A real farmer knows that the nutritional value of hay is highest at it's peak. Everyday after peak is a day that drops the value. Once the hay gets to the point that it is standing dead grass, it is no longer hay, but straw.
So, if you cut your hay when it is at it's peak, and it gets rained on, the rain will turn the hay a nasty color, but, as long as you can get it to dry out to the moisture proper for baling, it is still nutritionally value hay. I see classified ads all teh time that say, "hay for sale, never rained on." but, they don't tell you that it was baled in july or august. In my climate(and your climate will vary) the orchard grass becomes most nutritional at the 3rd week of may-1st week of june. So, you cut the hay when it is ripe and the forecast looks half decent. Give it 2 days of dry, including the day you cut it, check the moisture, then bale it. If it isn't dry enough, give it another day, then bale it. If it is borderline, go ahead and bale it, and salt the stack. salty hay is better than straw. Horses love it, as long as you give them plenty of water.
If it does get rained on, it turns an ugly color, but, it is still much better than baling too late.
as far as predicting the weather, there is not a good way to do it without knowing what teh jet stream is doing, and knowing where the high and low pressure areas are, and basically, you can only make as good of a guess as teh forecaster does.
Unless you have my knee. My knee hurts like sin if it is going to rain soon. I've had a few false alarms, but the humidity was 100% on those days.
You can almost feel rain coming, and you can watch for cloud movement, but, you are at teh mercy of it all.
I hope you get yoru hay put up, regardless if it looks rotted or not. rotted good hay is merely "turned silage." It's much more apetizing to the horses than old dead straw from grass.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Women and Tractors - More Views From the Farmer's Wife - by Teri Burkholder. The top ten reasons why the judges wouldn't let you participate in the stock antique tractor pull: Hey, this is stock! It came with that V8 in it! That "R" on my tires stands for "really old" not radial! Blue gas? We thought it was a pretty color! What wire hooked to my throttle?
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
Sell 1958 Hi-Altitude Massey Fergerson tractor, original condition. three point hitch pto engine, Runs well, photos available upon request
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
