Rained on hay Part II

rrlund · Jul 3, 2021

I went ahead and baled it. It was dry all the way through yesterday afternoon. so when I got done with some other good hay, I rolled 85 bales right out of the swath. Awful time consuming baling singles that way, but it cleaned it right up. I had a new seeding right next to it down, cut that Thursday. I raked that this morning and just swung over and raked what was left of the bad stuff. It was so matted down from five and a half inches of rain and had so much new growth coming up through it from laying ten days that it just smeared it pretty much. There's a big streak on each side of the windrow that got left in the field, but 119 bales are rolled up and won't be mixed in with the second cutting. The orchard grass was over ripe when I cut it and looked pretty rough, but the rest just kind of turned from green to gray. A few places in the field had so much black dust that it looked like a tire fire, but the majority of it wasn't that way.

tomturkey · Jul 3, 2021

Sometimes your the windshield,...sometimes your the bug. Sounds like you are living up to the saying!!!! gobble

NY 986 · Jul 3, 2021

You did the best that you could do. It seems like farming is getting tougher every year instead of easier.

M Nut · Jul 3, 2021

Might be surprised how much the cows will actually eat. I put out hay like that without a bale ring around them, figure they can eat what they want and use the rest for bedding. They usually eat more than I anticipate they will.

rrlund · Jul 3, 2021

If I had Holsteins I'd say it was a total loss, but I'm pretty sure these Angus mama cows will eat it and lick the ground. The first 44 bales I rolled this year got rained on too. I cut it on a Thursday, it got and inch of rain on it on Friday. I baled it on Monday. It looked pretty sick. The pastures are still adequate, but I've been dropping a bale of that in the feeder every few days and they practically come running. If I feed that stuff that I baled today along with some good stuff out of the barn this winter until it's gone, I think they'll make sure it doesn't go to waste. I've baled stuff before that got soaked after it was raked then left it in the fence row for three or four years and they cleaned it up when I finally got desperate enough to feed it.

mudcreek183 · Jul 3, 2021

We had some hay lay for 11 day one time when we baled it,I thought we would be selling as mulch had.Had it in the corner of the barn some woman with a riding stable bought a few bale the horses cleaned it all up she ended up buying it all.

Bruce from Can. · Jul 4, 2021

You did good. If it was my hay it would still be laying there, cause it rained every day since you posted the first time about this hay, until yesterday. Rain is predicted for us again Mon-Friday this week.

rrlund · Jul 4, 2021

We've got a chance Tuesday and Wednesday. I hope we get it, that 5.4 soaked away already.

john in la · Jul 4, 2021

Getting 60+ inches of rain a year; Rained on hay is just a fact of life for us.
I would much rather have rained on hay than over mature hay.
Over mature hay looses a lot of protein.
Rained on hay looses sugar but retains most of the protein.

While we strive for hay that has not been rained on; as long as you can get it dry and baled it will be fine.
You just need to realize it is not the best hay and adjust the price and or feeding accordingly.

And that is the biggest problem with hay.
People think hay in the barn is top of the line hay in the barn no matter what it went threw to get there.
I have seen people bale a field that had been flooded for a day or two before cutting and call it hay.
That is some nasty stuff for sure.

Rained on hay Part II

rrlund

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tomturkey

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NY 986

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M Nut

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rrlund

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mudcreek183

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Bruce from Can.

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rrlund

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john in la

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