How late is too late to cut and bale?

[atsah]

I think at this point round baling for cows is his only option unless he sells mulch hay and doesn't have much to sell, either way I hope he gets it off the field..

 

[John Fitzgerald]

We received 1.3" of rain on the newly cut hay yesterday, after a forecast for less than a tenth of an inch. The forecast now is for 6-1/2 good sunny days with highs in the 60's. Sunny and breezy today.

 

[atsah]

Round bales for cows or squares for mulch I guess..

 

[Gator6x4]

Now we're having an unexpected hard rainstorm. Wonder how that will affect the cut hay?

Probably will not be the first or last hay that has been rained on after being cut.

The hay will need to be teddered, which means aerate or "wuffled" and then let dry for a day or two, then raked into windrows for baling.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Well, he windrowed it to bale yesterday early afternoon, but didn't come back to bale it. Nice sunny day today. He shows up as the sun is going down and starts to bale. Supposed to rain tomorrow late afternoon. I am frustrated with this guy, looking for someone else to cut and bale it. I'd rather just brush hog it three times a season at my own expense than deal with an unreliable person.

 

[atsah]

I'd rather just brush hog it three times a season at my own expense than deal with an unreliable person.

Don't blame you at all, I have found a lot of these folks are not very reliable..

When I moved from MA to ME I set my mom up with a guy in the next town to bale her fields, 5 acres of nice orchard and timothy grass, Well, he did it well the first year and has made a mess of it for the last several years. Sometimes he doesn't do it until there is frost in the ground and mud.

I visit her once a month, I happened upon a small JD 4x4 tractor and was going to sell it but instead I am going to buy a bush hog for it and leave it at her house and mow the place every time I visit or my brother does, it's annoying for my mom to look out at fields that surround her house and see brown hay with weeds coming up through it and laying on the ground, he just finished and made another mess of it, I will tell him soon he doesn't need to come anymore..

 

[John Fitzgerald]

It's all round baled, and hauled off the field. It's about 7.2 acres total. Made 24 bales. I had a good talk with the farmer. He has had a lot of hay to get up, has had bad breaks as to weather this year, and still has a couple of small places to cut. He did a good job of getting it up this time, and really needs the hay. So, for now, he can keep getting our hay. I just dread that uncomposted turkey litter he uses for fertilizer. Hopefully, he will spread it when it's cold, just before a good rain. Cold and rain mitigate the smell.