Baling Our Second Cut of Hay
Here in the Northeast, we're expecting cloudy skies today with temperatures in the high 60s with no rain until late tonight - a good opportunity to bale lots of hay before the remnants of Hurricane Ian hit our region this weekend.
Hay is a harvested plant that’s dried and cured after being cut in the field. In most cases, hay is cut during the late bud or early bloom stage to maximize its nutritional value. This week, my outdoor grounds crew cut, tedded, raked, and then baled the hay from one of my three giant fields - they'll continue today. They did a first cut in late June. This is the second cut - it's greener, more dense, and filled with lots of protein - my horses love it.
Enjoy these photos.
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- This time every year, we always hope for at least several days of good, dry weather, so we can get a nice cut of hay from the fields. Timing is everything when it comes to cutting the hay crop. The last few days have been perfect for this year’s second cut.
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- The best time to do any cutting is when grasses have reached what is called the “late boot stage”. This stage is typically reached after six to eight weeks of growth after a previous cutting. The “late boot stage” is when the seed head of the grasses first pops out of the sheath. Second cut hay has a finer texture and usually, a greener color and heavier leaves. It is more dense, the leaves are more tender. This field was cut at the beginning of the week and then left to dry for three days.
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- This is a hay tedder. A tedder spreads and fluffs the hay in a uniform swath after it is cut. It basically turns the hay, so it can dry completely.
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- The tedder uses a rotary motion to grab the hay with spinning tines and then casts it out the back of the machine. Here is a closer look at the tines, or moving forks, which aerate or “wuffle” the hay and speed up the drying process.
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- After the hay is tedded, it is then raked. Raking the hay is the fastest part of the process. There are different kinds of rakes – they include wheel rakes, rotary rakes and parallel bar or basket rakes. Domi is using a parallel bar rake. This type uses a gentle raking action with a lower chance of soil contamination than the wheel rake.
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- The parallel bar rake picks up the cut and drying hay and rakes it into windrows that can be baled. A windrow is a long line of raked hay laid out to dry in the wind. Here, one can see the hay being lifted by the rake.
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- In this photo, one can see the windrow as it is made. The hay rake is pulled at a slight angle to the tractor as it moves. Domi moves at about six to eight miles per hour. The speed actually makes a difference in creating the windrows – slower speed results in a wider windrow that is not well filled in the middle. High speed results in a narrower windrow that is over filled in the middle.
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- And here, one can see the windrow after Domi passes by. Domi goes over the entire hayfield to make as many wide, fluffy windrows as possible.
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- Next, Chhiring pulls the baler with our trusted Kubota M4-071 tractor – a vehicle that is used every day here at the farm.
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- A baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store.
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- Here is the motor that helps to move and propel the bales into the wagon. A measuring device – the spiked wheel on the left – is turned by the emerging bales. It measures the amount of material that is being compressed and then knotters wrap twine around the bale and tie it off.
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- Once it is tied, it moves up this conveyor belt…
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- …and then gets thrown into this trailer where Pasang and Phurba work together to grab the bales and stack them. Our wagon is covered to protect the bales from any unexpected rain and to offer shade to the crew stacking the bales as they are thrown.
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- The bales are propelled into the wagon by a mechanical arm called a thrower or a kicker. The bales are manageable for one person to handle, about 45 to 60 pounds each.
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- All the hay is dry and passing through the machine smoothly. If the hay is properly dried, the baler will work continuously down each row. Hay that is too damp tends to clog up the baler. In less than an hour, the wagon is almost completely filled with bales of hay.
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- Chhiring drives the tractor and starts the process midday when there is the least amount of moisture. The tractor rides to one side of the windrow while the baler passes directly over it to collect the hay.
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- And every few seconds another bale emerges and shoots into the wagon. Each bale is about 15 by 18 by 40 inches large. The number of flakes in the bale is determined by a setting in the baler. Many balers are set for 10 to 12 flakes per bale.
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- Here is a closer look at the “square” of hay. My hay is a mixture of timothy, orchard grass, Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, and clovers – all great for my horses.
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- Once the wagon is full, it is brought to this run-in shed at one end of the field. This is where the hay bales will be stored until it is needed.
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- To get the bales up into the hayloft, a long motorized bale conveyor, or hay elevator, is set up. A hay elevator is an open skeletal frame, with a chain that has dull three-inch spikes every few feet to grab bales and drag them along. It is powered by a portable generator and it works as a pulley system on a track that moves the bales up to the loft.
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- The bales are loaded one by one onto the elevator and then at the top each bale is released from the elevator for manual stacking. This process continues one bale at a time from the wagon to the hayloft… until the entire wagon is empty.
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- In general, a standard 40-pound “square” bale of hay lasts one horse about three days, but this also depends on the individual horse, the type of hay, and the amount of access to pasture grass. It makes me so happy to know I can grow good, nutritious hay for my horses right here at my farm. They all love it.
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