wed, Thurs, Fri.

I am going to cut it in the rain if I have to on Tuesday. All going to have to be big round bales until I can get at least 4 days to make some smalls.

I am tired of fighting this rain for the 4th year in a row now. DOUG

JK-NY · Jun 24, 2011

If the ground isnt muddy, I'd mow. Put the hay in a swath and the stubble ground will dry alot faster then with the hay shading it. Then either ted it out or rake it onto the drier ground when it is ready . Here in Upstate NY that weather forecast is just what we need right now to get some dry hay made!!

Leroy · Jun 24, 2011

Didn't mean to upset you. Just thought the poster I was replying to did not realize you don't seem to have them avaible over there.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 24, 2011

(quoted from post at 19:20:15 06/24/11) Didn't mean to upset you. Just thought the poster I was replying to did not realize you don't seem to have them avaible over there.

Just kiddin...... Don't seem to be heard of in this area and I wasn't able to find any on a couple used eqwuipment sites. Maybe Hendrik will pop in and say if they use them in holland...

Hay???

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