Tedders are commonly used to spread out grasses and speed drying. But many growers won’t use them on alfalfa. If the hay is too dry, tedding can knock off leaves, which robs the crop of much of its protein. … Tedding alfalfa shortly after cutting, when the crop is typically about 75% water, helps minimize leaf loss.
Can you Ted hay too much? Tedding increases drying rates with only a 1 to 3 percent loss in yield when done carefully. Tedding performed on hay with less than 40 percent moisture, however, causes leaf losses; the lower the moisture percentage, the greater the losses. Tedding dry hay can result in losses of 20 percent or more.
Similarly, Can you windrow hay with a tedder? To work effectively, you would want a tedder that could cover two windrows at a time–23′ (and a little more) and be able to blow it out over the whole 30′. Now, since your hay is spread over 30′, you would want a rake that could reach as close to 30′ as possible. My 10’6″ mower drops windrows about 8′ wide.
How often should you tedder hay?
Initial tedding should be performed after a brief wilting period following a morning cutting while the hay is still moist (two to four hours). In very damp conditions, tedding may need to be done immediately after cutting. A second pass is usually done the next day, and the hay is raked and baled that afternoon.
Can you tedder hay with dew on it?
If drying conditions are lousy and rain is coming or hay is heavy may ted a second time. This is for any type, grass or legume or mix, if lots of legume use slow rpm and do it with dew on. Often times you only have a few hour window to do it right.
Which hay rake is best?
Models like the Vermeer R2800 twin rake are consequently better able to handle wetter, heavier forage crops in addition to performing well in dry hay. Because teeth don’t come into contact with the ground, parallel bar rakes offer an overall durability and ease of maintenance similar to wheel rakes.
Can you Ted hay with a rotary rake? The rotary rake will speed drying but by a limited amount. If you need to ted three days in a row you can do that a lot easier than re-raking in an attempt to fluff your hay back up.
Do you Ted silage? Such an approach can lead to soil contamination and dry matter losses in the clamp or inconsistent wilting and reduced silage quality. … Mr Duggleby believes tedding in particular should be placed further up the list of priorities.
How fast do you tedder hay?
Run the tedder with no more than 350 rpm’s better 300 rpm’s. The idea is to stir up the hay & not sling it a half mile. Rake or run a tedder immediately after mowing or at first light with a dew.
How soon can you bale hay after cutting? As a rule of thumb, wait to rake hay until after the dew has dried and the sun nears its peak, around 11 a.m. If possible, let the raked hay sit for an hour or two before baling to allow more drying time. Haymakers have several types of rakes available.
How do I ted a hay field?
Which is better 1st or 2nd cut hay? First cut hay is coarser than second cut, this is because the spring growth (rain, etc.) leads to thicker stems and stalks and heavier leaves. Second cut hay has a finer texture and usually, a greener color and heavier leaves. It is more dense, the leaves are more tender and healthier, especially in protein.
How many times do you cut hay?
The first cutting in the spring should be when grass has greened up and reached 12 – 16 inches tall. This should clean up all the old growth of winter weeds and such. Then each subsequent cutting is at 3.5 to 5 week intervals. This is dependent on fertilizer and moisture.
Does rain hurt hay?
Rained-on hay often has relatively high protein values compared to fiber content unless there’s great leaf loss. Leaves contain a lot of the plant’s protein. As soluble carbohydrates leach, structural fibers make up a greater percent of forage dry matter. The digestibility of rained-on hay can decline 6 to 40 percent.
Are rotary rakes good?
What is the best way to rake hay field?
What size hay rake do I need?
If you want to rake two swaths on one the basic math would be to take your mower width (18 ft) + swath width (6 ft) + some wiggle room ( 2-3 ft) = about 27 ft, so 30 should work. We run a 14 ft mower, drop a 7 ft swath, and rake with a 23 ft rake.
What is a belt rake? A belt rake works by moving a series of tines perpendicular to the tractor’s direction of travel, just above the ground surface. The tines are mounted to two large belts that are driven by the tractor’s PTO.
How do you do a Ted hay with a wheel rake?
How many bales of silage do you get per acre? Yiekld usually 3–4 bales/acre. Mark the high-quality bales in your storage area so you will know them from the ordinary bales of silage. Don’t open more bales than you require as they will go ‘off’ quickly. The average weight of the bale is 200-240kg DM.
How long can silage bales sit before wrapping?
Producers have about 24 hours to wrap bales in order to get good fermentation and a highly digestible end product; however, delays beyond 24 hours will result in incremental declines in silage quality.
How long can silage last? Forage conserved this way is known as ‘ensiled forage’ or ‘silage’ and will keep for up to three years without deteriorating. Silage is very palatable to livestock and can be fed at any time.