martin - 2/21/2024 10:01

When I was a kid, my dad bought a crimper with steel rolls.  We mowed with a sickle bar mower, and then followed with the crimper.  We thought that was better than using a sicklebar mower only.

In recent years, the "Hay In A Day" concept was originated.  Came from a guy in New York. I think he was originally in New York Extension.  I don't think you can/should take the concept of "In a Day" literally, but there are some interesting principles in the concept. I think that the literal "Hay in a Day" is more relevant to baling and wrapping baleage, especially in the Eastern United States. Here are two aspects to the concept:

1) Wide Swath mowing. Keep that swath as wide as possible for better drying.

2) Don't crimp the alfalfa stem.  Leave it long. Crimping breaks the stem, and breaks the flow of moisture out of the stem.  Leaving the stem long allows the wicking process to remove moisture.

There is more to it than that.  To the OP, I suggest googling "Hay in a Day" , and start reading. Here is one article on the Penn State Extension website.  There also is information on YouTube on the topic.