Hay Customers?

[holeycow]

I'll second this. I have baled hay for 15 years and I can tell when hay is ready by smell. I feed my own 40 horses and I don't like dealing with horse people. These are not backyard mutts either, well some of them are but the majority are show horses. Horse people think they know hay but its only what they have heard in conversation for the most part. I have never used a moisture meter and don't plan on getting one. I have let fields go that hay got rained on after the hay was dried for 2 days. Just take the hit, and spread it out with the brushhog. Its not worth baling.

We had a really tough summer here. After years of drought culminating last year in severe drought and grasshoppers, this year it rained every 3 or 4 days all summer.

I have a 10' cutter (and a 16' I don't use much), so I was in the best shape possible for these conditions. I got over 90% of my hay off with no rain. Lucky and crafty and patient.

One piece of one field was nearly ready to go several times and then got rained on again. This was predominantly meadow brome. I never let it get "black". I raked it 3 times back and forth in between rains and eventually ended up with about 65 rounds of "grey" hay. I wouldn't feed horses with it, but the cows can use it for bedding and they actually ate one to the ground the other day. There's very little dust in most of it I would say.

Another field got one rain only and that came off as decent hay.

I hadn't used that rake in years...

Point being sometimes with some work and luck you can make a poor situation improve. Had I not kept an eye on that swath and raked it at the critical times I would have baled it to burn it.

 

[holeycow]

You might need 2-3 days at least with these lower temps. Unless humidity is way low.

"Lower temperatures"; that made me chuckle, as mid 80's is getting hot around here.

 

[Hayboy83]

@Holycow- I start getting cold once temperature get below 68f. Then is time to where long sleeves or hoodie. lol

 

[holeycow]

I work off farm in the winter. Outdoors. A couple of Africans showed up one day. I was a little skeptical. Turns out they were great guys and were able to deal with our cold. I asked them one day " how did you guys make out in your first winter?". The one fellow said very seriously "I thought I was gonna die". They then went on to say that they had help learning to deal with the cold (how to dress, what to do and what not to do, etc.) From coworkers and that's what got them through.

We all can get used to almost anything. I would think I was going to die in prolonged over 100f weather. But probably not. I would just learn how to deal with it. A little help from the locals would certainly help.

 

[Tx Jim]

I've been making hay for over 25 years. I have lots of 30-60 acre fields of various grasses to bale. At this point I put up 600 to 1000 round bales a year for my own use. Occasionally I have to buy additional. We only get 1 cut around here.

I am thinking of making a change and might get back into making some small squares. That is a lot trickier than rounds.

Why do you ask?

Because if you've never utilized a moisture tester consistently then you can't realize it's benefits over the touching/twisting hay testing. Back in my hey day?(when I was younger) I baled 5000-6000 5-1/2 feet tall rd bales per year and some days touching/twisting doesn't get the job done. PS: I've been custom baling since '87 last rd baler I traded off had 30,000 bales on monitor & present baler has 23,000 bales on monitor.\. IMHO baling hay without utilizing a moisture tester is similar to operating an engine with no fuel gauge,volt meter or oil pressure sensing device. Yes it can be accomplished but one can sleep better knowing one isn't JUST GUESSING!!

 

[holeycow]

Ok. I don't agree.

Bigger does not mean better or smarter.

The nose knows. Along with some other senses.

Never seen a custom hayer that does a consistently good job. Just my experience.

If you've never learned the art, then you better keep using your tester.

Do you sell testers?

 

[holeycow]

I am in no way, shape, or form "guessing". I know my grass, my climate, and my equipment.I try as much as possible to keep an eye on the immediate weather around me. Sometimes that is tough with cab tractors.

Like I said, the condition of the hay changes minute to minute. You are using a crutch, imo.

Perhaps I would have learned a little quicker with a crutch, but I would never know now what I know by using that crutch.

