What's the fastest way to get hay down and out?

[tri again]

We need 15 acres down and gone by July 6th to pass fire inspection.
It's 6 feet tall and, yes, raining right now.

The ground moisture was approaching 70% so it was ready to go, but now this.
What's the worst case?
Flail mow and try to mulch it and rake it out of the way?

It's supposed to stop raining today and then creep up to 90+ this weekend.

cut, day one, flip day 2 or 3, 2 days of 90+ , maybe tetter/fluff for another day
and then bale?

What do most folks do?

[tommerp]

You nailed it right on the head. Don't mulch it though, long cut it (3 or 4 inches from the ground) let it lay for a day, flip it day 2, if it's still wet on day 3, flip again then bale it. With 90+ days, it should be just fine.

[cattle-dog]

yep 100% correct hope we get 3 good days here ours is also ready to be cut

[tri again]

I guess rainwet grass isn't as bad as wet ground.

If soil moisture is over 70%, the grass laying on the ground collects moisture like
a plastic sheet.

We use weedeater type cutters or sickle bar so the grass lays down like a thatched roof
and will shed rainwater like a 100 year roof.

so...absolute worst case to get it the heck off the fields and forget about saving it???

It's about fire inspection for thousands of cars so the hay can be sacraficed

Thanks for the glimmer of hope and good luck to youse guys too.

[atc007]

MY subject!! The fastest way is mow,round bale and wrap. Not sure if you have ground that needs cleared,neighbors doing it,,you ?? The aformentioned can be done in one day,also chopping it ,,mow in morning,chop that afternoon. Dry hay,,Oregon?? That's different than PA !! Here,we mow one day,bale the next w GOOD weather,if they have a tedder,that cuts some time off that,,but yes,still 2 days. Reread your post. Have it mulched. One swipe,done,,Just like a mowed lawn,if their epuipment is good w sharp blades. 15 acres,,1 or 2 hours dependong how rough,Done and gone.

[tri again]

MY subject!! The fastest way is mow,round bale and wrap. Not sure if you have ground that needs cleared,neighbors doing it,,you ?? The aformentioned can be done in one day,also chopping it ,,mow in morning,chop that afternoon. Dry hay,,Oregon?? That's different than PA !! Here,we mow one day,bale the next w GOOD weather,if they have a tedder,that cuts some time off that,,but yes,still 2 days. Reread your post. Have it mulched. One swipe,done,,Just like a mowed lawn,if their epuipment is good w sharp blades. 15 acres,,1 or 2 hours dependong how rough,Done and gone.

Sounds Great!
No, I don't do it, I just watch and let them keep all the hay.
For me, it's all about passing fire inspection for thousands of cars.

They say if it's not dry enough, it can 'burn down the barn'. or salt the bales to keep them from molding.

It's from chin high to a foot overhead so I guess we could chop it a few times.
The county road crew went down with some million dollar monster flail mower and it made everything look like beachsand.

So you guys cut one morning, get an afternoon and following moring of hot sun and it's ok to bale?

[cattle-dog]

it all depends on the the mower, if you use a tedder or hay rake, the dew, there are alot of variables,
i have older equiptment that is in nice shape so i need atleast 2 full days, three forsure, shoot i dont even have a kicker baler i still stack my wagons by hand but i only do 2000 bales which i put in the loft alone so it keeps me in good shape lol.i think i am going to cut 10 acres this afternoon as we are supposed to have 3 days in the mid 80`s

[atc007]

Don't envy you Cattledog!! Before I had to sell the cows. We were rolling a 1431,all JD cab 4x4's,a 6910 harvester....FUN! At least I know you're in shape!! DR> Yeah,,it's ALLLLLLL about the moisture!! And Oregon???? I cannot imagine trying to dry hay there. Aren't you WET all the time? Fire hazzards?? lol To bale it ,it needs to be dry. If it's so wet it needs salted,,the bales will heat anyhow,and will be so heavy they're very hard to handle.

[cattle-dog]

i actually throw the first three layers of hay off the wagons into the hay mow by hand as its faster, then use the elevator for the bottom layers, i have two internationals one is a 56 ih british made 4 cylinder diesal, the other is a 86 ih 40 hp cant remember the model lol but it has a bucket also, farm life is great.