baling hay a little early???

Hey folks,
Had a late but good hay season because of a wet spring and dry summer. Usually only get 1 cut in this area but this year we got a lot of rain in August and early September. I had to mow a couple acres that is usually just left laying but it's a shame to let it go to waste this time because it's quite a bit. Anyway, is my baler (small square) gonna care if it's got a little extra moisture in it? Not wet, but not the way I'd like to bale it to put in the barn. Only baling it to get it in and it will be fed right away. Should I be OK?

Dave

the baler should bale it
I would not stack it together tightly
nor would I put it in a bldg
good luck
Ron

It'll be fed out in a week or so and stacked loose until it's gone. Probably better than I am describing it. What I mowed today is on a south facing slope with plenty of breeze and sun all day.

Dave

Should be fine as long as you loosen the tension on the bale chamber. You'll be surprised at how much you will need to loosen it. If you bust a shear pin right off the bat, it's definintely too tight. Also be sure to completely empty out the bale chamber when finished as any left-over hay (high moisture) will rust up stuff like you wouldn't believe.

Dave2,

If you don't loosen the tension from where you normally have it set,
you might want to eat your Wheaties before you go pick up the
bales. Moist hay really packs tightly and the bales will weigh
considerably more than the normal dry ones.

Have fun,

Tom in TN

Just cut a bunch today. Four years ago, according to the TV weatherman we had 4" of snow on this date. I"ve had a real bad summer for haying, machinery breakdowns, weather, lack of labor help, and a baler with a troublesome knotter all helped. Weather has been hot and sunny, and I put up a bunch last week. Hay is so thick and ingrown that I can"t cut it with a conventional mower. Have a flail forage chopper that I removed the auger and trough. Shoots cuttings right out the back and onto the ground. Does a fair job when nothing else will. Hay is pretty well beat up and chopped, so bales are made of pretty fluffy material. Have to TIGHTEN bale tension to get good bales. Anyway, this is way late for us here in Michigan, Corn and bean harvest is well underway!

Allow for air circulation,,In the barn spontaneous combustion would not be your friend.
Mould could be a factor also.

Dave,
Sprinkle some minreal salt on it as you stack the bales you will have no mold and a good source of fresh feed.

an old fire adjuster once told me he never saw a fire start in a mow where there was a foot of space left between the old hay and the new hay. It was always when new hay was stacked against or on top of the old.

dave2
IIRC all you have to feed hay to is horses If I still owned a horse(which I did for over 50 yrs) I wouldn't dare feed hay that's damp(very possibly moldy/mildew in a short period of time) to a horse.

Horses have the most sensitive digestion system of any animal on earth.

Spreading salt will convince your animals to eat the mouldy hay they normally wouldn't touch. You can't reasonably evenly spread enough salt to stop wet hay from moulding or catching fire.

Its been tested at ag universities and disproven.

Get an acid sprayer for your baler if you want to safely put up high moisture hay.

Use care once baled, maybe loosen the tension on the chamber, ( loose bales ) if you can. I've had to deal with this scenario more than I'd like to remember, there seems to be a point where it will either dry, mold or even just sour a bit, I've never tried the salt routine, might be a solution.

I've baled fields that had moist soil, springs where it stays wet, 2nd cut that came in thick because it was fertilized after the 1st, even with plenty of sun, 70 deg temps and a breeze, down a week, tedded, still lost some really nice quality 2nd cut, this year would have been great for these fields, being so dry. Sometimes it just does not dry in time, and you can tell by checking those bales, seeing how much they weigh, which I have done by stacking behind the kicker.

You can try it, but stick a hand in those bales, look, smell, what have you. I've had some luck feeding it out quickly but it seems to turn fast. Small stack, lots of air circulating may help, cut ends up. Our barn needs roof work and I am constantly dealing with moldy hay, it is a real pain in the @ss, we had 17 horses, but are down to 8 for the winter. Seems it won't mold in cold temps but for the most part I cannot stand dealing with moldy hay, paranoid about missing some and it getting into a stall, especially with hired help on the place, though the other person knows, one mistake and you can lose one.

(quoted from post at 03:49:54 10/13/10)
dave2
IIRC all you have to feed hay to is horses If I still owned a horse(which I did for over 50 yrs) I wouldn't dare feed hay that's damp(very possibly moldy/mildew in a short period of time) to a horse.

Horses have the most sensitive digestion system of any animal on earth.

Click to expand...

baling is only a means of getting it from the field to the horses. Only talking about 20 bales or so which will be reopened and fed immediately. Was just wondering if I'd hurt the baler.

Dave

I don"t know what university you talk of but I do know that many farmers have salted there hay in our area for alot of yrs with no problem for hayburners or cattle, some have been farming for 60 or more yrs. I have salted bales in my barn as we talk and I don"t see any problems.Have been at it for about 30yrs.