Bale moisture

[flying belgian]

My new Vermeer baler has a built-in moisture tester. I've never had a tester. Been baling small squares for 50 years without one. What should the moisture content be in dry hay?

 

[JIM MN]

Big round bale moisture levels. 15% but not over 18% Do not let get too dry!

 

[paul]

I’ve run into the same thing, didn’t know my baler had a moisture monitor until I started baling with it - what’s that number for? Hum, oh…..

Today I baled 2 bales and at times it ran out of numbers and just said ‘wet’. So over 30% I think in some slugs? Well with the water sloshing off the tires, not really a surprise. And yes I’m aware of hay bale fires, those bales are apart and more or less still sitting by the water, needed to get those 2 windrows out of my way and with the forecast that doesn’t look likely any other way. They will either be left alone and away from anything, or used up right quick. I understand the issues.

The neighbors couple bales I made were 11-15%, mostly 12-13% I think those are fine.

The couple other bales I made for myself were closer to 15-16%, also should be ok but probably not top quality hay.

Last year I made a lot of fall bales where the hay was showing ‘dry’ (under 7%) to 8%, figured they would be great bales. In the end as I fed them they were dusty and black, not at all great. Wasn’t expecting that. Hardly ever gets that dry here to bale hay at that level.

Anyhow, seems 8-12% is pretty good hay, 12-15% is ok? A little more gets by but makes me nervous?

Baled hay for decades and just went by feel and then baled. Now I have a number to watch and find myself obsessed with the number…..

Paul

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

We would bale at 25% if there was rain coming. The baler had an onboard sprayer that applied propionic acid to the hay as it went in the pickup, which kept it from heating excessively. Let it sweat out on the wagons for a couple of days, then up in the barn.

20% was "dry" but still applied the acid, but it could go straight into the barn. 16% and under was "dust dry" and no acid. Very rare to get hay under 16% in the later years.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I've been making hay by feel for 50 years and I guess I would be scared if I had a meter to check moisture with for hay. Probably would not be able to bale with it. OR else would just ignore it and bale as I did.

 

[farmersamm]

Friend of ours, who we trade favors with, had hay last year that wasn't baled too tight. We bought 16 bales for emergencies, but I never got around to picking it up. He's brought over a couple of bales this week because the clutch is out of my 1 ton.

These are what I, and most people around here, consider "put up right". Very dry, stalks in the windrow will snap when you bend them. Pick up a handful, hold it like spaghetti, and bend it..........should snap not bend.

It's a bit laid down because the guy had someone bale for him..........who made some softish bales(shrug). It's been sitting out in the weather all of the time since it was baled. He wanted to bring over this years hay, and feed this. I told him that I bought it, I never got around to picking it up, so I own it.

This stuff will look like this 2 years from now, and feed well. Dry hay is happy hay. Sure, you'll lose some of the outside wraps, but anything not damaged by water will be like the day it was baled. None of this damp stuff that gets funky over time. To date, we've, IIRC, had over 25" of rain. Surprisingly little water damage.

What with the demographics changing, and less folks running cattle..........it's not unusual to buy 2yr old hay because some guy couldn't sell it when it was cut. Good stuff has relatively little loss.

 

[MARK ROBKE]

Big round bale moisture levels. 15% but not over 18% Do not let get too dry!

I am curious-why or how hay could be too dry? Around here in Northern Ky, you are lucky to get dry enough to bale most years, but I have heard that before, don't bale hay too dry. And that's all I want, all my life, is for the hay to be dry.
Incidentally, I just bought a used Vermeer that has a moisture tester, and I averaged 14%. It was interesting to see the readings. Mark.

 

[DanielW]

I am curious-why or how hay could be too dry? Around here in Northern Ky, you are lucky to get dry enough to bale most years, but I have heard that before, don't bale hay too dry. And that's all I want, all my life, is for the hay to be dry.
Incidentally, I just bought a used Vermeer that has a moisture tester, and I averaged 14%. It was interesting to see the readings. Mark.

