Anyone made any hay yet?

[4course]

after god knows how many years of making hay have today learnt never to load hay thats been caught in a shower onto a metal floored trailer and leave overnight, more steam than the flying scotsman, now wrapped

 

[NewlandFarmServices]

Erm, hypothetically speaking how long can you reckon on leaving grass on the ground in the wet before it’s no good for hay?
(Asking for a friend)

Hmm good question. As I'm sure many others have lost the lottery when making hay due to rainfall. My saying is I can handle the odd shower mainly during the early stages on cutting. But towards the dry end I don't want rain. The thing all depends on grass type, amount of rainfall and if it has time to be sorted out. Quality and colour goes and so does the start of black spores so it's a very hard decision to make. I'm contiplating flail mowing all what got down if it looks bad and don't have the window to sort it out. As to much grass kicking about so it not worth the extra time sorting it out if conditions arnt there.

 

[690 multi-power]

202 bales off 2 acres. Never missed a knot! quality Massey Ferguson!

 

[Goweresque]

Do you charge extra for jaggy seating?

What does jaggy mean?

 

[glasshouse]

What does jaggy mean?

Thistles

 

[Goweresque]

Thistles

My hay doesn't have thistles in it, well not too many anyway

 

[haymaker80]

Erm, hypothetically speaking how long can you reckon on leaving grass on the ground in the wet before it’s no good for hay?
(Asking for a friend)

One particularly wet summer, we had some down for about 6 weeks before it was baled, had more than 5 inches rain on it. Cattle still ate it, didn't have much choice mind. We were still haymaking in September that year, the 'first cut' had gone flat by then and 'second cut' grown up through it!

 

[glasshouse]

My hay doesn't have thistles in it, well not too many anyway

 

[FG.]

One particularly wet summer, we had some down for about 6 weeks before it was baled, had more than 5 inches rain on it. Cattle still ate it, didn't have much choice mind. We were still haymaking in September that year, the 'first cut' had gone flat by then and 'second cut' grown up through it!

Would that of been 2012?
I was still trying to make hay end of september, inbetween snatching some wheat.
I remember using a little 4x4 tractor with rear mounted spike to rescue a field of round bales sat in 2 foot of water.
Mind you, I also had a deadline to meet, as consultant said I really needed to start chemo by 1st wk in October.

 

[glasshouse]

My dad went off to canada for 4 wks in 85
The hay was cut before he left in july
It was stull in the field when he returned
Fortuneately i had disobeyed him in the spring and put chlormequat on the wheat and our wheat was the only wheat in the county that wasnt steamroller flat and this yr is heading the same way

 

[robs1]

My dad went off to canada for 4 wks in 85
The hay was cut before he left in july
It was stull in the field when he returned
Fortuneately i had disobeyed him in the spring and put chlormequat on the wheat and our wheat was the only wheat in the county that wasnt steamroller flat and this yr is heading the same way

Remember that year well, I cut some for a customer who had horses, was down well over a month and even in the end had to leave several areas as the ground was so wet couldnt get the small baler through it, we went to the lake district early sept with some friends on holiday and they were still trying to make 1st cut silage on lots of farms, was worse than 2012 I think

 

[glasshouse]

Remember that year well, I cut some for a customer who had horses, was down well over a month and even in the end had to leave several areas as the ground was so wet couldnt get the small baler through it, we went to the lake district early sept with some friends on holiday and they were still trying to make 1st cut silage on lots of farms, was worse than 2012 I think

August and sept were a washout that yr
There was one dry day in august when we got some hay and winter barley
Everything else was left till mid october
We were very lucky to have made our first bigbale silage in bags in june
And we got the rape cut but very wet, our first go.
Everyone with peas ploughed them in

 

[pipkins]

Contractor did well to get ours baled and stacked in field dry but uncovered, then been rained on almost every day since. Am I doing the right thing just leaving it as it is to dry? Been lovely here since the ealry hours so hoping I can get a load in safely this evening, rain due again tomorrow. Can afford to lose the top and bottom layers and it's only really for small fat ponies and native sheep once the grass runs out.

Or am I wasting my time now?

 

[Still Farming]

View attachment 818848View attachment 818850this stuff is abit lively still but I think I’m going to take a chance and get it baled later, the forecast is poor for a few days from tonight. I’ll leave them on trailers for a while

We had very good made hay, made end of june and bales out of 14 days no rain and still warming a bit in barn ???

 

[Still Farming]

Surprisingly talking to few in The Royal Welsh and even with all the tremendous weather we have had ,NOT many had made hay YET ?

 

[ffukedfarmer]

Salvage job. Rest of it being wrapped in the morning. Hopefully before more rain

 

[Goweresque]

Well thats me done for the year. Last hay of the year baled up yesterday afternoon, hauled in, machinery put away, and the rain started an hour later

I think we've made more hay this year, in yield terms than any other year since I've been doing it. A rough calculation suggests about 270 tonnes off 135 acres, of which 75 acres was unfertilised and 60 acres had 50kg/ac of AN on. Crops weren't that tall, but were very thick in the bottom.

 

[robs1]

Glad we took the gamble to finish second cut last week, might get a bit of extra to cut late Sept if the weather is kind but not fussed if we dont

 

[Hurdle bunter]

got this block wrapped up yesterday, was going to get wetter before it got dryer

 

[michael N123]

been endless showers this last few week the wrappers been busy