Knowing When It’s Hay Day

Many dietitians and health enthusiasts often tell their patients or peers, “You are what you eat.” Often times it’s meant in a comical sense, but in actuality this phrase is very true. Eating healthy helps you combat diseases, improves your longevity, and leads to an overall increase in your energy level throughout the day. Not only is this phrase practical for human life, it is also applicable to animals as well. Farmers realize the importance of hay quality in order to keep their livestock healthy and profitable. In particular, cattle must be feed nutrient-rich hay high in protein in order to yield high quality beef or milk. Understanding when and how to cut your hay is vital to growing excellent feed.

When to Cut Hay

Farmers must time out their haymaking to coincide with the right stage of plant growth and the right weather conditions. Rain, sunlight, and consistently warm temperatures are all needed to allow the hay to grow. As the legumes and grasses found in hay advance in maturity, they actually lose crude protein and digestibility. That’s why it’s important to make the “first cut” of hay towards the end of spring (late May or early June), depending on the weather conditions and climate. If farmers wait too long, the hay will dry out and lose essential proteins and nutrients.

Typically, there are only two times during the spring and summer months in which hay is cut and baled. “First cut” occurs after the early head stage when the plant is only a couple feet tall. It’s best to cut hay after a few dry days so that it runs through the hay cutting equipment without getting stuck. Either a sickle mower or disc mower is used to cut hay. Generally, the yield is smaller during the first cut since the plant isn’t fully grown yet. However, it establishes nutrient rich roots allowing for larger, healthier hay to be harvested during the “second cut.” This usually occurs 4 to 6 weeks after the “first cut.”

Tedding and Raking the Hay

Once hay starts to dry it is important to start to cure it. Tedding is the next step in haymaking and involves fluffing up the cut hay to allow air and sunlight to contact the under-surfaces of the hay to promote drying. Hay mowed in the early morning can be tedded later that afternoon, as long as the mowed swath is dry on the top surface.

Once the hay is almost completely dry, it’s time to rake. A hay rake is a piece of baling equipment used to turn the hay one more time to speed up the drying process and forms it into a windrow that’s ready to be baled. Windrows are long-lined rows of hay clumped together to set up the final step, baling the hay. Blain’s Farm & Fleet carries the hay rake teeth and hay rake wheels you need to make this happen.

Baling Hay

The final step in the hay baling process is to use a square baler or a small round baler to go over the windrows and make the hay into round or square bales. Either Baler Twine or Net Wrap is used to tie and form the bales of hay. It’s important to keep track of your output as each bale of hay is discharged from the baler. Hay Bail Counters are a handy tool that you can place on your baler to keep track of how many bales of hay you have made. You can also find hay hooks, bale spears, and bale movers at your local Blain’s Farm & Fleet to help transport and move your hay bales to your storage location.