Pros and
C. Alan Rotz
USDA-ARS Ag Engineer
High quality forage is rec
ognized as an important re
quirement for maintaining
maximum production of cat
tle, particularly in dairy pro
duction.
The greatest obstacle to
producing high quality hay is
rapid field curing. In our cli
mate, adequate periods with
out rainfall are sporadic and
hard to predict.
Conditioning Methods
Mechanical conditioning
treatments are often used to
speed hay drying. These can
be categorized as either roll or
flail conditioners. Rolls smash
and/or break the plant stems,
and flails abrade the waxy
surface of the plant and break
stems.
Both processes can improve
drying. For alfalfa, however,
roll devices are more effective
with less field loss.
Some roll designs are
promoted for faster drying,
but field and laboratory stud
ies consistently show little or
no difference in the drying of
alfalfa or grass treated with
commonly used crushing roll
designs. Roll conditioning is
most effective on a thick
stemmed crop such as an
early cutting of alfalfa. Flail
type conditioners are better
suited to grass crops, and they
provide a greater throughput
capacity when harvesting high
yielding or entangled crops.
Adjustment of the condi
tioning mechanism can effect
drying. Roll clearance and
pressure often can be adjust
ed. A minimum clearance
must be maintained. If the
clearance becomes too close,
excessive damage and loss of
plant particles occurs. With
too much clearance, plant ma
terial can flow between the
rolls with little crushing. Too
little or too much pressure on
the rolls has similar effects.
On flail type conditioners, the
clearance between the rotating
flails and a stationary bar can
be adjusted to control the
amount of breaking and ab
rasion that occurs.
Dry matter losses and the
associated nutrient changes
Cons Of Methods To Speed Hay Drying
caused or promoted by condi
tioning increase with crop ma
turity and the severity of con
ditioning. Although more
severe conditioning can pro
vide faster field curing, har
vest losses are generally great
er. Normally moderate
conditioning is recommended
to obtain adequate drying
with relatively low loss (1-2
percent of yield). This rela
tively low loss has little effect
on forage quality.
Swath Manipulation
As forage dries in the field,
the top of the swath dries
more rapidly than the bottom.
Manipulation of the swath can
speed the drying process by
moving the wetter material to
the upper surface. There are
three operations used in hay
making to manipulate the
swath: tedding, swath inver
sion, and raking.
Tedding can be used any
time during field curing, but it
is best to do so before the crop
is too dry (above 40 percent
moisture content). The stirring
or fluffing of forage typically
reduces field-curing time up
to half a day. Tedders are
sometimes used to spread a
narrow swath formed by the
mower-conditioner over the
entire field surface. When
done soon after mowing, the
average field curing time is re
duced up to two days com
pared to drying in a narrow
swath. In addition to speeding
drying, tedding also tends to
create more uniform drying,
so wet spots in the swath are
reduced.
Disadvantages of tedding
include increased losses and
increased fuel, labor, and ma
chinery costs. When tedding is
done on a relatively wet crop
(above 50 percent moisture),
the resulting loss is less than 3
percent. However, applied late
in the drying process, the loss
can be more than 10 percent.
Tedding will also increase
raking loss. When a light crop
(less than 1 ton/acre) is spread
over the field surface, raking
loss can be more than double
that when raking narrow
swaths.
Spreading the hay may also
promote bleaching of hay
color. Bleaching does not nec
essarily affect the nutritive
value of hay, but it often af
fects the market value. When
the costs of performing the
tedding operation are com
pared to the benefit received,
routine use of tedding is diffi
cult to justify, particularly for
alfalfa. Occasional use under
difficult drying conditions
may bring greater economic
benefit.
Swath inversion machines
have been used that gently lift
and invert the swath. Expos
ing the wetter bottom of the
swath speeds drying, reducing
the average field-curing time a
few hours. Swath inversion is
not as effective for improving
drying as tedding, but shatter
loss is very low. With less dry
ing benefit, there is less poten
tial for reducing rain and res
piration losses. The added
labor, fuel, and machinery
costs of the operation are gen
erally greater than the benefit
received.
Raking is another form of
swath manipulation. Raking
tends to roll the wetter hay
from the bottom of the swath
to the outer surface of the
windrow, which improves dry
Youth Grassland Contest Set
ROCKSPRINGS (Centre
Co.) The first annual Proj
ect Grass Youth Grassland
Contest is set for May 7 in
Rocksprings. The training ses
sion for FFA teachers and 4-H
leaders took place March 12.
The contest is open to FFA
and 4-H students who are ei
ther enrolled at the high
school level or have graduated
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Contact mam office for dealer nearest you
FERTRELL COMPANY
PO Box 265, Bainbridge, PA 17502
www.fertrell.com
717-367-1566 Phone 717-367-9319 Fax
Dealer Inquiries Invited
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 19, 2003, Foraging Around-El3
mg. Following the initial im
provement, the increase in
swath density can reduce dry
ing rate, so the crop moisture
content at raking is important.
Raking also causes loss, and
the loss is related to crop
moisture (2 percent when wet
to 15 percent in a very dry
crop). The best moisture con
tent to rake for low loss and
good drying is between 30 and
40 percent. In dry weather pe
riods, hay can be raked in the
evening or early morning
when leaves are moist and less
prone to shatter. Raking at
the proper time can reduce
field-curing time a few hours
to allow an earlier start to bal
ing.
In haymaking, the best rec
ommendation is to dry hay
rapidly. Mechanical condi
tioning should be used, and
high yielding crops should be
spread in wide swaths. Ted
ding may be useful in drying
grass crops, but it should be
avoided with alfalfa, particu
larly after the crop has par
tially dried.
In silage making, drying is
a little less critical. Wilting in
narrow swaths can reduce
raking loss, particularly for
at the end of the school year
prior to the contest.
A contest team will consist
of a maximum of four or a
minimum of three students. It
is the goal of Project Grass to
be able to offer each individu
al on the first place team a
$5OO scholarship, a $250
scholarship for each individu
al on the second place team,
that fill the pages of Lancaster i
who they are and what they do in i
of the 2003 Lancaster Farming j|
Scheduled will be auctioneer i
testions and answers |
eature articles and 1
100% Natural Organic Products
Where Quality Comes Naturally
low yielding harvests. Raking
can be used to improve har
vest capacity. A substantial
economic benefit can often be
obtained by rolling swaths to
gether to allow large balers or
forage harvesters to operate
more efficiently.
Conclusions
Rapid field curing is impor
tant and a good mechanical
conditioner can help. Spread
hay in wide swaths to further
speed drying, but avoid very
thin swaths to reduce raking
loss. Tedding may be useful in
drying grass crops, but it
should be avoided with alfalfa,
particularly after the crop has
partially dried.
Bale hay at about 18 per
cent moisture in low-density
bales, but use a lower moisture
content for high-density large
bales. Avoid routine baling of
high moisture hay. When
damp hay is baled, use an or
ganic acid based treatment to
help preserve hay.
Remember that on the dairy
farm, only about one third of
the forage needs to be of the
highest quality when that for
age is segregated by quality
and fed to animal groups
accordingly.
and a $5OO scholarship for the
highest scoring individual.
For more information,
please contact Project Grass
Youth Development and Out
reach Chairman Bobbi Bailey,
Donohoe Center, RR 12, Box
202 C, Greensburg, PA 15601,
phone (724) 834-3970 ext. 119,
or e-mail bobbi.bailey@pa
greensbu.fsc.usda.gov.