Silage Moisture Tester - Knowing When to Bale

[Dry Rot]

Linky no worky. 404

http://gazeeka.com.au/products/model-870.php

 

[Clever Dic]

http://gazeeka.com.au/products/model-870.php

Thanks for that I am no good at links.

 

[dannewhouse]

Take an armful of freshly cut grass. Try to remember how heavy it feels.
Take another armful when you think it's ready to bale. If it weighs about half of what you remember the first armful felt, it might be about 40%DM.
Or it might not, depending on how good your memory is.

But if you really want to be accurate, buy a wood moisture metre for up to £20 or which you get free with a wood-burning stove. Test it on your skin, a lump of wood, a sample of grain, one of last year's straw bales etc until you have an accurate calibration.

then start on rando

Not once you're experienced, but nobody was born knowing it.

I just want a simple answer when it looks risky for hay, to wrap or not! you know the score sometimes you risk and end up with manky moldy hay.

 

[JD-Kid]

big thing is dryer balage use thick wrap and lots of it
used to do alot of stuff at 45-55% DM 6 + layers no probs most of the time alfalfa could be hard on the wrap at times same with whole crop and tough stems
had a tester years ago put sample in bag and wind down like a grain tester but after a while went away from it just made bales as tight as the baler could make them and wrap well