Can you make hay without sun?

“However, with the additives now available, it is possible to bale hay with moisture content from 16% up to 30%. So you can bale hay on those days when the sun just doesn’t come out, or start a few hours early and bale longer after the sun has disappeared, to make the most of haying weather.”

How do you make the best hay?

Can hay be too dry?

When hay is too dry before baling, the leaves of the forage become stiff and brittle, making them much more likely to fall off. In many cases, a significant portion of hay’s nutritive value lies in the leafy portions of the herbs used to make the hay.

What time of day is best to cut hay?

Though starches and simple sugars accumulate during the day, a substantial amount of these carbohydrates are used up during the night for growth and maintenance (via the processes of respiration). Therefore, cutting the crop at night will likely maximize the sugar in the crop, at least at the time of cutting.

When should I rake hay after cutting?

Once the hay has been tedded and is nearly dry, it is ready to rake. Raking turns the hay one more time to dry the bottom and forms it into a windrow ready to be baled.

Does rain ruin cut hay?

Rainfall reduces dry matter yield

Wisconsin researchers found that: 1 inch of rain on alfalfa after 1 day of drying caused 22 percent dry matter loss. Similar hay dried without rain damage lost only 6.3 percent of the starting yield. 1.6 inches of rain on alfalfa over a few days caused 44 percent dry matter loss.

What is the best way to cut hay?

Wait until you have 3 days of dry weather so you can cure and bale the hay without it getting wet. Cut your hay with a sickle mower or sickle haybine if you have a small or medium-sized field or a disk mower, if you have a large field. Then, use a baler at a steady, moderate speed, which will be the most effective.

Does rain ruin fresh cut hay?

Quality and Quantity. Research at Iowa State University found that fresh-cut hay with less than 1 inch of rain took a few more hours to dry, but didn’t suffer much, if any, quality or quantity loss. A light rain on nearly dry hay, though, caused significant losses.

Can you cut hay with dew on it?

Avoid cutting hay until the morning dew has fully dried. “There is enough water that must leave the plants already without adding more from the nightly dew,” Kaatz says. “The bottom of windrows also absorb moisture from the soil, so keep drying hay off of wet soils as much as possible to avoid added moisture content.”

How do you grow organic hay?

If you want to get any type of hay started in the spring organically, it’s best to do it with a nurse crop. In your case, that probably means a full regimen of tillage, then planting oats with the hay crop. The oats will germinate quickly and protect the young hay seedlings from weed pressure early in the season.

When should I cut hay?

Therefore, the best time to do any cutting is when grasses have reached what is called the “late boot stage”. This stage is typically reached after 6 to 8 weeks of growth in the spring or 6 to 8 weeks after a previous cutting. The “late boot stage” is when the seed head of the grasses first pops out of the sheath.

Do hay bales go bad?

With too much moisture, hay can spoil while baled hay can experience thermal expansion—causing it to combust and creating a severe hazard. Because of this, checking the moisture content of hay with a hay moisture meter before baling begins is an integral part of harvesting.

Is it OK to cut hay with dew on it?

Avoid cutting hay until the morning dew has fully dried. “There is enough water that must leave the plants already without adding more from the nightly dew,” Kaatz says. “The bottom of windrows also absorb moisture from the soil, so keep drying hay off of wet soils as much as possible to avoid added moisture content.”

Can I cut wet hay?

Tip #1 – Cut hay after the morning dew dries.

Wet fields will also add to the moisture content of drying hay. Moisture gets soaked up from the soil into the bottom of the windrow if it is contact with wet soils, so keep drying hay off these soils.

Is hay ruined if it gets rained on?

Rained-on hay often has relatively high protein values compared to fiber content unless there’s great leaf loss. Leaves contain a lot of the plant’s protein. As soluble carbohydrates leach, structural fibers make up a greater percent of forage dry matter. The digestibility of rained-on hay can decline 6 to 40 percent.

What happens if it rains on cut hay?

If hay has partially dried and become brittle, quality can especially be lost to leafy forage when rained on after being cut. The force of the rain shatters the leaves which are the highly digestible and high protein portion of the crop.

Can horses eat wet hay?

Wet hay typically goes through a fermentative state, of sorts, and it would not be good for the horse to eat it while this was happening,” she continued. Caution should be used in purchasing hay that was wet when baled. Too much moisture affects the quality of baled hay.

How do you make good hay?

To make good hay good sunny dry weather is necessary. The percentage moisture of the grass can be at 70% in dry weather when cut. This needs to be brought down to the late teens or 20% to make good hay. Good sunshine will help in the drying process and in the making of good hay.

Is it too late to cut hay?

The answers to these questions are usually something like… “it is fine to harvest through the first week of September”, and… “we recommend harvesting at least six weeks before the killing frost.” On average, the alfalfa killing frost (24 to 25 degrees F) in northeast Iowa occurs in the third to fourth week of October.

Is it OK to cut hay at night?

Though starches and simple sugars accumulate during the day, a substantial amount of these carbohydrates are used up during the night for growth and maintenance (via the processes of respiration). Therefore, cutting the crop at night will likely maximize the sugar in the crop, at least at the time of cutting.

How can I dry hay fast?

Swath width is an easy adjustment that has a big impact on drying time. Lay the crop as wide as practical. Do not cut hay into a tight windrow. A wider swath will dry faster, because more drying area of the hay is exposed to sun and wind.