I'm like you most of the time, happy to get it dry enough to bale, and the drier the better. But for some of the higher-end alfalfa we sell, if it's uber dry you'll get significantly more shatter and leaf loss (especially with squares), and it's thus better to try and bale at at least 10-12%. Though admittedly the horse people who are buying it usually don't know enough to consider leaf loss. All they usually care about is colour (which is one of the worst metrics for hay quality). But because we have to cater towards the buyer, it often comes to the same thing: If it's so dry that it's shattering and losing all its leaves, chances are it got that dry because it sat out in a dry spell for an extra day or two. In which case it probably lost more colour due to more sun exposure, so the buyers might not like that. But it's very seldom we get that dry around here - the dews we get every night are almost like a light rain - Often by the time the dew has dried off enough to bale it's getting later in the day, and you barely have enough time to bale it up before the dew sets again.

For grassy hay and/or hay we bale for our own cattle, I couldn't care less about being too dry or what the colour looks like.

 

[DanielW]

I'm like you most of the time, happy to get it dry enough to bale, and the drier the better. But for some of the higher-end alfalfa we sell, if it's uber dry you'll get significantly more shatter and leaf loss (especially with squares), and it's thus better to try and bale at at least 10-12%. Though admittedly the horse people who are buying it usually don't know enough to consider leaf loss. All they usually care about is colour (which is one of the worst metrics for hay quality). But because we have to cater towards the buyer, it often comes to the same thing: If it's so dry that it's shattering and losing all its leaves, chances are it got that dry because it sat out in a dry spell for an extra day or two. In which case it probably lost more colour due to more sun exposure, so the buyers might not like that. But it's very seldom we get that dry around here - the dews we get every night are almost like a light rain - Often by the time the dew has dried off enough to bale it's getting later in the day, and you barely have enough time to bale it up before the dew sets again.

For grassy hay and/or hay we bale for our own cattle, I couldn't care less about being too dry or what the colour looks like.

I should also say to the OP: Congrats on the new baler! I've been following your posts about your trouble with the 648 for some time. A new Vermeer vs. an older NH will be a night-and-day difference.

 

[Harold Hubbard]

<14% I’ll bale with no worries.
< 17% I don’t want to store in an unventilated barn, open sided pole barn is best.
>18% will mold.
> 28% will burn.

 

[farmersamm]

Here anyways.........................

Bluestem put in a windrow by the swather: Fully dry within 48hrs
Johnson Grass put in a windrow by the swather: Ready to bale within 4 days, windrows turned once
Johnson Grass disc mowed: Ready to bale in 2 days, depending on weather.
Hay Grazer in wide windrows, full width conditioner: Ready to bale in 8 days, windrows flipped twice.

There is absolutely no variance on the 8 day drydown for Haygrazer. It will ferment if put up any earlier. If put up right, it will last 1 year in the bale. The prime limitation during storage, is the coarse nature of the crop.........it allows water to get into the bale.

Many people are afraid of Haygrazer. Nitrate poisoning is the main issue. It happens when it's over fertilized, or cut too short. Avoid it by keeping Nitrogen fertilizer to acceptable levels. and cutting when it's headed, and at least 5-8 feet tall. Stubble has to be maintained at 6" height (Nitrates are stored in the base of the plant). Other folks may have a different approach, but this is my approach. I didn't even bother testing the hay back when I grew the stuff. I knew it was safe.

Top dressing after first cut has to be at acceptable levels, and the same holds true..........don't cut until the fertilizer is used up by the plant.

There are similar fears with Johnson Grass. The only time it's dangerous is when cut immediately following drought. The plant is stressed, and will store Nitrates.

This applies to my location. I have no idea how it is in other parts of the country, even other parts of the state.

 

[paul]

Here anyways.........................

Bluestem put in a windrow by the swather: Fully dry within 48hrs
Johnson Grass put in a windrow by the swather: Ready to bale within 4 days, windrows turned once
Johnson Grass disc mowed: Ready to bale in 2 days, depending on weather.
Hay Grazer in wide windrows, full width conditioner: Ready to bale in 8 days, windrows flipped twice.

