Need an opinion on hay

[Delinda]

Can someone who knows about baling hay to give me some info please? I put in an order to buy 150 bales out of the field at $1.50 per bale. They will even load it for me. The problem is it rained really hard Sunday on the cut hay. It had not been baled, just "tedded". He called me today and said it would be ready tomorrow, it had dried out, it has been really sunny and hot the last 3 days. Is this hay still good? I know not to buy hay that has been baled and rained on, but is it different in this case? Would you still buy this hay? Thanks for any info.

[buspete]

It should be OK. Tedding is when they drive though the field with a big rotary rake sort of thing to turn the cut hay over into rows. Then they'll come through with a baler to scoop it up and bale it.

A couple of days in the sun and it should be good and dry by now if you haven't had rain since Sunday.

We're getting rain and aren't supposed to see the sun until next week at the earliest!

[Delinda]

Thanks buspete-thats what I wanted to know.

[Ross]

Rained on hay loses vitamins so does sun bleached hay. It will be lower in nutritional value but still reasonably good. Kind of depends what you're feeding. I almost want my pony hay rained on to drop its feed value! My 2nd cut alfalfa for lambing mums has to be very good or why bother handling the bales?

[rambler]

Tedding fluffs the hay to dry it out.

Raking it puts it into windrows ready for baling.

The hay will be slightly less in feed value, but one rain at that time with dry weather after would not bother me any. Should be good hay yet. If you were paying some premium price then I'd question it, but for a buck & a half you will get good value.

--->Paul