Think I have missed the boat on getting hay done

meesha

meesha

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Bit Down, not the farmers fault as he did warn me that he needed to make in roads into his hay first before doing anyone elses and i could get someone else if I thought I could get them to do it sooner.

We have had fab weather since Thursday - rang him Friday morning as soon as the forecast was clear but he still has not cut - text him again today (with apology for contacting him on a Sunday) but no reply. Rain forecast for Friday so even if he cuts tomorrow (Monday) it wont be baled till Friday - we are forecast up to 27 degrees so if he comes tomorrow and it doesnt rain till after baled Friday I may be ok.

If I cant get hold of him tomorrow morning the chap down lane may cut and turn it for me and I might see if I can contact anyone to bale it for haylage instead to miss the rain - didnt really want haylage as can get that from my usual supplier and really need small bale hay (small bale haylage to dear to make) for beginning end of winter.

Sorry for moan as I know we are lucky to have the weather at all but have just been staring at lovely field - bone dry and ready.
 
i am in the same boat and might just have to get it all cut and gone, what a waste. farmers here the same, all going to be flat out with their own. very frustrating. was hoping to sell some and keep some. :(
 
lets hope for a change of forecast for Friday ! I am going to be on the phone first thing tomorrow morning - mine is weed free, lush meadow grass above your knees ! If i can get someone to bale big bale haylage then Ill do that - where are you? can you do the same ?
 
We're on a farm & he deliberately cuts late so its not as rich, usually mid august, one year was late September so not worrying yet.
 
Please be patient with your farmers. We make hay for ourselves & others & have an 'order' in which we do it all, not necessarily ours first, it also depends on grass type & locaton. There is nothing worse for a weather stressed farmer than being hassled & continously rung & asked when your hay is to be cut. If you are on his list he will turn up. Most farmers are at least 2-3 weeks behind because of the wet weather. A little patience at this time will go a long way! :)
 
OH is a contractor and is flat out at the moment doing 20 hour days. Everyone has grass to cut and wants to get it done before the weather turns. They will get to you eventually but I understand it must be an anxious wait!! I think we all have to accept that our hay isn't going to be as good as last year's but at least we will now get some!!

Luckily we had our hay cut yesterday so should be baled and in the barn by Friday.
 
totally understand that everyone is busy, not having a go at him at all but with the weird weather we are having we cannot gaurantee when the next dry spell will be. If my grass was not as long as it is and hadnt started to fall over then I would be happy to wait (esp as have good doers) but I am worried that if we get another bad spell it will start to rot at the roots (happy to be told otherwise - pleasssse) so have just tried to organise getting it done for haylage instead - small bale hopefully but means I will have it in and done but again have left it late to contact baler so not holding breathe !!

I do feel for the farmers thats why I only text and am not constantly on phone to him - spoke to him a few months ago then once on friday - he is probably out there now trying to get some done.

I am assuming if we have rain forecast Friday that Monday (tomorrow) will be too late to cut for hay - is that right?

Also you haylage gurus - whats the process is it cut one day - turn the next - bale the day after? also will meadow hay make good haylage ? sorry for numpty questions !
 
meesha said:
lets hope for a change of forecast for Friday ! I am going to be on the phone first thing tomorrow morning - mine is weed free, lush meadow grass above your knees ! If i can get someone to bale big bale haylage then Ill do that - where are you? can you do the same ?
Click to expand...

I think it's coming Thursday 7pm now????? Here anyway!:(
 
I am Tiverton.... look on BBC weather or XC weather,,, usually very accurate.
We cut on Sat, and turned twice today, we hope to bale on Wednesday. But don't panic we should have lots of good weather! We cut as we are off to Olympics xx
 
oooh lucky you off to the olympics - you should get some good hay in too.

I have looked at long term forecast and rain is a clear feature for next 14 days, not sure my poor grass will stand up to much more and have no grass in other paddock so having to let them eat corner of hay field as it is !

Hopefully have now organised cutting and rowing of grass and wrapping - just need a small baler in the mix - rather than the 1.20 per bale for hay it cost me last year it is going to be more like £3.50 me thinks !!!! may have to sell a fair few to keep bank account happy but will just be glad to get it done and at least storage wont be an issue !.
 
I'm in the same boat. Contractors dad has died so he's not feeling like doing anthing! Had a back-up farmer ready but his mower's just blown up! Am starting to feel like this wasn't meant to be...
On the plus side my farmer friend (who unfortunately doesn't cut her own so can't help me out)~ reckons we'll have good weather again in two weeks time. If we don't cut tomorrow we'll wait a fortnight.
 
that sounds more positive - good weather in 2 weeks ! fingers crossed, v stressful every year ! even if you think you have it sorted it can all go wrong. Poor contractor with his dad gone ! puts it into perspective !
 
my horse is on his own and i have too much grass anyway so i can wait as only want it as a winter field. will prob be late august now. weather permitting then!?
 