There is absolutely no variance on the 8 day drydown for Haygrazer. It will ferment if put up any earlier. If put up right, it will last 1 year in the bale. The prime limitation during storage, is the coarse nature of the crop.........it allows water to get into the bale.

Many people are afraid of Haygrazer. Nitrate poisoning is the main issue. It happens when it's over fertilized, or cut too short. Avoid it by keeping Nitrogen fertilizer to acceptable levels. and cutting when it's headed, and at least 5-8 feet tall. Stubble has to be maintained at 6" height (Nitrates are stored in the base of the plant). Other folks may have a different approach, but this is my approach. I didn't even bother testing the hay back when I grew the stuff. I knew it was safe.

Top dressing after first cut has to be at acceptable levels, and the same holds true..........don't cut until the fertilizer is used up by the plant.

There are similar fears with Johnson Grass. The only time it's dangerous is when cut immediately following drought. The plant is stressed, and will store Nitrates.

This applies to my location. I have no idea how it is in other parts of the country, even other parts of the state.

For the most part dairy folk put up alfalfa here. And most wrap or chop their first cutting wet, we can’t get a dry window in the early part of summer here. They want the protein and might not even bother with their odd patches of grass hay. Not many dairy folk left any more. Many try for 4 cuttings, 3 cuttings is also common.

Grass hay is generally an after thought, from road ditches or ground too wet to raise a real crop of corn or soybeans on. Tends to be native or mixed species of grasses. Might have been seeded years ago but natives come through and make it a mixed crop. It doesn’t get fertilized but often on the low ground that is where the nutrients naturally migrate to so it’s often plenty good fertility for the hay, just need to get the ground to dry out to make some. If the ground is fit enough to really work at making a good hay crop, then it’s good enough to put much more profitable corn in not wasted on cheap hay. It’s rare to see small squares sell over $4, common to see them at $2. Rounds likewise $20 will buy some, rare to see them over $45. Hay is abundant here, quality is controlled by weather and we struggle with too wet. We usually get 2 cuttings of grass, first is lush and maybe too ripe, second is thinner but better quality.

 

[THinAl.]

My new Vermeer baler has a built-in moisture tester. I've never had a tester. Been baling small squares for 50 years without one. What should the moisture content be in dry hay?

I think you will like this baler. I run one just like it.

 

[MARK ROBKE]

I'm like you most of the time, happy to get it dry enough to bale, and the drier the better. But for some of the higher-end alfalfa we sell, if it's uber dry you'll get significantly more shatter and leaf loss (especially with squares), and it's thus better to try and bale at at least 10-12%. Though admittedly the horse people who are buying it usually don't know enough to consider leaf loss. All they usually care about is colour (which is one of the worst metrics for hay quality). But because we have to cater towards the buyer, it often comes to the same thing: If it's so dry that it's shattering and losing all its leaves, chances are it got that dry because it sat out in a dry spell for an extra day or two. In which case it probably lost more colour due to more sun exposure, so the buyers might not like that. But it's very seldom we get that dry around here - the dews we get every night are almost like a light rain - Often by the time the dew has dried off enough to bale it's getting later in the day, and you barely have enough time to bale it up before the dew sets again.

For grassy hay and/or hay we bale for our own cattle, I couldn't care less about being too dry or what the colour looks like.

Your weather, dew conditions sound like ours. I do know alfalfa is hard to bale 'just right', I tried it for a while. About an acre or 2 is all you can bale before it changes from too much dew to too dry/leaf loss. I think it's more 'Kansas' area type of thing. But as far as grass hay, I still wonder how it could ever be 'too dry'. Mark.

 

[flying belgian]

Your weather, dew conditions sound like ours. I do know alfalfa is hard to bale 'just right', I tried it for a while. About an acre or 2 is all you can bale before it changes from too much dew to too dry/leaf loss. I think it's more 'Kansas' area type of thing. But as far as grass hay, I still wonder how it could ever be 'too dry'. Mark.

This is some alfalfa baled yesterday at 9%
I love this new baler.