Hay question do you cut or wait

So it is been very hot and very dry here. I have around 4 acres or hay to cut but they are calling for maybe some rain Friday and Saturday. So do I cut it now or should I wait till after we get rain. Temp here are in or close to 100. My thinking is if we get some rain the under growth will green up. But of course if we don't get the rain the hay could get worse

The hay is probably going backwards in the heat. if you can get it off before the rain I would think it would help the 2 nd cutting a good start. My 2 cents Bryan

Putting off mowing hay for 3 or 4 days, isn't going to ruin hay, or make it that much worse. May get a tad over mature, sure. It's putting it off for weeks or longer, when quality really starts going downhill.

That said, not sure how long you've been playing the weather mans game.

If windows between rains simply can't be dodged, it's usually better to mow right ahead of a rain (so hay is still green when it gets rained on), than it is to mow far enough ahead of time that the hay is almost dry enough to bale when it gets rained on.
Better put, the drier the hay is when it gets rained on, the more damage the rain will do to hay that is down. Fresh cut hay, doesn't really obsorb much rain water. But drier hay will obsorb more rain water, and basically begin the process of rotting in the process of drying back out.

I don't know. I usually wait to dodge rains if I can. Sometimes that doesn't always work. And sometimes the weather man is only right about half the time.

With rain in the forecast, sometimes how late I already am, is the deciding factor. If it needed to be mowed down 2 weeks ago, I pay less attention to the weather forecast. If I had planned to mow tomorrow, I pay more attention to the weather forecast.

I'm sure opinions will vary on this.

Old
You have a rain cloud that follows you around.

If you cut, you will MAKE it rain..

I'm dry, go ahead and cut. I need rain.

A guy 2 miles away cuts his big field in thirds.

He only cuts what he can bale.

(quoted from post at 04:02:22 07/06/22) Old
You have a rain cloud that follows you around.

If you cut, you will MAKE it rain..

I'm dry, go ahead and cut. I need rain.

A guy 2 miles away cuts his big field in thirds.

He only cuts what he can bale.

Click to expand...

Geo, when I have an excellent forecast I cut three times what I can bale.

Old, it depends on how heavy the hay is, and how much of Friday I had to get it raked and baled. Your dry ground is a very big factor. So far as the green undergrowth, after getting the hay off on Thursday-Friday, I would be putting a little nitrogen on it and baling it in early Sept.

Hmmm.... What does the Good Book say?

Square or round bales? For cattle or horses?round bales for cattle if it gets rained on the same day or early the next just fluff or turn it over to dry.square bales for horses as said it if gets rained on soon after cutting its ok maybe rake it a little sooner

Used to be a fellow near me no matter what the forecast if he cut hay it would get rained on,if he cut I would wait.

There was a summer when I was farming that was terrible for getting hay dry, and the weather forecasts just made it harder. I stopped listening to the weather experts and started watching the barometer. If it was going up I would cut. If it was going down I would wait. It worked out quite well.

Only 4 acres, should have been cut yesterday morning.

You can never bale hay if it doesnt get cut. And its no good sitting in the house waiting for it to rain, so you can go cut hay, nothing ever gets done. You just have to take a risk.

I'm on the in-between, maybe I could catch a drop or two.

general observation, should have been cut, 2 hrs to cut it, 2 days max to dry it , 2 hrs to bale it = lots of time

Too many unanswered questions. What is the chance of rain on both days?Then what type of hay and how ripe it is getting? First or second cutting, second I would think was alrady past time and dying. Here it is just about normal time to cut third cutting alfalfa. alfalfa. 2 nights ago very heavy rain, sunny yesterday then last night very heavy rain again. Were talking about 50% chance for tomorrow and then 30% chance for the dext day. Water standing all over now bur was so dry the corn was currled up. And where corn is said to be knee high there is corn that has a long way to get to knee high today and some shoulder high. If it was already over ripe then I would take a chance today but if just getting to desired cutting stage I would wait.

Everything we do is a gamble. We weren't supposed to get rain for 4 days, so I mowed as much as I could bale in 1 day. The night I mowed it we got a heavy rain with flash flooding, washing some of it out in the road and into fences down the road. Rain continued for 3 days so I lost all of it. I gambled and lost this time, next time I might win. I do believe they call that farming, and this old man usually either watches the wrong weather guesser on TV or on the phone, but like you I'll just keep on trying. My Grandpa used to say more hay is ruined waiting for it to rain than getting rained on. Keith

Since there calling for rain on Friday and Saturday I think I'll wait till next week to cut it

Still first cutting due to it being so wet in May.

I baled first cutting mixed alfalfa/grass hay Memorial day time. Second cutting was approaching and I had similar questions, my Buddy said his dad always said "you have to challenge the forecast some years."

I mowed half my acres the morning of 6/27 and we baled 6/29, extremely dry ground and perfect drying conditions. I mowed the other half 7/2 and baled that up on 7/3 before the fireworks. Crazy how fast it dried, a bit sandy and lighter crop due to lack of rain since first.

We've gotten over two inches of rain in the past two days with more on its way, regrowth looks awesome! Some years, you just get lucky.