Harvesting Quality Hay

Transcription

1 Harvesting Quality Hay February 2010 Craig Saxe UW-Extension, Juneau Co. 211 Hickory Street Mauston WI (608)

2 Godiva Hay Top- Quality Hay Processors (TQHP)

3 Rebaling

4 Bale Wagon

5 Good Hay Making Practices: 1. Mow Forage Early in Day Reason Allow full day s drying Benefit Faster drop in moisture Less respiration loss Less likelihood of rain damage

6 Good Hay Making Practices: 2. Form into Wide Swath Reason Increase drying rate Benefit Faster drop in moisture Less respiration loss Less likelihood of rain damage Higher quantity and quality

7 Good Hay Making Practices: 3. Rake at 40-60% Moisture Content t Reason Benefit Increase Faster drop in moisture drying rate Less respiration loss Less likelihood of rain damage Less leaf shatter Higher quantity and quality

8 Good Hay Making Practices: 4. Bale Hay at 14-18% Moisture Content Reason Optimize preservation Benefit Less leaf shatter Inhibits molds and browning Low chance of fire Higher quantity and quality

9 Good Hay Making Practices: 5. Store Hay Under Cover Reason Protect from rain, sun Benefit Inhibits molds and browning Less loss from rain damage Higher quantity and quality

10 Hay Storage If not considering cost, under roof is the best option If outside, cover with tarps and get off soil by placing on pad, crushed rock or?

11 Conditioner types Flail/impellers Rubber Rolls UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2005

12 Conditioning i to break stems Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

13 Rollers vs flail (impeller) conditioners UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2005

14 Roll and Impeller Comparison Roll creates a crushing action Impeller creates a stripping action Impeller tends to have higher losses Roll with rotary mower may leave strips in light crops due to limited air through rear of machine Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

15 Conditioner drying rates Alfalfa Grass UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2005

16 Conditioner field losses Flail conditioners have 50 2 to 3 % higher field 40 losses with alfalfa The loss is all leaves so forage quality is 0 significantly reduced. DF (% of DM) N Stems Leaves Weeks from early bud stage UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2005

17 Comparison of Losses(%) Wisconsin Study Lo oss, % Sickle-Roll Rotary-Roll Rotary-Impeller 2 0 MC Loss Total Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

18 Mowing without t conditioning i Less expensive Less energy to operate Faster mowing Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

19 Mower-conditioner Swath Width Study (Windrow 33% and Swath 65% of Cutting Width) 80% 75% Mo oisture... % w.b. 70% 65% 60% 55% 11:00 AM 12:00 PM 1:00 PM 2:00 PM 3:00 PM 4:00 PM 5:00 PM Cond. - Tedded Uncond. - Tedded Cond. - Wind. Cond. - Swath Uncond. - Swath Uncond. - Wind. Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

20 Adjust conditioner properly Tension on rollers Spacing of rollers UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2005

21 Adjust conditioner roller spacing Measure clearance where Crimp or smallest clearance occurs UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2005

22 Rake properly Keep forage on top of stubble Rake so tines do not touch ground Move horizontally across ground with rake as little as possible i.e. move two swaths on top of third in middle rather than rake all to one side Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

23 Tedders To spread swath or windrow for faster drying Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

24 Wheel Rakes Least Expensive High ash potential Adjust wheel float to minimum needed to pick up hay. Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

25 Parallel Bar Rake Powered High maintenance Rigid id across uneven ground Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

26 Rotary Rakes Powered High maintenance Can ted/rake/merge / windrows Most expensive Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

27 Windrow Merger Picks up hay to move across ground Expensive Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

28 Merge windrows into optimum size for harvesting equipment Harvesting twice as big windrow: Requires 10 to15% more energy Reduces harvesting time Reduces wheel traffic on field. Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

29 Improving Dry Down Rate With Swath Manipulation Mike Rankin, Crops and Soils Agent, Fond du Lac Co. Ron Schuler, Ag Engineer, UW-Madison Jim Kappel, H&S Manufacturing

30 Driving Forces of Hay Dry Down Rate Environment Solar Radiation Temperature Humidity (dew point) Precipitation Wind Conditioning Mechanical and Chemical Swath Width Mechanical Swath Manipulation

31 The Science of Drying Legumes have 10X more stomata than grass Plant Physiology, Third Edition Wirtten by: Salisbury and Ross 1985 pg. 59&60

32 The Science of Drying Windrow Shape 80% Stomatal openings Mo oisture 70% Conditioning Weather regulated Osmotic & Cell forces 20% Kilcer, 2005 Time

33 Stomata t Openings Sunlight more they get, the more they stay open Shading closes Stomata 20 30% of water removed before stomata close Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

34 Respiration continues after cutting until illose some water Breakdown of starch and sugars Carbon dioxide 2 8% of Dry Matter loss Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

35 It seems intuitive that a wide swath will dry faster than a narrow swath Weather conditions here are different than here

36 Climate at the Air-Plant Interface Relative Humidity narrow Wide :00 AM 1:00 PM 4:00 PM 7:00 PM 105 Temperature We can t change climate, but we can change microclimate Narrow Wide Date/Time 11:35 AM 12:35 PM 1:35 PM 2:35 PM 3:35 PM 4:35 PM 5:35 PM 6:35 PM 7:35 PM 8:35 PM 9:35 PM 10:35 PM Kilcer, 2005

37 Effect of Swath Width on Dry Down Rate % Moistur re Arlington, % 80.0% 75.0% 70.0% 65.0% 60.0% 0% Narrow Wide Poly. (Narrow) Poly. (Wide) A swath that is >85% of cut width can easily be ready to harvest within one day. 55.0% Hours From Cutting Kilcer, 2005

38 Maximum swath width versus cutting width dth (%) Maximum m Swath Wi Cutting Width (in.) Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

39 Windrow Composition What we really have with a narrow windrow is a mix of dry and wet forage to obtain our optimum.

40 Are there forage quality differences between wide and narrow swaths? The theory: Post cut plant respiration is not our friend DM losses, NDF increases, TDN decreases Increased drying time = Increased respiration losses Oxygen Carbon dioxide Heat Water

41 Change in alfalfa/grass silage composition due to swath width (8 trials, Wisconsin, 2005 to 2007) Component Hours to 65% moisture Change, % DM (wide narrow) Average Maximum CP -0.5 ns -2.5 NDF NFC Ash -0.2 ns -1.6 Lactic acid RFQ Dan Undersander-Agronomy 2008

42 Rain Losses 50 Dry ma atter los ss (%) Hay moisture content 30% 50% 70% 1 inch Ttl Total rainfall fll( (mm)

43 Rain Damage TYPICAL LOSSES, 1" RAIN DM loss of 8 to 17% CP decreases 1.7% NDF increases 6.0% TDN decreases 7.0%

44 Consecutive Rain Free Days from May 20 to June 10 in Fond du Lac, WI Consecutive Days Without Rain Year

45 The Wide Swath Quality Relationship All related to faster dry down Less respiration More possible hay making days when forage is at optimum quality Less chance of rain damage after hay is cut

46 Wide Swath Haymaking Not a new concept, but one with merit Intermediate t windrow width will likely l give intermediate results (12 ft. cut to 8 ft. swath). Don t cut more than you can make. Dry down will be significantly faster. Need the right equipment and merge early. Results may vary with cutting and drying conditions. Just the ticket for those 1.5 to 2 day harvest windows.

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