My 'hay man' has stopped making hay (decided last year) as you don't need the drying time with haylage that you do with hay. My YO is hoping to get their first cut this week but it's the same date as last year (her birthday so she remembers).
 
A few days of rain won't hurt your hay. Think of cut flowers in a vase of water, they keep quite well. The best thing is to leave it in the swathe until there are a few days of dry weather forecast, then row it up and turn the rows in the morning (so onto dry ground), then back again at night. Then just keep moving it when it's dry.

A bit of rain actually seems to make it dry quicker when the good weather comes.

I'm in the Scottish Highlands (at sea level) and my hay was rained on in the swathe (i.e. it lay where it was cut) for about ten days. It was worked as soon as the weather improved, then baled. I have 70 big bales and 200 small bales of lovely stuff off nine acres, all safe. So do not despair!

hay1.jpg
 
Meesha our man is going to mums to cut tomorrow by all counts to bale late thurs/friday, asap is always better as stops mum stressing for the rest of her school summer hols! The best bit is getting it in.. she rounds up as many young chaps as she can! :D
 
OOOhhhh Would mine be dry enough if cut tomorrow to bale thur night ? it is thick long meadow hay but ground is very dry.

If consensus is not going to be dry in time, I will go for haylage - if I do haylage have been told to have it cut one day - row it up the next day then have it baled and wrapped the following day - is this right ? seems odd not to turn it and the chap I may get to cut it has never done haylage before so I will have to say what I want (experienced person will wrap it for me) ! does it matter if it is too dry when baled for haylage - is that safer than too moist ? also is it just baled as normal before wrapping ie. same baling as small bale hay ?

sorry for the trillion questions
 
ester - feel free to send the young chaps my way ! I will have 150 ish bales to move on my own !!! nothing like a bit of eye candy to brighten the day.
 
ours is thick.. ish! Essentially we leave the decision up to the cutting lad, he's not been wrong yet over the last few years.. and he prob wants to get it done as going on hol for a couple of weeks in august :D Last year was lovely because it was proper dry, the year before we discovered it wasn't quite when it got rather hot in the barn and needed finishing off outside once the rain stopped again (that was one of those we need to try and get it in before 7pm by the bbc jobies!)

not sure eye candy is the right description.. we offer beer and money usually!
 
second year we cut was cut on the august bank hol monday and baled in september, it was fine and they ate it and it had less calories ;). Our main problem if that happens is no schooling space in the field!
 
cheers guys - I am already having to let them eat edge of hay field as have no grazing left so leaving it another month plus is not really an option and will also mean the winter paddock wont get much rest (putting them on edge of hay field with electric tape in day and back on paddock at night as hay field area tiny)

For those who do haylage - do you turn or just cut one day, row up next and bale day after?
 
meesha - I make small bale haylage. We cut ours on Friday morning, and we are baling tomorrow.

I tend to make mine very dry. I don't like very wet haylage, I find it goes 'through' the horses too quickly and they don't hold weight in the winter. Mine is almost like wrapped hay. I try and bale it a half a day before it would make hay.

We turned it two hours after it was cut on Friday, and then twice more during the day. Yesterday we turned it twice. Today we turned it once this morning, and then only the thicker patches were turned this afternoon. So I turn mine a good few times.

Its hard to say how long exactly it will take yours to 'make'. My field is on a slight slope and catches the wind nicely, so it dries well. It is also in full sun, and not much shade. Also, it depends on the variety of grasses in your field, and whether you have any re-growth at the bottom and how thick it is. If it is thick at the bottom, it will take longer to dry out. If, when you cut it, you have a whitish colour at the butt of the stem, this will take longer to dry out.

When you turn it, feel it and squish it between your fingers, and if any juice comes out and leaves your fingertips wet, I would say it would be too damp to make haylage. You would have very rich, almost vinegary haylage from that. I try to get mine to have dry patches, almost hay, but with some of the lusher grass just damp. That way, my haylage turns out rich, but not too rich.

Sorry, that was long winded, but hope some of it helps. Good luck!


Yes, you bale the same for hay as you would for small bale haylage.
 
Also, was just thinking, if you made haylage, could you maybe swap it with a farmer for some hay? As hay is cheaper you'd have more hay bales than haylage, and sell the excess hay bales to cover your costs?
 
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