That rained on hay

I've been thinking about that 24 acres of hay that's laying out there. It's not raked. It's about a 6 year old seeding. Still a fair amount of alfalfa, but it's getting real heavy with orchard grass. I cut it Tuesday. It's had 4 inches of rain on it so far and looks like it'll lay there until after the Fourth of July at the earliest.

We'll see what happens, but I'm thinking about just forgetting about it. Leave it for a month then cut the second cutting with that stuff in it. I know from experience, those Angus cows will eat anything I put in front of them. My discbine will slash through anything, so that won't be a problem. I'm thinking that if the cows will eat crap that's laid for two weeks in the rain, they'll eat it better if it has good green second cutting mixed in a few weeks later.

What got me thinking about it was, a few years ago, I cut the second cutting in the same field kind of late because we started getting too much rain when it should have been cut. In fact, it was so wet, I couldn't even get all the way down on one low end of the field. After I cut it, it got rained on again for a week. It was late August, almost Labor Day in fact before I could rake and bale it. The third cutting was coming up through it. I remember thinking at that time that if had been earlier in the year, I would have left it and cut it again and mixed the second and third, but it would have been mid September and I was afraid I would get it dry then either.

I don't know. We'll see how long it takes for the rain to stop and how it looks then.

If the seeding is on a clear decline then that is a good plan as any other. If hoping to maintain what alfalfa is there and the cut windrows are heavy then I would attempt to deal with what is there. If too far gone then maybe chop it back on the ground.

Keep us posted- my preference is to get it off the field and drop the bales in the hollow, but it happens and I would know how it works out if you just leave it lay. Mark.

I don't have a redder to spread it, but push come to shove, I could take the side gate off the rotary rake and sling it out with that. It would get it out there a little thinner and still save it to bale later, unlike chopping it. Maybe I can get MSU involved to do some research. LOL

I think it might have been the same year that the second cutting got rained on so bad, I had another field of good alfalfa third cutting down. It laid for 10 days, got rained on four times after it was raked. I finally baled it wet, in fact, I rolled the last ten bales or so in another rain. I moved them off the field, then hauled them home about November. I dropped them on the ground for the cows one at a time and darned if they didn't eat all of that mess.

When I think back to all the good hay that I pitched out of the feed alleys that those fussy Holsteins wouldn't eat....

FWIW- I have an older farm magazine from the 60's where they did a study on rained on hay. As long as the leaf doesn't shatter completely when you rake it, it's got a good deal of it's value left even after 2-3 weeks.

Around here getting hay rained on is pretty common. We have the attitude that even rained on hay feeds out better than icicles and cold wi
nd!

You know, I have dropped those junk hay rolls in the hollow, just trying to fill the low places, some even set for a year, and the beef cows will come along and eat it even when they had grass. And no ill effects- just amazes me. I was raised around dairy Holsteins too, had to have good hay for them! Mark.

If you think holsteins are fussy, try Jerseys. Neighbor had a Jersey herd. Fussiest cows I've ever seen. Lots of butterfat, though.

I would think that leaving the hay would add to the decline of the alfalfa, due to the shading from the sun. The grass will fair better, but it also will be slowed by the blocked sun shine.
I would get it off unless it is very thin.

Do you have a hay head for your harvester? Chop it into the bunk, when weather permits. Mixed with corn silage, it will all feed

As low as one end of the field is and as saturated as the ground is getting at this point, it might be a draw as to how long it'll lay before I can cut it again and how long it'll be before I could pull a loaded wagon over it. We'll see what happens over the next week.

Back when my uncle owned that place, he farmed it east and west on the north half and had two little square fields down on that low south end. A neighbor bought it and turned it around and worked it north and south so it matched up to his 80 next to it. I should have turned things back around when I bought it back. It would have made things a lot simpler over the years.

I recall something I read many years ago on this site. It was the worst haybale is better than the best snowball. I guess it would depend on how it looks when you have some drying. Multiple teddering trips may help it.

My last cutting last year got rained on for 10 days or more, I don't remember how long any more. I baled it just to get it off the field. Sold some to a neighbor who didn't have enough hay, yes I told him what it was. Fed some to my cattle too. Both ate it fine and did fine on it. I was very surprised.

Your last sentence says it all. Wait to see what it looks like when the rain stops and gives you a window to get it off there . If a lot of second is coming up through it at that point I agree, just leave it and you can get some of it in the second.

Be glad you got the rain. We haven't had an inch since the corn was planted the end of April. Sad situation....hay fields that were cut are all brown. E SD.

Ive left hay in-swath till second cut. I found it dries faster with some of that old dry hay in it
Cattle ate it all up. Im not sure you loose much value as it is no different than swath grazing all winter.

It quit again for now. I went out to fix a little bit of fence, checked the gauge again. Got another half inch. 4.5 total so far.

I'm waiting for the rain but not gonna see much in the next month is my guess. Checked the corn and it is 10-12 inches tall. Oats is 5-10, not going to be any record yields this year.
hour south of me heat is heeding out at 8 inches tall and 5 kernels per head.

We used to cut and bale vacant land to control weeds. We sold to a hay broker who sold it to a mushroom farm in the Chicago area. The mushroom farm had contracts with horse tracks and farmers for manure They werent worried about the quality of the hay so we cut and baled as soon as it dried rained on or not