Early morning baling

I never baled hay so early in the morning as I did yesterday, but then, I never had to. I was baling by 8:30. It was supposed to
be good until today, sunny and 74 Wednesday, sunny and 88 yesterday so I cut 40 acres Monday and Tuesday. I raked 16 acres
Wednesday morning then went to finish moving some bales off another field. Around 1 o'clock, we got about a two minute shower.
The sun came out like the 20 minutes that you feel better after you throw up, then it clouded back up the rest of the day.

The wind blew all night and there wasn't any dew. I checked it about 7am and it was fairly dry, but the stems were still a
little tough. I checked the radar and there was rain in the U.P. and northern Wisconsin moving this way. I didn't dare wait too
long, so I headed out at 8:30. I had a few heavy bales on the headlands where the hay had been packed down from driving on it
and was still green when I raked it, but for the most part, it was dry enough. I rolled up 82 4x5s.

I was done at 11:20. I checked the 24 acre field across the road from it. I think it would have been OK after an hour in that
wind if I could have raked it. I went home and got more twine figuring I'd have Kim come up and get me, I'd leave the baler
there, come back and get the other tractor and rake and rake for an hour. I thought I'd bale then and if it wasn't raining, I'd
rake some more and do it again. I checked the radar and the rain was just too close to go back and try. The rain set in a little
after 1 and kept up until after 7. There's rain in the forecast every day for the next week. I don't know whether to feel bad
about all that hay getting rained on or good that I baled as much as I did and that the drought is finally starting to break. I
guess I'd better be thankful for the rain and the improved pastures and the chance for a good second cutting. trouble is, the
first cutting has to come off first and I still have 20 acres that I haven't even cut.

It's like my great aunt used to say. She worked in an elevator in Ohio for a long time. She said two farmers would come in, one
would want rain for the beans and the other one didn't want any because he had hay down. LOL

It's a win win sorta....you got some hay done and a good drink of water for everything else. So far this year, any fool could make good hay around here with the very few very light showers we've had in the last 3 weeks. Forecast is for a week of rainy weather here too, but were gotten none yet by 9 am today, and they are already backing off on the forecast. It had better rain here....and soon.

Ben

Last Thursday I worked my tail off getting some ahead of a rain that was coming Friday. I raked 35 acres and rolled 225 bales. A whole lot better drying day that day though. No dew that morning either. I started raking at 8:30. You can bet that if there isn't any dew, rain's on its way.

On its way, not rain on its say. Good thing the edit works. LOL

This post was edited by rrlund on 06/25/2021 at 05:33 am.

Been a few decades since its been this dry, been a lot of decades since it has been this dry in June. Here it is typical to have dew until 11:00am every day, hay is done very fast in the few afternoon hours before the dew sets in again at supper time.

Walked through the lawn this morning at 7:30 and no dew. That is just unheard of here.

Today is the middle day of a three day rain forcast. I baked dry hay yesterday, probably cut more today, the rain chance went away. They say maybe rain on Monday, but the last 3 weeks the rain forecasts have turned into a total of one .18 rain and twice we got 10 drops.

Really nice hay, but dont know if we see a second cutting locally. The cracks in the ground are a foot deep.

Paul

Its not looking good for getting any hay up in Mid Mi. for the next 4-5 days. I'm on the side that wanted the rain and glad to get it as I buy my hay. Glad at least you got some of it up especially since I don't think I ever seen anyone baling or rolling hay at 830 am around here.

Last week and this week, the same forecast for the week and weekend. Dry Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, rain possible Thursday, Likely on Friday with Thunderstorms, and Thunderstorms Saturday. Well, never got the gully washer they predicted last week, but did get an inch over 2 days, Friday and Saturday. This week same forecast but it is petering out in Indiana, and will probably not get here with any power. It did sprinkle enough to wet the sidewalk over night, last night. I hope it stays away for at least tomorrow....I will be attending my 50th year Class Reunion.

We normally bale early in the morning to take advantage of some moisture/dew. Some guys even start baleing at midnight.We are so dry that that the hay is too dry in the afternoons. I have been baleing some just 24 hours after being cut. It has just been that hot and dry.We just got rain last night,supposed to be rainy all week. We haven't had a drop in months. Also a record heat wave.I have about 35 acres on the ground. Now my customers are all mad at me for cutting.If it had cut 2 weeks ago,the hay would be perfect and in the barn. Now it is going to be ruined. I'm just sick about it.

When my cousin and I had our sprint car, our driver farmed and did custom baling.

Sometimes after an evening race, he'd go home, change clothes, and go out and bale till morning. It was usually cool and damp enough during the night to bale nice, and it was a way for him to unwind from the race.

Funny how we have been getting showers and you havent, had a brief shower here this morning around 7am. Certainly couldnt bale hay at my place today

You had a four day clear spell a week or so back you could have done it probably, unless your weather was different on the west side of the state. I took all my hay down except one small field that had some moisture down at ground level. I baled it and sold it all over the next two days. Next door the fella cut the morning after I did. When he finally baled it had been rained on twice. It's a long story, but he only has about two acres this year as he accidentally killed the rest of it with the sprayer trying to kill a weed. What he had left is probably piled in the woods out of sight. Not the sharpest fella I ever met. If it is Michigan and it is June and you get a clear spell, you drop everything and do hay. End of June is very often rainy here.

I rolled up 310 bales last week. I had a little bit that I had cut Thursday of the previous week that got wet about the time it should have been baled. I baled that Monday, then baled Wednesday and Thursday. I didn't cut any more until Monday of this week, then I cut in a few passing drizzles, banking on it being good until today. The weather guessers missed it by a mile.

Not that I haven't had plenty of hay wet in 40+ years, but usually here in Kansas I can get the Brome put up with no rain...knock on wood. The Prairie Hay is usually fairly easy as you can cut it one day and bale the next. It's hard on my nerves getting brome put up with no rain, I can't imagine what you guys that get a lot of rain worries would be like. Bob

I sure wish I could send you guys some rain. I lost 3 fields ready to bale to a flash flood (4 in a matter of a couple hours) Washed most of it either out into the road or into the creek. What's left I've been trying to get dry enough to bale and get it off the field. A friend is gonna take it for mulch hay on his strip mine. That's the way it goes here in S.E. Ohio, win some and lose a lot sometimes, but I'd rather be doing hay than sitting on my butt in the house.

I baled one night trying to beat the rain...doing squares at the time....in short, I almost burned my barn down. Haven't baled in night time dew since. Now I only roll, let it rain, get the Tedder out (which I knew not of the implement at the time) as soon as it quits and the sun comes out and get on with it.

Rain ruined my winter hay crop this year, 4 months of no more than a 2-3 day break between floods and fields saturated, one of my better crops since I went heavy on the fertilizer last fall. I salvaged some of it and the rest will just compost away, will set the cutter and rake a little high for the next round and not worry about it. I'll get it back...just not this year.