I feed all my bales and always have, so I actually get a look at all of them. Or my wife does.

Likely you don't open very many of the bales you wrap?

Feeding many different species of animals many different species of grass from many different fields allows one to get a good handle on things.

RedNeck knows too.

 

[Tx Jim]

Ok. I don't agree.

Bigger does not mean better or smarter.

The nose knows. Along with some other senses.

Never seen a custom hayer that does a consistently good job. Just my experience.

If you've never learned the art, then you better keep using your tester.

Do you sell testers?

Never stated or implied bigger was better just stated that I had probably cut/raked & baled more hay than YOU which gives me more experience. Since I bale more hay per year than you then factor in mother nature I don't doubt that you can pick & choose a better window to do you hay. After being in the custom baling business for nearly 30 yrs with some of the original customers I'll classify myself as being way above a rookie. NO I DO NOT SELL moisture testers. I hope you have a nice day,Jim

 

[holeycow]

Yup, I was pretty sure your intention at the outset was to prove you were better than me.
You have a nice day too sir.

Oh, and you should sell testers. You are trying to sell them right here. There are those of us who really have absolutely no need of them whatsoever. Your inability to conceive of that tells me your experience level, I don't care how many bales you have made.

 

[holeycow]

Do you open the bales you make? You'll not learn much, or very fast if you don't. That is the key right there.

 

[Hayboy83]

@Holycow- Your right, humans can adapt. It might take a little while (and a couple of layers of clothes) but living in the cold might not be that bad.

As far as using a meter or not, I wouldn't consider using one a disadvantage. To me it's an extra tool. Also, if you don't use one and your still putting out good bales than that's great. Y'all obviously have a lot more experience and I'm gonna take both of y'alls methods with me to the field. Hope y'all have a great weekend and Happy Halloween!

 

[holeycow]

Yes you are right. The moisture meter is a tool. An instrument among a sea of senses and good sense.

And yes TxJim, I do have the luxury of attempting perfect timing. And you do not. I understand that. I also see that being able to show a customer that the moisture is too high with an instrument test might come in handy at times. But please don't for a minute think I'm guessing on my stuff. That is ridiculous at this point. I take calculated risks at times just like you. And I know those times when I do that. I took one this season and lost cause I broke down for the first time in years and didn't get a piece of a field baled before a rain I knew was coming.

Good luck Hayboy!

 

[Tx Jim]

Actually testing the moisture of hay by weighting then heating in a microwave oven for a short period of time then reweighing sample then determining the moisture content lost is the most accurate method for determining moisture content.
G3151 Using a Microwave Oven to Determine Moisture in Forages | University of Missouri Extension
How to Measure Moisture Content in Forage with a Microwave - Hay/Grass - News | Agweb.com

 

[holeycow]

Obviously the method by which the instrument is calibrated/checked in the first place. Science rockets.

That's how we would determine moisture content of aggregates for concrete mixes for example. The ONLY way that is accurate. The innaccuracies are derived from the variability of the sample and how representative the particular sample is. More captain obvious.

Try to get a truly representative sample out of a hayfield. Very few fields are uniform enough in all ways to gain that sample (s). Much more difficult than a pile of rocks.

The moisture meter can be a valuable, but somewhat crude way of determining whether hay will keep or not, given all of the variables not taken into account by the meter and the fact that measuring devices like these rely on some form of indirect measurement method (meaning that the instrument does not dry down a sample to determine wet and dry weights).

Sheesh.

Jim, after all these years if you are relying solely on a plastic box to tell you if your hay is ready to go then I am simply dumbfounded. I think you need to elaborate. You know better.

And to say that "YOU ARE GUESSING" leads me to believe that YOU are the one that is guessing.

I had a discussion similar to this last winter with a fellow in his early 20's who has worked for a custom guy for a few years. Him telling me that I could not possibly make good hay without a moisture meter. He couldn't, so apparently it is impossible. This young guy is a workin' machine, so I'm sure he's pounding out the bales. Given the size of the operation, he may already have knocked down and picked up more pounds of hay than me. That means nothing in this case.

