rain on hay

[mjsnodgrass]

for the first time in 25 years, my cut hay got rained on. the hay has been down 2 days. i know i've been fortunate this hasn't happened before. as this hasn't happened before to me, i'm unsure how to procced. it didn't rain real hard, just a slow drizzle last night. the top of the hay is starting to dry out, but the bottom is pretty wet. thanks for any suggestions.

 

[joeysmith]

Grease the rake an get to work
Not the end of the world just keep it fluffed up
Rake in the afternoon after the top has dried well

 

[RBnWA]

If you have a tedder Ted it or like Joey said rake it. Get it fluffed up so air can get thru to help it dry. Suppose to be hot Sat and Sun this weekend. RB

 

[jhwis]

for the first time in 25 years, my cut hay got rained on. the hay has been down 2 days. i know i've been fortunate this hasn't happened before. as this hasn't happened before to me, i'm unsure how to procced. it didn't rain real hard, just a slow drizzle last night. the top of the hay is starting to dry out, but the bottom is pretty wet. thanks for any suggestions.

Good lord, I gotta ask. Never had rained on hay? How many bales you make a year....100?

 

[mjsnodgrass]

Good lord, I gotta ask. Never had rained on hay? How many bales you make a year....100?

just a hobby. only do 1000 or so.

 

[mjsnodgrass]

Grease the rake an get to work
Not the end of the world just keep it fluffed up
Rake in the afternoon after the top has dried well

i know it's no big deal haha. i was just unsure how soon to rerake it. after the top has dried well is what i was thinking as well. just wanted to hear it from someone with more experience. i appreciate the help. thanks

 

[jhwis]

just a hobby. only do 1000 or so.

Just rake it up and turn it over a few times. It happens to the best of us.

 

[560Dennis]

Keep raking till it drys out , not to fast , nice and easy .

 

[johnnmr]

I assume you have 2 windrows raked together.

Just use the edge of the rake to fluff/turn over the windrow after it dries out.

Generally getting 1 side rained on doesn't hurt quality much. But getting the 2nd side rained on too can turn hay into manure.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

Two says you may be able to save it. If it's already raked once just turn it over using half the rake width after the ground dries some. Rake the opposite direction so it doesn't rope up.

 

[jon f mn]

Being from the land of too much rain, this happens a lot here. The more you mess with it the worse it will be. Let it dry til almost dry then turn it. But make sure you have enough time for it to dry and bale before the next rain. If you leave it as cut it can get a fair amount of rain and still be usable. But once you rake or Ted it, any rain then will quickly turn it to junk.

 

[Texasmark]

for the first time in 25 years, my cut hay got rained on. the hay has been down 2 days. i know i've been fortunate this hasn't happened before. as this hasn't happened before to me, i'm unsure how to procced. it didn't rain real hard, just a slow drizzle last night. the top of the hay is starting to dry out, but the bottom is pretty wet. thanks for any suggestions.

That/s the beauty of a Tedder. Tedders have tynes that rotate and scatter the hay, mixing wet and dry and depth is very shallow allowing for increased exposure to air and sunlight if you have any...something a rake won't give you. I fought wet spring hay for years (only having a rake) and one day stumbled upon the idea of a Tedder...probably was on this forum.....where else....grin.

I'm amazed at how fast the tedder gets the hay to dry out. Other thing with the Tedder is that the tynes smack the stalks as it distributes them causing them to crack which allows stem sap to exit much faster aiding in the fast drying.

I have had 2 brands. Currently I have a Tar River drag type that I prefer over the other brand which was of a different design....slightly, and was 3 pt. The TR has a depth crank and is drawbar operated. I run 7 turns of the crank from transport to field use and the results are the same every time. With a 3 pt you have to guess the height every time you go to the field and put the 3 pt down.

 

[Tgrasher]

I feel for you, got stopped baling (4×5 round) at 6 o'clock last evening as we were getting near done but had a couple acres to go. Got one 33 ft trailer load to the hay shed and unloaded when the rain eased up. Still have 20 plus bales out in the field but can't get to as it rained most of the night and would track the field up trying to load. Suppose to rain off and on for the next three days.

 

[1948CaseVAI]

i know it's no big deal haha. i was just unsure how soon to rerake it. after the top has dried well is what i was thinking as well. just wanted to hear it from someone with more experience. i appreciate the help. thanks

Well don't wakit until it rots on the bottom of the windrow. Don't even wait until the bottom heats up. It is not rocket surgery.

 

[paul]

Wow. I can’t hardly remember making any hay without it getting rained on. Time after time. Here in the land of pop up sprinkles. You must live in as arid region.

Do you have it laid out flat, or mowed into windrows, or already raked into pretty good sized windrows?

Let the hay dry some, and so the ground between the windrows drys off if you have it in windrows.

Flat hay will mostly dry out nice.

Mowed windrows you can rake when half dried out and do pretty good.

If you have it in pretty heavy ready to bale big windrows, it is more of a fuss. Need to use the side rake to just flip the hay over 1/2 roll, so the now dry hay rolls to the bottom, the wet hay stays on top. So the rake just barely flicks the windrow. You don’t want to roll the hay across the whole rake width, turns into a rope of tight wet hay that doesn’t want to dry out.

I understand a Tedder works well and is meant for this, it slightly beats up the hay and spreads it out, so the air can get to it and drys down again. They are a rare machine here tho, they beat up alfalfa too much only works well for grass hay.

Paul

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

for the first time in 25 years, my cut hay got rained on. the hay has been down 2 days. i know i've been fortunate this hasn't happened before. as this hasn't happened before to me, i'm unsure how to procced. it didn't rain real hard, just a slow drizzle last night. the top of the hay is starting to dry out, but the bottom is pretty wet. thanks for any suggestions.

Shake the water off as early as you can & "keep it in the air" as best you can until thoroughly dry.

Mike

 

[Phill Tibbetts]

Tedder is the answer as far as I can tell. Wouldn't hay without one now.