Hay Down and Rain

Bill in Eastern WA · Jun 11, 2014

So here is the question, if you had hay in the windrow and it was ready to be baled, but you have a chance of a thunderstorm, would you leave it on the ground or put it in a bale? Friday we have 60% chance of rain and I know I can get it all baled, but probably not picked up.

Probably will get one day of rain then temperatures go back up again.

What would you do? Thanks

DeltaRed · Jun 11, 2014

Bale it.

GordoSD · Jun 11, 2014

Bale it and hire help to pick it up

David G · Jun 11, 2014

bale it

Dr. Walt · Jun 11, 2014

BALE IT !

As Gordo suggested, get help picking up the bales. If any bales get rained on, the rain won't penetrate very far into the bale, but if left in windrows EVERYTHING gets SOAKED.

Doc

Michael Soldan · Jun 11, 2014

Bale it...if its big rounds they will be fine no matter how much rain..if its small squares get them stacked right off the baler and get them in..if they get wet they will never dry out properly and you'll have to stack them on their sides and salt them...get er baled!

tom upton · Jun 11, 2014

I do not understand why you would be even remotely considering not baling it. If it is ready to bale you bale it? It is nice to get it under cover before it gets rained on,but not that big a deal. it will not hurt it getting a bit of rain on the outside of bale. Lots of guys stook it up and let it sit in the field for week or more

RodinNS · Jun 11, 2014

Work like hell and get it baled... otherwise it's construction hay if you leave it in the row and it's compost if you leave the bales on the field..
If nothing else, hire a round baler in and get it done.

Rod

JerryS · Jun 11, 2014

I cut many thousands of bales of hay when I was a lad, back in the day when there warn't no such thing as a round bale (to my knowledge, anyway.) We spent many anxious days looking at the clouds because we didn't even have a TV to get the weather-guesser's primitive forecast.

But, when I left the farm I left it, so, please help me catch up at last: why will rain ruin a square bale but not a round bale--even a round bale with no wrapper? Just curious.

MN Scott · Jun 12, 2014

Hook your wagons to the back of your baler, hire another man and load it as you bale it. I could never understand the reasoning behind baling hay on the ground then picking it all up again. Seems like just making more work.

Bruce from Can. · Jun 12, 2014

Water just sinks into a square bale, but runs around the out side of a round bale. Think hay stack, or thatched roof, same idea.

Dick L · Jun 12, 2014

Round bales that are not plastic wrapped and stored will have at least 20% lost to weather rot. I relate that to having a wagon loaded with 100 bales and tossing off 20 of them in the ditch rather than putting them in the barn. I never understood why it took the round bale people so long to figure that out and start wrapping in plastic or covering them with plastic.

mkirsch · Jun 12, 2014

(quoted from post at 02:15:22 06/12/14) Water just sinks into a square bale, but runs around the out side of a round bale. Think hay stack, or thatched roof, same idea.

It soaks into the round bale too, about the same amount as in a square bale.

The difference is, a round bale is much thicker so only a smaller percentage of the hay is ruined.

RyaninKS · Jun 12, 2014

at least you had a chance to get your hay down...it hasn't stopped raining here long enough to even consider laying any down.

Wheatfarmer · Jun 12, 2014

Lot of different thought, and to each his own. In our area some small sq, round, 3x3, 4x4. OUR thought is you can dry hay in a windrow, but not a bale. One or two small rains on a windrow doesn't hurt the hay much. Hay also doesn't dry standing, so if WE try and out guess Mother natures rain storms we get it on he ground. Sometimes different thinking of what is going to eat it. Cow will eat anything, Horses a bit less, and Alpacas NO mold. Happy Haying.

Vernon in Ks · Jun 12, 2014

I started to write a long post in reply to this and realized what works for me in Kansas will not work elsewhere, so I will simply reply with BALE IT.

DaninKansas · Jun 12, 2014

Water goes right through a square bale - hardly the case with a round bale.

Vernon in Ks · Jun 12, 2014

Dick I don't know your situation but the only way I would get 20 percent lose in a round bale is if I stored it standing on end outside. A tightly wraped (twine tied)bale store outside properly will loose around 10 percent a year. Net wraped a little less.

showcrop · Jun 12, 2014

Two weeks ago you could have let it get rained on and it would not have hurt it. If you don't believe this get some tested. I can understand if you are a one man operation and no hitch on the wagon. before my kids were gone I got a baler with a hitch and wagons. Better yet, now I have a thrower and a building where I can pull two loads into. But I know that it is really discouraging to have bales on the ground and a thunderstorm pops up out of nowhere.

EricInSEI · Jun 12, 2014

If you're using a round baler, then bale it. If you're using a small square baler, bale however much you can get picked up, get it in, and then bale more if the rain hasn't arrived.

I have ridden on top of a load of bales in the rain going back to the barn. Watching a thunderstorm arrive as you're loading that last wagon can be a little bit exciting.

Tx Jim · Jun 12, 2014

(quoted from post at 07:10:37 06/12/14) Round bales that are not plastic wrapped and stored will have at least 20% lost to weather rot. .

Dick
What you state about rd bale hay lose might have been true yrs ago but not today with TIGHT rd bales and netwrap if bales are stored outside CORRECTLY

rankrank1 · Jun 12, 2014

(quoted from post at 14:04:07 06/12/14) Lot of different thought, and to each his own. In our area some small sq, round, 3x3, 4x4. OUR thought is you can dry hay in a windrow, but not a bale. One or two small rains on a windrow doesn't hurt the hay much. Hay also doesn't dry standing, so if WE try and out guess Mother natures rain storms we get it on he ground. Sometimes different thinking of what is going to eat it. Cow will eat anything, Horses a bit less, and Alpacas NO mold. Happy Haying.

+1. I agree with this post.

I would certainly bale what I believed I could get in the barn (if its ready) and if hiring help allowed you to bale more of it then that is what I would do.

That said, I will not even leave bales sit overnight in my humid climate. They simply soak up too much moisture. No way do I want square bales sitting in the field getting rained on. I can tedder or improvise ted with my rake to dry it properly when it is still in a windrow. Yes there will be bleaching but not a huge deal compared to the alternative. I have absolutely no way to properly dry out a water logged square bale and I am not going to willing put a water logged square bale in my barn or anyone else's barn for that matter.

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