Could my hay have been saved?

Question

I recently rented 4 acres of land to cut for hay. A chap I know said he could cut, turn and bale for me. As we caught the last few days of the recent downpours it was damp. He only turned it twice and then baled it. I told him it needed turning again but he went ahead regardless. I lost nearly half the crop. He then told me if I stood the bales up like an inverted V they would dry. I think he was talking carp. Thoughts please.

Answer 1

The use of a tedder is more likely to dry our your hay than turning it again with a rake after it has been rained on.  He was just in too big a hurry to get finished with you.  I had the same problem once when I hired some baling done.  He got his money and moved on.  You got stuck with the problem.  About the best you can do is learn a lesson and not use that person to bale your hay again.

Answer 2

I only have worked with grass hay.  The inverted v may work somewhat, but if the hay is really wet be careful with storage.  Wet hay can spontaneously combust.  Then your barn would burn and your horses would die and you would be really, really annoyed.

Answer 3

There is truth to his statement, however hind sight is 20-20. Better to check the weather before cutting. Try letting it rest in the inverted v shape before bailing

Answer 4

you could have turned it into silage

Answer 5

Taking into account that it could have rained for another week, turning again would be useless, I think the chap made the correct decision and in all probability saved half of your crop. He is also correct about the inverted V.  I think you owe him an apology.

Answer 6

It depends on what type of crop you are calling “hay”.

If it was Alfalfa, a tedder would not have really helped, thou it would have fluffed up the crop,, tedders are kind of hard on the actual stems. (beats the snot out of the stems and leaves)  

If it was a grass hay, turning the hay is an exercise in futility. A tedder is the only way to fluff up the grass hay for baling.  In my area we even use “re-cons” to speed drying up a day or two. (Re-con’s are just the double roller style conditioner with some sort of forming shields to return the grass hay to a windrow. Re-con’s are generally used between 48-72 hours after initial swathing/conditioning)

There is NO substitute for a moisture tester,  they’re about $300 but well worth the price.  An old adage,, “you can always bale tomorrow,, but you can’t unbale is true”.  Not sure what you mean when you refer to “lost the crop” ??  Did it catch fire or mold??  Or was it just wet?   All hay will go through a “sweat” period after baling and generally gain about 2-4 percentage points after baling.  Which, will drop after a week or so depending on weather and storage conditions.

The “V” idea is ok and will work somewhat.  In my area we bale most all grass and alfalfa hay in 3 string- 130 pound bales,, so that concept is out. (it goes for export)

A general rule of thumb in my area is:  Grass hay 6-12 percent moisture in the bale.  Alfalfa hay 8-13 percent moisture in the bale.