Good information on hay harvesting.

Here is the Ah Ha information, I just fell upon this article 10 years ago.

What I did was print off a number of charts and graphs. Then I copied the charts and graphs and recopied the charts and graphs for a larger more useful chart or graph, Georgia says that bermudagrass cut on 42 day cycles will provide 12% CP hay.

http://ift.tt/1xzqPva This publication provided me some first very good information, that got me on the roads to higher quality as well as higher quantity bermudagrass & alfalfa hay yields. .

This has some good information for small square baling also/

http://ift.tt/1GWPFud

Dan Undersander has some good information that directly applies in the Humid East but requires some translation in the arid West.

http://ift.tt/1xzqPLq

The author of this one is an Ag Engineer who has measured with a fine micrometer But all his work has been done in Michigan, Wisconsin, and now Pennsylvania. Excellent information, but we must consider the local climates that he worked with.

http://ift.tt/1GWPFuh...

Some information on raking.

http://ift.tt/1GWPFuh...

Some information from Mississippi.

http://ift.tt/1GWPFuj

http://ift.tt/1xzqOHo

There are many more publications that have a lot of value, to some nuggets of information.

Something to think about. TAMU 20 or so years ago tried a range of bermudagrass yields. They applied up to 800 lbs/A per season and had some phenomenal bermudagrass hay yields. Normal bermudagrass yields are easily in the 12 - 14 % protein levels. BUT the TAMU soils lab report normal hay to be in the 6% maybe 8% protein levels. This is saying Texas Hay producers are leaving a good bit of their standing hay quality and quantity was left on the ground. I believe with different goals and longer harvesting intervals the total yields could have been higher with more useful quality results.

A few years ago I suggested some qualified Professional come up with presentations for the growers improved yields.

Sixty years ago I learned to bale hay. 30 years ago I learned there were better ways to put up hay. Now I expect to learn more every year.

We have all been told we should rake hay above 40% moisture, to hold the leaves. That actually was only half of the story. The leaves dry much faster than the stems. We can dry hay that the moisture tester will report above 40% moisture, when the leaves are gun powder dry while the stems are still wet enough to give us a false security, as we rake all the dry leaves off the still damp stems.

There more publications than I have here. There is additional good information that has been updated and the links have changed.

If & when you find later information pass the word. jfbw@aol.com .

Good information on hay harvesting.