Table of Contents
How long after cutting hay can you bale it?
Proper dry matter content for chopping haylage can often be achieved within 24 hours as compared to three to four days for dry hay.
What equipment do you need to cut and bale hay?
Hay Equipment A compact tractor is the staple of every operation, but mowers, conditioners, hay rakes, balers, and sometimes hay tedders and bale wrappers are also needed. Pay close attention to make sure your tractor has enough engine horsepower to meet the horsepower requirement for each implement.
How do you bale your own hay?
How To Bale Hay Using Hand Hay Baler Tutorial: Step 1: Build Your Baler. | Step 2: Stand Baler Firmly On A Level Ground. | Step 3: Cut Polypropylene Twine And Tie Loops. Step 4: Attach Twine In The Baler. Step 5: Close Baler’s Door. Step 6: Put Hay Into the Baler Box. Step 7: Depress The Baler’s Plunger. Step 8: Tie Off Loops.
Can you cut and bale hay the same day?
In a trial at the University of Wisconsin Arlington Research Station (Figure 2) where alfalfa was put into a wide swath it reached 65 percent moisture in about eight hours and could be harvested for haylage the same day as cutting.
How many times a year can you cut hay?
In most areas of the country, grass hay can be cut twice, sometimes three times, per year. The first cutting generally has the largest yield. Some animals, like sheep, prefer the tender stems of second or third cutting hay.
What size tractor do I need for baling hay?
Most standard square balers on the market require 35 horsepower at your tractor’s PTO, and a minimum tractor weight of around 3000 pounds. That means that they cannot be run with today’s compact tractors.
How much does a hay cutter cost?
For harvesting 4-foot-by-5-foot round bales, estimated new equipment costs are $25,000 for a rotary mower/conditioner, $5,500 for a 10-foot rake, $35,000 for the baler and $55,000 for an adequate-sized tractor. The total is an investment of $120,500.
What attachment do you use to cut hay?
Mower – These machines are used to mow the hay. There are basically two types of mowers: sickle bar and disc or rotary.. The sickle bar type mower provides a neat, clean cut of the forage. The sickle bar type of mower provides a neat, clean cut of the forage.
How do you cut hay by hand?
The proper method cutting hay by hand: stand with your legs apart and knees slightly bent. Three ropes tied around the width and a fourth wrapped lengthwise hold together each 70- to 90-pound bate of sun-dried hay. Swing your scythe and torso from right to left, concentrating on a smooth, whole-body pivot.
Is it worth it to bale hay?
Having someone bale hay for you can be expensive; at the very least, it’ll result in splitting a percentage of the crop in lieu of payment, which can leave you short of your hay needs. If your needs surpass 100 bales, however, or if you want to guarantee quality, it’s worth considering baling your own hay.
How do you harvest hay without a baler?
If you don’t have a barn you can just pile your hay on pallets or some brush and then place a tarp over it.
How tall should grass hay be cut?
The first cutting in the spring should be when grass has greened up and reached 12 – 16 inches tall. This should clean up all the old growth of winter weeds and such. Then each subsequent cutting is at 3.5 to 5 week intervals.
When should you cut hay?
On average the entire process of mowing, raking and baling hay takes 3 days—in good weather. Therefore, pastures should be cut when a window of at least 3 days of sunny, dry, hot weather can be expected. Some farmers cut on the last day of a rainy spell in order to maximize the number of hours of drying time.
Why do farmers 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.
Does rain hurt cut hay?
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.
What is the best time of day to mow hay?
“That’s probably what evened out the effect of cutting later in the afternoon.” In many environments, in fact, morning cutting can ensure that hay has more hours of sunlight, and therefore dries more quickly—making it the preferred time of day.
Why do farmers leave hay bales in the field?
If they are scattered around the field the farmer is just waiting for a convenient time to pick them up and move them. If lined up along the edge of the field they are being stored there. Big round bales can handle being left outside, and even if the outside looks weathered the inside will be good for a year or longer.
