Hay Question

Qtrhorsegal · #1 08/22/12, 02:01 PM

Okay, maybe I'm overreacting, but my farmer cut one of my hay fields on Sunday and the other one on Monday and still it is laying in the field. He was supposed to be here yesterday to rake and didn't show up. I called him and he said he would be here today around noon to rake since the dew is so heavy and still nobody here and no answer. Shouldn't he have been here by now to rake? I have always seen it cut one day, raked the next 1 or 2 times depending on the thickness, 3rd day raked again and baled that day. I know it depends on the weather and thickness, but he ruined my first cutting which would have been enough square bales to last me all winter and been able to sell some. Am I overreacting? I only got 175 bales off of 14 acres for 2nd cutting and this cutting is thicker. I can't afford to lose this cutting!

Lazy J · #2 08/22/12, 02:11 PM

Leave him alone. He's the expert, you're just bugging him.

This is one of the reasons I have reduced the amount of custom work I do on our farm.

Lazy J · #3 08/22/12, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qtrhorsegal

I only got 175 bales off of 14 acres for 2nd cutting and this cutting is thicker. I can't afford to lose this cutting!

Welcome to farming in a DROUGHT. We only baled 125 bales from one of our 15 acre fields this summer in TWO cuttings. I started fourth cutting today, I sold part of it for $7.50/bale ($300/ton) out of the field. The rest of the hay we produce this year will be stored to sell this winter.

Jim

Alice In TX/MO · #4 08/22/12, 02:58 PM

We got less than half the normal bales on first cutting thanks to the drought. Unless the first cutting was rained on, he most likely didn't "ruin" it.

If this hay hasn't been rained on, it's fine.

Have a glass of your favorite relaxing beverage.

haypoint · #5 08/22/12, 02:58 PM

Hard to tell.
Hay is square baled when it is dry enough. Late season first cutting dries fast. Days that are cooler and have a lot of dew don't dry much.
I live where there is often lots of dew. Hay cut in late June through early August gets cut one day and raked the morning of the third day and baled a few hours later. Raking on the second day, before it is dry, will result in hay that you can't get to dry evenly.
It is human nature to care for your own hay better than you do for a neighbor. The farmer's hay gets put up when there is no chance for rain. Other people's hay gets put up when he has time to do it. Hence your first cutting getting ruined.
Give him a few years and if he is still ruining your hay, see if someone else can be talked into baling yor hay. Perhaps if you did it on shares, where he keeps half, he'd be more interested in timely hay production. Perhaps not.

Alice In TX/MO · #6 08/22/12, 03:06 PM

We don't know if the first cutting was "ruined", as she didn't say anything other than it yielded less than expected.

ksfarmer · #7 08/22/12, 04:52 PM

,"" but he ruined my first cutting which would have been enough square bales to last me all winter and been able to sell some. Am I overreacting? "
I think very possabily.

haypoint · #8 08/22/12, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

We don't know if the first cutting was "ruined", as she didn't say anything other than it yielded less than expected.

Re-read the OP. "but he ruined my first cutting which would have been enough square bales to last me all winter and been able to sell some."

Apology accepted.

farminghandyman · #9 08/22/12, 05:42 PM

one year my hay went down in September and I finally got it baled up in February, it was OK,

Alice In TX/MO · #10 08/22/12, 05:42 PM

The original post does not state that the hay was completely lost. It is a vague statement, with inadequate information provided by the OP for us to completely understand what happened. No apology, as none is warranted.

If I were Judge Judy, I'd ask for the exact condition of the first cut of hay, what happened between cutting and baling, what happened between baling and removal from the field/storage. Again, inadequate information is provided to substantiate a claim of "ruined."

Then, there's the question of whether the hay baling fellow is responsible for hay that deteriorates IF it gets rained on between cutting and baling or if that's God's plan and responsibility.