You, on the otherhand have been knocking out bales for 30 years. You know better than to trust the instrument wholeheartedly. You did not clarify that detail. People read this stuff to learn. I was trying to teach. You were trying to be the dominant male. Right.

I did a little googlin; no forage specialist or experienced hay man suggests to trust the meter as a final say. When in doubt, they say, trust your hands. Taking that one further by me and RedNeck, trust your nose (and I found that that was only mentioned in one of the 1/2 dozen articles; so much for specialists). When your nose (and your face, which is more sensitive than your hands) knows, you have reached a level of confidence that no plastic box will improve.

You took me to task by saying "my sandbox is bigger than yours". There was no need of that. You should have known by what I was saying in my first post that I had a clue.

I have far more clues than you know regarding instruments and such...

Your rebuttal, if any, will not be answered.

 

[houstonscott]

I buy these small alfalfa bales at TSC with three plastic ties that are wrapped in green plastic. They are beautiful. They come from Idaho. What type of baler produces these? HS.

 

[rustyshakelford]

When I lived in Oklahoma and worked on the farm with my grandpa we put up thousands of bales a year. He was old school but would occasionally use the moisture tester. Me, being the young thunder cat and from a generation that has a higher desire for technology didn't care for it. I like holycow knew the feel and trusted it more than the tester. Results were I put up better bales than my 70 yo grandpa much more consistently than when he used the tester. For me I would grab a handful and bend it. The weight and feel told me what I needed and it worked.

There's a bunch of ways to skin a cat but that is what working for me. We sold alfalfa for $3 per sq bale and grass for $2 I think. Prolly 2-3k big rd bales also

Brett

 

[Tx Jim]

Obviously the method by which the instrument is calibrated/checked in the first place. Science rockets.


Try to get a truly representative sample out of a hayfield. Very few fields are uniform enough in all ways to gain that sample (s). Much more difficult than a pile of rocks.

The moisture meter can be a valuable, but somewhat crude way of determining whether hay will keep or not, given all of the variables not taken into account by the meter and the fact that measuring devices like these rely on some form of indirect measurement method (meaning that the instrument does not dry down a sample to determine wet and dry weights).

Sheesh.

Jim, after all these years if you are relying solely on a plastic box to tell you if your hay is ready to go then I am simply dumbfounded. I think you need to elaborate. You know better.

And to say that "YOU ARE GUESSING" leads me to believe that YOU are the one that is guessing.


You, on the otherhand have been knocking out bales for 30 years. You know better than to trust the instrument wholeheartedly. You did not clarify that detail. People read this stuff to learn. I was trying to teach. You were trying to be the dominant male. Right.


You took me to task by saying "my sandbox is bigger than yours". There was no need of that. You should have known by what I was saying in my first post that I had a clue.

I have far more clues than you know regarding instruments and such...

Your rebuttal, if any, will not be answered.

You sure like to assume a lot. I never stated or implied I relied solely on a moisture tester to determine if hay was ready to bale or that knew your knowledge of instruments. I have no idea how you think I'm trying to be the dominant male????? I could really care less if you reply to this post or not.

 

[powerscol]

I buy these small alfalfa bales at TSC with three plastic ties that are wrapped in green plastic. They are beautiful. They come from Idaho. What type of baler produces these? HS.

As far as I know they are reprocessed by a special machine that takes the bales from the field and compresses them into smaller cubes that are then wrapped in plastic. Saw it once on one of the horse shows my wife watches.

 

[joeu235]

People argue about the dumbest ***** on the internet.
There is always more than one way to do things right.

 

[Tx Jim]

People argue about the dumbest ***** on the internet.
There is always more than one way to do things right.

There's a world of difference between arguing and STATING FACTS. :drink: