A24-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 11, 1988
Cut Hay-Making Ri
BY DAVE DOWLER
Mercer Co. Extension
MERCER Far too many far
mers and scientists see nothing but
uncertainties when it comes to for
age harvest When should I cut? If I
cut now, what will be the weather
during drying? If I wait, will qual
ity be higher than if the hay is
rained on now? Would it be belter
to store as low moisture silage, or
bale? When should I bale?
Those are some of the tradition
al questions. More recently some
have been added to them. Should I
use a drying agent, a preservative,
or both? Which one should I use
and how much?
We have devised a seven-step
plan in Wisconsin that can turn
these and other uncertainties into
risks that can be ensured against
and be managed. Generally, mak
ing low-moisture silage is the best
way to manage these risks, espe
cially with the first cutting, or cut
ting made in the fall.
With this hay making plan you
may not always be able to make
hay in a day, but you will better
know what you are doing when
you follow it. And, you should be
able to harvest a high-energy and
high-protein crop for feed and for
sale.
Right day to cut?
The greatest uncertainty asso
ciated with hay and low-moisture
silage production is the weather.
The crop is ready for harvest of
high-quality forage now. How
much quality do I lose for each day
I delay culling? Is it better to cut a
little early or a little late to avoid
wet weather? Will the rain hold off
until the crop is dry enough to bale
or ensile?
It takes about 30 sunshine hours
to field-cure non-condilioncd hay
in the Midwest. In spring this is
about 4 days. It increases to about
3 days in the summer. Check your
weather records to determine the
uncertainty (chances) of receiving
3 or 4 days without rain. In Wis
consin this is about a 25% chance
pretty low betting odds.
Effective mechanical condiuon
ing may remove up to 2 days from
this drying time.
Dry matter losses m the field
range from 16 to 50 percent,
depending on when and how much
rain occurs, the moisture content,
and the type of bale.
Quality losses may be even gre
ater. Wisconsin studies show that 1
inch of rain in the first 24 hours
after cutting reduced carbohy
drates (TNC) 20%, increased neut
ral detergent fiber (NDF) 20%, and
dropped relative feed value (RFV)
on early cut alfalfa 14%.
The same amount of ram on
nearly dry hay reduced TNC 56%,
increased NDF 45%, and lowered
RFV of the same alfalfa by 30%.
Energy was leached out, leaving
a higher concentration of fiber
which resulted in lower digestibili
ty and intake. These losses occur in
the form of leaf loss, respiration,
and leaching of nutrients from the
plant.
Your conditions may not be the
same as they are in Wisconsin.
Your weather may be more pre
dictable; or perhaps less predict
able. You may be less likely to
have grass or weeds mixed with
your legumes. Even so, much of
this plan will still be valuable to
you.
The plan
The plan involves seven steps
that integrate known technology
into a system that elminiates as
many days of field drying as possi
ble. If we can eliminate 3 days of
drying, the remaining dav
becomes only a “risk” which can
be managed for. Here is the plan:
1. Cut early
Forages must be cut early (bud
stage for alfalfa, as heads emerge
from the boot for grass, etc.) to
obtain optimum feed value, animal
performance, and/or price. There
is no substituc for this first step.
As the accompanying table
shows, digestibility dropped about
0.4% per day and intake per per
cent body weight dropped about
0.04% per day, resulting in a loss
of 1 lb. of milk per day, when alfal
fa was left growing after the bud
stage of maturity. In this study,
bud-stage alfalfa was worth $156,
$lB6, $207, and $331 per ton when
fed to cows producing 80 to 100
lbs. of milk per day on 80:20,
63:37, 46:54 and 29:71 forage;
grain rations, respectively, and
where mid-bloom alfalfa was
given a zero value.
Farmers often delay cutting
after the crop is at the proper stage
hoping for “better weather.” How
ever, a study in New York showed
it was more advantageous to cut
early and take a chance on the
weather than to wait until the crop
matured and lose most of the qual
ity produced. Cows fed early cut,
weathered hay produced 4 more
pounds of milk per day than those
fed late-cut, non-weathered hay.
Using newer technological
advances in a hay making system
can help farmers capture the higher
feeding value available in early cut
forage without experiencing the
field and weathering losses from
ram.
Hay auction prices range from
$l6 per ion for manturc hay (low in
quality according to Wisconsin
Quality Tests) up to SIBS per ton
for high-quality hay. So whether
you feed the hay or sell it, you arc
far belter off to cut it as early as
you can.
2. Condition the crop
Leaves dry rapidly; intact stems
do not. Unless you do something to
crack those stems open so the
moisture inside can get out, you
will have many of the leaves on the
ground before the stems are dry
•# enough to bale or ensile. The result
will be a forage made up mainly of
stems. However, crushed slcms
even large oncs-will dry almost as
rapidly as small leaves.
Even if leaves remain on the
stems, their quality will be higher
if they dry quickly. At 80% mois
ture when cut, respiration will
cause a 2% loss of feed value per
hour. However, at 30% moisture
this loss is zero.
Conversely, mechanical loss of
leaves and fine stems range from
0.5% of the dry matter per treat
ment or operation at 80% mois
ture, and will increase to 2.5% of
the dry matter per treatment at 20%
moisture. Thus, the farmer needs
to have the forage dry rapidly with
little mechanical movement.
As well as cutting the crop early
in its growth cycle, cut it early in
the day and crimp it so it will have
ideal conditions in which to dry. A
crop that is cut in lale afternoon or
evening will do little or no drying
through the night, but lots of
respiring. Your losses can be high.
The conditioner works best
when the roll speed is 2 to 3 times
faster than the ground speed. Set
the tension so that the stems are
being cracked. Meshing or fluted
rolls should not touch. See the
operator’s manual for proper
adjustment of your machine. Have
you' checked your conditioner
lately?
3. Use a drying agent, too
Using a dessicant, or drying
sks With This Seven-
agent, as it is sometimes called,
along with mechanical condition
ing can reduce the moisture con
tent an additional 2 or 3 percentage
points to as much as 10 percentage
points during a 24-hour drying per
iod. This dessicant or chemical
conditioner is applied to the entire
stem and leaves as the crop is being
mowed.
Several chemicals can be used
for chemical conditioning. These
include potassium and sodium car
bonate (both alkaline salts) and
sodium silicate. These are all
naturally occurring salts.
Some other products containing
methyl esters of fats, vegetable
oils, and animal fats to enhance the
rate of drying are under study for
possible use as dessicants. Recent
research in Michigan has shown
that these products work no better
than potassium or sodium carbo
nate alone.
Since the crop is standing when
dessicants are applied and won’t
be cut until a few milli-seconds
later, some dessicant materials
may be labeled by the EPA as pes
ticides because of claims made by
the companies. Check with your
state regulatory authority for their
interpretation of this point.
Dessicants are most effective
when applied as a spray at the
mower-conditioner. Some
researchers have suggested plac
ing the spray nozzles behind the
reel and ahead of the conditioning
rollers. It is difficult for the opera
tor to monitor the nozzles when
they are there, so application may
not be as uniform.
A roller conditioner works bet
ter than a flail-type conditioner for
this purpose. The rollers seem to
help spread the materials evenly
across the surface of the cut
material.
The application rate should be at
least 30 gallons per acre for good
coverage, which means you need
to haul a lot of water to the mower
and through the field.
Recommended amounts of
chemical include 5 lbs. of potas
sium carbonate m 30 gallons of
water to 7 lbs. of either potassium
carbonate or sodium carbonate per
acre in 30 gallons of water. We
suggest 7 lbs. The cost of potas
sium carbonate ranges from about
250 to 450 per lb. Thus, the recom
mended application would cost
between $2 and $4.50 per acre,
which would work out to about $1
or $1.25 per ton of forage
harvested.
When relative humidity was
80%, we found no practice will
speed the drying process. But
when humidity was 20%, all treat
ments were equal in enhancing the
drying of the forage. They have
been more effective in second and
third cuttings than at the first.
Chemical conditioners vary in
performance mainly because of
environmental conditions. Sun
light, humidity, and wind are the
keys. If laundry won’t dry on a
clothesline on a particular day, hay
will not dry in the field that day; it
is as simple as that.
Any cut hay will rewet to some
extent from dew through the night.
Studies have shown that crimped
hay and chemically treated nay
Alfalfa quality and relation to animal performance.
Stagfr of Composition-% DDM DMI 4% FMC
quality CP ADF NDF % %Bwa/lbs/dy.b
Pre-bloom 21.1 30.2 40.5 62.7 2.08 87.1
First flower 18.9 33.0 42.0 61.6 1.97 77.2
Mid-bloom 14.7 38.0 52.5 54.8 1.48 66.2
a/with 20% Concentrate Kawas and Jorgensen
b/wilh 54% Concentrate UW-Dairy Science
seems to rewet faster during the
night. It will dry out faster again
the next morning after the sun
comes up, however.
4, Windrow design
Crimping and chemical dessic
ants will permit water to leave
plant stems rapidly. Heavy win
drows, just like clothes piled in a
basket, inhibit this moisture from
dissipating into the air. In a Wis
consin study, two windrows, one
twice as wide and thick as the
other, had moisture concentrations
of 67% and 25% respectively, 7
hrs. after cutting.
To continue the analogy of
clothes drying for a moment;
clothes will not dry when they are
piled in the laundry basket; they
need to be spread out on the line. In
the same way, a narrow, thick win
drow will not allow hay to dry
nearly as rapidly as will a wide,
thin one that exposes more of the
forage to sunlight and drying
winds. Make your windrow just as
wide and thin as your baler or
chopper can handle.
To avoid leaf loss, do not turn or
ted hay after the moisture percen
tage falls below 40 to 50%.
5. Know the moisture
Don’t guess the moisture per
centage; measure it so that you can
know for certain. Several electron
ic devices are available, but we
believe you can best use the oil
bath method or a more desirable
microwave oven method. Specif
ics on these methods arc available
from county extension offices or
the ag bulletin office in Wisconsin
and many other states.
You won’t be able to apply the
proper rates of preservatives &
spoilage will occur if you don’t
know the moisture percentage.
Check several places in the win
drow because dandelions and other
weeds will cause a variation in
moisture.
6. Bale at higher moisture
Use of chemical preservatives
such as propionic acid allow you to
bale at higher moisture percen
tages than you can without them.
This, too, lets you get the hay out
of the field more quickly. Research
in Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsyl
vania, and Wisconsin has come up
with the following guidelines for
preservative use:
- High-moisture alfalfa hay(2s
to 30% moisture) treated with an
adequate amount of organic acid
preservatives and baled properly,
had quality comparable to that of
heat-dried hay.
- When preservatives were
used, harvested ycilds averaged
140 to 300 more pounds per acre
because the hay had experienced
less field loss due to leaf shatter
and reduced exposure to adverse
weather.
- Chemically treated hay had
less temperature rise in storage
than untreated hay baled at the
same moisture. Thus, heat damage
was reduced. When 25% moisture
hay was stored without preserva
tives there was usually mold
growth.
- Hay in small bales continues
to dry in storage until it reaches an
equilibrium moisture of about
11%. There is, of course, shrink
age during this moisture loss, so it
Step Plan
is not recommended that you bale
if the moisture is greater than 30%.
- Treating and baling at 25 to
30% moisture allows the operator
to start baling earlier in the morn
ing and to continue later into the
day. Baling with perservatives can
begin 12 to 24 hours earlier than
baling without preservatives.
- Some growers consider big
bale silage to be a short-term alter
native if rain threatens. Large
round bales can be baled at 40%
moisture and either stacked and
covered or stuffed into individual
plastic bags. Although other arti
cles published in this magazine
have outlined advantages for this
practice, there are also disadvan
tages. For one, these bales tend to
flatten out and fall apart. You need
nearly twice as much twine to
maintain a firm package. Silage
bales also are difficult to move.
Bag quality is a major drawback.
Some have small holes even when
new, and some will split at the
seams or tear quite easily. Sunlight
(ultraviolet radiation) can cause
deterioration of some types of
plastic. All of the above can lead to
spoilage. Scientists in Kentucky
have found that fermentation is
poor. Thus, preservatives are prob
ably needed. If rain is approaching,
though, you could apply acid at the
2% rate (40 lbs. per ton) and store
40% moisture hay in large plastic
bags if you are mindful of the
above precautions.
7. Mow drying
Some growers are including
mow drying to help assure high
quality hay. Adding mow or bam
drying to the haying system- using
unheated air - appears to be an
important component for certain
areas, such as northern U.S., where
seasons are short, rain is frequent,
and temperatures are relatively
low. The addition of heal from a
solar collector or other sources
may further reduce drying lime.
In some areas where it was pos
sible to make only two hay cuttings
per season, the operators are mak
ing three cuts and storing as low
moisture silage instead of hay. The
same three cuts could be accom
plished by baling at high moisture
contents, using a preservative, and
bam drying.
Mow drying has a number of
advantages:
- Bale at 30 to 35% moisture to
reduce leaf shatter.
- Cut preservative rates in half if
they are applied properly.
- Permit proper curing of hay
that varied in moisture when baled.
- Solar drying can permit grea
ter flexibility in the system.
-Both large round and small
square bales can be dried if the
equipment is properly designed.
If you go this round, don’t put
more forage in your dryer than you
can dry in 4 to 6 days.
The costs of mow or bam dryers
can vary. One Wisconsin farmer
put a dryer in his mow for a total
investment of $4,000. This aver
aged out to $3.50 per ton of hay.
Another spent $26,000 giving him
a fixed cost of $l5 per ton.
Design the dryer to deliver no
less than 500 cubic feet of air per
minute per ton of stored hay. The
cost of electricity for the fan aver
ages $3 to $3.50 per ton.
Economics
The costs and return from this
system are outlined in an accom
panying table. As you can see,
using the cost assumptions that we
did, the system will not pay
itself when there is no rain and is
barely economical when there is
(Turn to Page A 25)