Oh, goodness, this is turning into a high school debate.

sammyd · #11 08/22/12, 08:44 PM

I've never seen hay raked more than once unless it was rained on. I don't know why you would expect it to be raked so many times. Raking so much would knock all the leaves off and leave you with stemmy crap to bale.

haypoint · #12 08/22/12, 09:01 PM

Alice, I'll just take her at her word. If she says the first cutting got ruined, I'll believe her. That's all the information needed. If she said that it was nearly ruined or part of it was ruined, then you'd have an excuse to delve into it closer. Judge Judy? The OP doesn't need to be cross examined about the ruined first cutting. That seems to be clear. There is no reason to doubt the statement.
The OP is about the third cutting that's laying in the field. There are two basic lessons here: can you learn to judge how dry hay must be before it gets raked and relying on near strangers to transform your field into a winter's worth of feed can be problematic. There is no need to add a third lesson: does the OP know what they are talking about when they use the word "ruined"?

Marshloft · #13 08/22/12, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sammyd

I've never seen hay raked more than once unless it was rained on. I don't know why you would expect it to be raked so many times. Raking so much would knock all the leaves off and leave you with stemmy crap to bale.

That was my thoughts, I've mowed in the mornin,, raked in the afternoon, and baled the next day. Conditions being on my side of course.
We also used a cut conditioner (crimper) to help it along.

nathan104 · #14 08/22/12, 11:12 PM

Never seen anything raked more than once around here either. Usually the rake goes over it with the baler following right behind.

Lazy J · #15 08/23/12, 05:25 AM

The amount of raking depends on many things, but unless we have rain we NEVER ever rake three times. Especially in alfalfa.

Alice In TX/MO · #16 08/23/12, 05:40 AM

Don't you love it when someone posts something and never comes back?

haypoint · #17 08/23/12, 06:58 AM

If the hay is real light, i have raked several rows into one to speed up the baling process. To someone that doesn't understand the process, they might say that the hay was raked twice.

I'll guess that the OP didn't come back because she doesn't want to play 20 questions with Judge Judy or she's busy filling her barn with that freshly baled third cutting.

Qtrhorsegal · #18 08/23/12, 07:29 AM

Thanks for all the replies. Sorry I haven't been back. Had a death in the family and was at viewing til late last night and funeral today. My first cutting he kept raking and raking (knocking all the leaves off) its a clover/grass mix. Came back and raked it over and over again for 3 days. It was so thick, couldn't get it to dry. Ended up round baling it. I thought about keeping it, but by 2nd week it was already moldy, sold it for cow hay. He does it on the halves. Yesterday he sent a 16 year old out with his girlfriend riding on the wheel at 4:00 to rake (rained on the night before). He came to bale it last night at 7:00 but couldn't because dew had set in. He's going to try again today. I'll trust that what's supposed to happen will. Just trying to figure out the whole hay process without driving someone crazy. But when the farmer has tore up my yard, fencing, plowed up a portion of my hay field (by mistake) because he continues to send over 16 and 17 year old kids to do the work, I think its time to find somebody new. Not that there is anything wrong with a 16 or 17 year old if they know where they are supposed to plow and where not to plow. Oh and when he sprayed weed killer on the fields, he sprayed half of my lawn. So may be time to look for someone new. I've given him 3 years.

DamnearaFarm · #19 08/23/12, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

The original post does not state that the hay was completely lost. It is a vague statement, with inadequate information provided by the OP for us to completely understand what happened. No apology, as none is warranted.

If I were Judge Judy, I'd ask for the exact condition of the first cut of hay, what happened between cutting and baling, what happened between baling and removal from the field/storage. Again, inadequate information is provided to substantiate a claim of "ruined."

Then, there's the question of whether the hay baling fellow is responsible for hay that deteriorates IF it gets rained on between cutting and baling or if that's God's plan and responsibility.

Oh, goodness, this is turning into a high school debate.

When's lunch? I hope they're not serving those nasty gluebeef burgers in the cafeteria again!

ErinP · #20 08/23/12, 07:50 AM

Well to be fair, by the time a kid is 16 or 17 years old, they should be a master at putting up hay. So don't dismiss them because of age. My favorite hay guy is 14... (No, not my kid)

Frankly, I find myself wondering if this is your problem:

Quote:

14 acres

That's a pretty small patch of ground. His shares are going to be pretty small, too. More importantly, when you're putting up hay for other folks, you usually have several "clients" you're working with but sometimes things get all stacked up at once. In which case, you have to prioritize--Are you willing to risk losing a small producer? Or a large one?