Crap hay overwinter - mix with new?

Rained on hay, brown and slimy... Do you try to get as much as you can off the field before winter? Or just let it settle to the bottom and decay?

I have done both. If it's pretty heavy, I worry about winter kill and do my best to get it off. But, if there's only enough that the new grass is already growing through it, I've left it.

'Course the boss complains that the old hay messes up the new bales and makes buyers think the hay got rained on. I'm a bit less concerned with a few strands of the old hay mixed in - cause it's normally super dry! Not the most nutritious.... But, it ain't gonna mold!

Anybody else have concerns that last years "crap hay" makes the new crop less marketable?

Crap hay overwinter - mix with new?