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Little River, TX | Cutting with a simple disk mower will work. Be sure to leave the hay out flat. Rake the hay the morning preceding the day of baling, early. Here with out conditioning but left out flat will cure faster than conditioned hay dropped into a windrow.
With the sun shining on it the first third of the drying the moisture will go out through the stomata's in the leaves, as long as the hay in directly in the sun.
The theory of leaving it out flat for the later two thirds of the drying is the sun will heat the moisture and create a higher vapor pressure. This additional pressure will force the moisture out through the cut ends. This is where conditioning is supposed to come into it's own. The vapor pressure does not have as far to travel to an opening.
Some grass hays shatter more leaves than alfalfa ever thought of. Leaf shatter occurs when the hay is below 40% moisture. All most dry hay will be temporarily at or above 40% moisture if or when the humidity is above 90%.
In many cases we do not want to rake the morning of baling because any surface dew will be folded into the windrow and the hay will require several hours of extra drying to get dry enough to bale.
Raking just before the baler just encourages leaf shattering. This way we loose tonnage as well as quality.
Please realize I am talking about conditions in Texas not some place like Rhode Island.
Edited by Hay Wilson in TX 8/3/2008 07:10
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Wasn't someone looking for pictures of Teff?
