Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
- Making hay is expensive, which is why every producer should strive for high-quality hay.
- Unevenly fertilised hayfields impact yield and quality, and this can be corrected by ensuring the fertiliser spreader functions on the correct setting.
- If you leave your grass a little longer, you can achieve much better regrowth and accelerate the drying process.
- A tedder helps the grass dry off faster, resulting in greener bales with higher nutritional value.
- The best practice for storing round bales is placing them next to each other in a single row, without touching, to prevent spoilage.
Haymaking is a routine exercise on the farm, especially on the Highveld where veld is rarely sufficient to sustain production animals throughout the winter. Making hay is expensive, which is why every producer should strive for high-quality hay. It costs the same to produce both poor and superior quality hay.
Devin Dedwith of Valtrac and Wynn-with Milk Farm near Parys, has a few straightforward tips to make the haymaking process as painless as possible. The first involves fertilising the cultivated pasture when the growing season kicks off.
“I fly regularly, and this affords me a bird’s eye view of what farms look like from the air. I often see hayfields that were unevenly fertilised. Some fields have rows that clearly received less fertiliser than the next one. This is an indication that the fertiliser was not spread evenly across the field. This not only impacts yield, but also quality.”
The correct spreader setting
This error can be corrected by ensuring that the fertiliser or manure spreader functions on the correct setting, and that the rows in the field match the spreading width of the implement.
“A useful tip is to start spreading in different places. For instance, if you started on the left of the field the year before, then start on the right this year. This will ensure that you don’t drive on the same tracks every year and miss the same rows every time.”
When it comes to haymaking, producers often use older implements that are not necessarily as accurate as new ones. Starting at a different spot each year means you will at least ensure that the entire field is properly fertilised over time.
Don’t mow too short
A second tip is to not mow too short. Producers tend to mow as short as possible to get the most material into the bale. However, the fact is that the bottom 50mm or so of the grass plant has a low nutritional value. There are more disadvantages than advantages to mowing short.
“If you leave your grass a little longer, you can achieve much better regrowth. Furthermore, the mowed grass then rests on top of the layer of uncut stubble, and is elevated slightly off the ground. This aerates the layer of cut grass, which accelerates the drying off process. However, if the grass lies flat on the ground it takes up moisture, which slows down drying.”
Also make sure the blades of the mower are nice and sharp. “It doesn’t matter what type of mower you use, sharp blades are a must for making quality hay.”
Even drying
Once the grass has been mowed, it is usually swathed into windrows and then turned over to properly dry on all sides. A much better option is using a tedder to spread the grass out for even drying. The windrows come next and only then comes the baler. The advantage of this is that you can speed up baling by a day.
“A tedder has a twofold advantage. Firstly, it helps the grass dry off faster so you can bale sooner; secondly, your bales will be greener and its nutritional value therefore higher.”
The type of rake you use, he says, also has a major impact on the quality of the hay. “The wheel rakes of old are still widely used. The biggest advantage of this type of rake is that it is cheap. However, a power rake is a better option because it picks up grass cleanly, minimising the introduction of impurities such as manure, sand, and dust.
“It also aerates the windrows, as opposed to a wheel rake which tends to twist grass like a rope. Windrows made by a power rake are better at drying off, and baling is easier because the grass in the windrows is looser.”
If new haymaking equipment is on your to-do-list, first replace your wheel rake with a power rake and only then buy a tedder.
Adjust where necessary
Dedwith says the most important tip when setting up your baler is to make sure the pickup mechanism is set at the correct height. “People make the mistake of setting the pickup height too low because they want to collect as much grass as possible. This is a problem because you then also pick up old plant material which is meant to stay on the ground as mulch. This exposes the soil and reduces the quality of your bale. The soil also dries out quicker because it does no longer have a protective layer, and it leaves the door open for weeds to proliferate.”
The golden rule that applies to both the baler and rake is that the pick-up tines should never touch the ground. If the pick-up tines are at the correct setting, they will also last longer.
Always opt for a tight bale. “The denser the bale, the fewer bales per hectare, and the lower the cost. You will use less twine or net, have fewer bales to drive out (which means less diesel), and fewer tractors and wagons trampling your fields.
“Denser bales reduce the chance of losses due to spoilage. For example, if you have a 200kg bale and you lose 30kg on the outside to spoilage, that is less than 30kg on a 300kg bale. That is why it is important to pay per kilogram and not per bale when using a contractor’s services. Producers are tempted to make looser bales just to get more of them. Denser baling gets the job done faster, and the tractor runs fewer hours.”
If you’re in the market for a new baler, Dedwith recommends you look for one with an adjustable chamber which allows for denser baling.
Correct stacking of bales
Although round bales are designed for outdoor storage with minimal losses due to spoilage, Dedwith warns that incorrectly stacked bales can cost you a pretty penny.
“I am a big advocate of placing bales in a single row, resembling a long sausage, next to each other. The bales should be placed close together so that the face of each bale is protected from wind and adverse weather. However, there should be no contact between rows, so that there is no pooling of water between bales.”
Round bales have a thatched roof effect – instead of water penetrating the bales when it rains, it runs off. If the rows of bales are placed next to each other, it will form indentations between rows in which water can collect without draining into the ground. Bales will rot and you will end up losing precious forage. This effect is compounded when a third row is stacked on top of the other two.
“Unless you are going to cover your bales with plastic, do not follow this route as the losses can be great. Again, the best practice is placing your bales next to each other in a single row resembling a sausage, but without the bales touching.”
A last tip is to store the bales in different areas on the farm so that, should a fire break out, you will not lose all of your bales at once. Creating a good fire break around all storage areas is crucial. – Izak Hofmeyr, Stockfarm
For more information, contact Devin Dedwith at 082 305 3269.
