Raking For Drying Hay - Anyone Do This Anymore????

mardi 15 mars 2016

Edit - meant this to go into the Alfalfa/Hay section - been a long day...

Grass hay - timothy, orchard grass, teff....

Laying down some thoughts going into this Summer's hay season and how best to approach it for "us" and our time schedules after the day job is finished for the day/weekend.

With tedders on the scene - pretty much everything I read and see is - folks ted their hay, then another day rake and immediately bale - same day. Baling right behind the rake.

"Windrow" comes to mind. Is the concept of using a windrow to dry down hay obsolete now with a tedder?

As an example, I'm thinking we are going to (again around the day job schedule) cut/condition via haybine on a Thursday evening after work, ted the next morning after the dew is coming off, rake on Saturday and bale on Sunday. 4 day turn around.

All of the above assumes the weather cooperates....

Want the hay to be dry and want to retain as much color as possible.

I'm not sure we can make 3 day hay in our mountains, but we are open to it - especially with having a haybine now. Also considering adding some propionic acid too. 3 day hay would definitely be new territory for us.

But - fluffy windrows - only purpose these days - for you're operation, just to get the hay lined up for the baler - drying was taken care of by mower/conditioner and tedding. Are you baling right behind the rake?

Is the idea of raking - for drying, the day before just an oblosete idea from days gone by when there were no tedders?

It would free up a lot of labor, tractors and utilize available time around the day job to rake the day before baling - and MAYBE utilize the "wind" to dry out the windrow.