Table of Contents
How do you know when hay is dry enough to bale?
Breaking stems in half or twisting them in a circular motion to see if the stems break cleanly will give farmers the go-ahead to bale. “If all the stems break and crack that’s an indication that the hay is cured and then you can rely on the moisture test that you’re getting from the probe,” Yaremcio said.
What moisture is ideal for round bales?
“The moisture content of a bale shouldn’t be higher than 18 to 22 percent for small rectangular bales, 14 to 18 percent for large round bales or 14 to 16 percent for large rectangular bales,” he warns.
How long should hay dry before raking?
It basically takes about three days of good weather to cure hay, which can be a challenge in late May or early June.
Can hay dry in two days?
Subject: RE: How long does your hay lay to bale dry? Alfalfa swath and bale 4-5 days later depending on weather, sometimes 3 days sometimes 8 just depends. Grass swath 1 day bale the next, sometimes 2 days but not real often.
How do you check moisture in hay?
Weigh the dry hay to determine the “dry weight.” Divide the dry weight by the wet weight, and convert to a percent number. Subtract this number from 100 to get your moisture content percentage.
Can you wrap hay at 30\% moisture?
Wrapping bales may serve as a substitute for storage and can be done at moisture levels as low as 15-30\%. Any kind of forage able to be baled can be wrapped.
What is the moisture content of haylage?
When forage is cut, it has 75 to 80 percent moisture, which must be dried down to 60 to 65\% moisture content for haylage and down to 14 to 18\% moisture content for hay (lower figures for larger bales).
Can you cut and bale hay the same day?
In a trial at the University of Wisconsin Arlington Research Station (Figure 2) where alfalfa was put into a wide swath it reached 65 percent moisture in about eight hours and could be harvested for haylage the same day as cutting.
What is the equation for moisture content?
The moisture content of a food material is defined through the following equation: \%Moisture = (mw/msample) 100. Where mw is the mass of the water and msample is the mass of the sample.
What is moisture content formula?
Moisture content (\%) = W2 – W3 x 100 W2-W1. where, W1 = weight of container with lid; W2 = weight of container with lid and sample before drying; and W3 = weight of container with lid and sample after drying.
What is moisture content wet basis?
Wet Basis Moisture Content. Note that wet basis moisture content can range from 0 to 100 percent. Wet basis moisture is used to describe the water content of agricultural materials and food products. When the term “moisture content” is used in the food industry it almost always refers to wet basis moisture content.