Making hay late season in MN

I still have 4 fields to make a cutting off of. Lots of clover in these fields which is tough to dry under good conditions. We are forcasted to get 1"+ of rain over the course of the next few days with temps in the 50's. If we get the full inch of rain it will take a week to dry that off as we are wet now. This puts us into mid September. Can hay really be dried down in September? I have always had my last crop of hay made by the first week of Sept, I've never been this far behind. I'm starting to get a bit concerned here. I'm wondering if I should be looking for someone who can custom bale it with a baler that can apply a preservative or possibly have the bales wrapped due to high moisture content.

Is it possible to get hay dried to 15% or less in Mid to late September??

Heard you will be having lows near or below freezing soon..I hope you can get it up..

Don't think Hay will Freeze-Dry....

Grass is not drying in the yard here (Ohio) until 2:00PM now..very heavy Dew..

I should of been more clear. the hay is not cut yet, I'm waiting for this next wet spell to pass, then I will allow the fields to dry a bit, then cut it. I'm wondering how it may dry once cut in a week or so.

I am in Mn also, and plan to take another cutting this fall too. Strange year we have had. There is lots of clover all over and the grass is short. But, I am not gonna panic just yet, we do usually get a nice dry and warm streak in October and I have made hay as late as mid October before. I am just gonna let it stand awhile longer myself. Good Luck

Cut it and tedd it several times to keep it in the air and off the ground. Try to find a period that will be dry for at least three days and sunny.

I would hold off for awhile yet hopeing to get a dry window. I wouldn't push the panic button untill your hitting the point of a frost. If you hit that point a little later, you might want to knock it down and just go with it. Sometimes rain just can't be avoided, but it is ussually best to work around it if at all possible. For what it is worth, I have had to mow hay down knowing that it would get rained on. Your just kinda going on that you can get it dried down after the rain when you have to do that. And it is kind of only a have to senerio.

I too am in Mn. (Mankato) I intend to take another cutting of both alfalfa and grass which is much clover. It is raining as I type but I think we will get a dry spell yet. Do not cut it knowing it will get rained on. Patience boy, patience.

I have baled hay as late as Veterans day, and hay will freeze dry very nicely. After the first killing frost hay feeds back to the roots and then dries easily. I have baled a lot of hay while the neighbors are combining corn and beans, I don't get nervous until after the middle of October. With the crazy summer this year we didn't get done with 1st cut until the 1st of August, going to cut everything one more time and just started, of course now more rain.

I have almost all of second cutting to go, 3rd of alfalfa.

So, I hope so!

Baled 200 off my swamp last November, so it can be done late....

Paul

I am waiting for second/last cutting also. It bloomed a couple weeks ago, but has been to wet and cold since then, so not cutting it. I hope it dries up next week.

As I understand it Mn and Northern NY are similar in climate, if anything you are a little drier. Dry hay has been made here as late as mid Nov. Depends on the year. Tedding is the answer. October usually has some good haying weather for 2nd or 3rd cut.

I, and a lot of my neighbors, are still working 1st cut. Wet year, tough to get decent hay sometimes. I really have to get a silage baler and wrapper.

If your field has a lot of alfalfa, you shouldn't cut it now. Instead wait for a killing frost. A lot of times there will be a spell of nice weather soon after a frost, but all bets are off in an odd year like this.

I'm hoping for some decent weather here in MN yet. Have not made one bit of hay in the last month. All 1st crop is done, but no second crop started. Just bought 80 big round bales last week as I know I'm going to be short on hay, and if no second crop, then I have to buy more.

I am in central MN. I have all of 3rd cutting alfalfa and 2nd cutting grass hay to go yet. We had a ridiculous amount of moisture since mid August. Really no window to get started.

A good frost followed by a warm spell will do a lot to take some moisture out of standing alfalfa. Right now the ground is wet and the alfalfa is really high moisture standing.

During the summer, I usually like to rake hay the same day I bale. Late in the year, you have to get it up in the air maybe a day or two ahead of baling. I usually pull a couple windrows together, but if the hay is thick at all, I rake single rows with a rotary rake.

If you are going to be feeding the hay this winter, you can get away with baling a little higher moisture late in the year.

Either wrapping or preservatives are options. If the hay is being kept to feed to beef cattle, Id wrap it. For dairy Id go with preservative. If you are selling it, Id hope it drys down enough to bale decent.

I cringed when i read the "lots of clover" part. Makes great hay, but for me its tough to get dry under good conditions. Hopefully we get an unseasonably warm and dry fall. We need it. BW

I've rolled up 130 bales or so in the last few days here in mid Michigan. Got it dried down in super nice shape with temps in the low to mid 70s. I've still got 65 acres to go. I'm going to hit it hard Saturday morning and lay it all down. If I get it,I get it. If I don't,I tried.