Table of Contents
What pattern do you use to rake hay?
On your back and forth rows first rake a pass toward the edge, leaving a rake width of unraked hay. At the end of the row make a left-hand U-turn to double up the row. When you get to the other end turn left and skip a rake width and start over.
What speed do you rake hay?
You should be on a smooth field in good hay in the 7 -10 mph range. I know the tractor I use 6th gear is slow and 7th to fast although I will rake in 7th at half to 3/4 throttle if the field is flat and smooth, wish I had a gear in between.
When should hay be raked?
As a rule of thumb, wait to rake hay until after the dew has dried and the sun nears its peak, around 11 a.m. If possible, let the raked hay sit for an hour or two before baling to allow more drying time. Haymakers have several types of rakes available.
What are the three types of hay rakes?
“The four most prominent styles of hay rakes are wheel rakes, parallel bar (rollabar) rakes, rotary rakes, and belt rakes. Let’s look at each of these.” These rakes are built for speed and productivity when handling dry hay. Wheel rakes are simple machines that require minimal adjustments for proper operation.
When should you rake hay after rain?
If possible, raking alfalfa at moistures between 30% to 40% is often a good compromise between low leaf loss and good drying,” according to OMAFRA. “Leaf loss can be extremely high if raking at 20% moisture. Hay that is almost dry is less likely to shatter when raked in the early morning when the dew is still on.”Apr 25, 2012.
How much should I charge for raking hay?
A common rule of thumb is that it costs approximately $50 per ton to cut, rake, bale and stack hay at the edge of the field. That figure may be lower if doing lots of acres and it may be higher when doing small pieces.
How long does it take to rake an acre?
If the government decided to invest in forestry cutters, the mulch that’s left behind would need to be bagged and removed. Milbourne said that clearing an acre of leaves would take two or three people about four to six hours on average.
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.
Does raking hay help it dry?
Raking tends to roll the wetter hay from the bottom of the swath to the outer surface of the windrow, which improves drying. Following the initial improvement, the increase in swath density can reduce drying rate, so the crop moisture content at raking is important.
Is tedding hay necessary?
Tedding hay is an essential part of the hay making process as it speeds up the drying of the hay, this in turn reduces moisture rot once hay is baled and eliminates the possibility of spontaneous combustion of bales due to bacterial decomposition of grass.
How does a hay wheel rake work?
Types. A hay rake may be mechanized, drawn by a tractor or draft animals, or it may be a hand tool. This rake gathered cut hay into windrows by repeated operation perpendicular to the windrow, requiring the operator to raise the rake, turn around and drop the teeth to rake back and forth in order to form the windrow.
What is the difference between tedding and raking hay?
In order to speed the drying time of the hay, tedding is generally done the second day after the hay has been mowed or after a heavy rainfall. Raking, however, is not done until the hay has less than 35 percent to 45 percent moisture content. Raking is usually done right before baling.
Can you Ted hay with a rotary rake?
The rotary rake will speed drying but by a limited amount. If you need to ted three days in a row you can do that a lot easier than re-raking in an attempt to fluff your hay back up.
What is a rotary hay rake?
KUHN rotary rakes produce fluffy, well-formed windrows to help you dry your hay faster. This allows you to harvest your crops at their peak nutritional value with less reliance on the weather. Long, flexible tines touch the crop just once, lifting and depositing it neatly into the windrow.
Are rotary rakes good?
Rotary rakes: Rotary rakes often are touted for leaving a fluffy windrow, allowing for good air movement and drying. Rotor settings and ground speed need proper synchronization. An improperly adjusted rake can turn a potentially high-quality crop into a product with too few leaves and too much soil.
What is a bar hay rake?
Parallel-bar rakes, which are sometimes called basket rakes, have been used on farms for many years and still remain popular today. This type of rake has a gentle raking action with a lower chance of soil contamination than the wheel rake. A parallel-bar rake will cost more than a similarly sized wheel rake.
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.
Is wet hay OK for horses?
Soaking hay for horses can be invaluable when feeding a hay that is a little dusty as a result of soil contamination or where it was stored in the barn. Horses that have allergies and are sensitive to the natural dust and particles in hay can benefit significantly from wetting or soaking hay.
What if it rains after cutting 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.
