heating hay?

jd06

is there any way of checking if hay is heating
i know theres always a small bit of heat if you put in your hand,
just wondering is there any other way of checking it?

sheebadog

jd06 wrote: »

is there any way of checking if hay is heating
i know theres always a small bit of heat if you put in your hand,
just wondering is there any other way of checking it?

Moisture probe with a temp gauge.

tanko

jd06 wrote: »

is there any way of checking if hay is heating
i know theres always a small bit of heat if you put in your hand,
just wondering is there any other way of checking it?

Saw a programme about coolmore making hay, they have equipment to dry the hay. It showed a man using a type of moisture meter to check when it was dry enough. It was a probe stuck into the hay and gave a reading.

Sam Kade

Stick your hand in if it's hot you have heat. A small bit of heat would be no harm but if you can smell them heating in the field you baled too soon.

gozunda

What's the danger of over heating and fire once stored ? Bestways to minimise the risk ?

Zr105

Get a small iron bar and shove it into the centre, leave it sit a minute or 2 then pull it out! You'll get a fair idea if the bale is heating in the centre.

Zr105

gozunda wrote: »

What's the danger of over heating and fire once stored ? Bestways to minimise the risk ?

Leave it sit in field till it's stopped is about the only thing you can do to minimise risk

Justjens

gozunda wrote: »

Bestways to minimise the risk ?

Don't be in any rush to bring them in, if they're round give them a roll 180* in the field after a few days, may sound like a lot of work but it's far better than a shed of rotten hay.........

Sam Kade

Zr105 wrote: »

Leave it sit in field till it's stopped is about the only thing you can do to minimise risk

Or don't bale before it's fit especially with the fine weather.

sheebadog

MOISTURE PROBE WITH A TEMPERATURE GUAGE !


I'm not in the habit of repeating myself.

Zr105

sheebadog wrote: »

MOISTURE PROBE WITH A TEMPERATURE GUAGE !


I'm not in the habit of repeating myself.

What's the point in spending that sort of money on a yoke over here? Most likely there's only going to be a few acres made on a good year, and it will inevitably be baled to soon/in a panic anyways so is more than likely going to heat!

Plus what's the point in sticking a probe into it to tell you the moisture after it's all baled, it was either fit before you baled or it wasn't, knowing the moisture content at that point ain't going to stop it heating........

Sorry really trying not to be smart in saying that but...

sheebadog

Zr105 wrote: »

What's the point in spending that sort of money on a yoke over here? Most likely there's only going to be a few acres made on a good year, and it will inevitably be baled to soon/in a panic anyways so is more than likely going to heat!

Plus what's the point in sticking a probe into it to tell you the moisture after it's all baled, it was either fit before you baled or it wasn't, knowing the moisture content at that point ain't going to stop it heating........

Sorry really trying not to be smart in saying that but...

Apology. I understand.
I...ahhmm operate a little bit differently.....
Sorry.

Zr105

sheebadog wrote: »

Apology. I understand.
I...ahhmm operate a little bit differently.....
Sorry.

No need to apologise! Id completely understand if i was over your way! The joys of having good predictable weather aye?

sheebadog

Zr105 wrote: »

No need to apologise! Id completely understand if i was over your way! The joys of having good predictable weather aye?

Oui.

Genghis Cant

Let's look at this from a different angle. Is there a moisture meter available handy that would give you a reading at which you would know that the hay sample is fit to bale?

sheebadog

Genghis Cant wrote: »

Let's look at this from a different angle. Is there a moisture meter available handy that would give you a reading at which you would know that the hay sample is fit to bale?

Yes. Many.

Genghis Cant

sheebadog wrote: »

Yes. Many.

What sorta dollars are we talking about?

Could be a handy tool, even for silage or haylage.

sheebadog

Genghis Cant wrote: »

What sorta dollars are we talking about?

Could be a handy tool, even for silage or haylage.

Google?

Genghis Cant

sheebadog wrote: »

Google?

Come on now. If we all took that line there wouldn't be much point posting here.

mahoney_j

sheebadog wrote: »

Apology. I understand.
I...ahhmm operate a little bit differently.....
Sorry.

Don't make hay but agree with Sheba .cost of it can't be that prohibitive compared to a shed of rotten hay.as with every job there's a right way and a wrong way.appologies if I sound like a smart arse!!

sheebadog

Merci bien Mahoney!

Sam Kade

Genghis Cant wrote: »

Come on now. If we all took that line there wouldn't be much point posting here.

Around €70 last time I checked.

Damo810

Could you not do it the old fashioned way, take a sample, measure it, dry it out and then re-weigh?

tabby aspreme

Are moisture meters fitted to round balers or is it only square balers that have them

sheebadog

tabby aspreme wrote: »

Are moisture meters fitted to round balers or is it only square balers that have them

Never seen one on a square baler.
Not on a MF187 anyhow.

onyerbikepat

Coolmore Haymaking - Go to 5:20 on the following.
Now they dry hay in the shed with fans after bringing it in, but they say they dry it to under 14% Moisture.

kingstown

http://media1.sparex.com/Common/Images/Regular/58474_pic1.jpg




I have seen these before – available from Sparex. First thing I would do before I’d bale, is get a hand full of hay from the rank or row and wrap it into a ball and stick the probe into it to check the moisture. If its near 14% you should be nearly fit to bale. Not much point checking after its baled up..
Of course there is no substitute to experience but the Hay Moisture Meter combined with common sense, should help when making the decision to bale.
If it’s a square baler you will have a fair idea of how she is running and ''the baler should tell you if its fit or not’’
Round baler is different and harder to judge but you should know if the hay is running right and the dust flying etc, but a tester is a great help to get an exact moisture reading.

kingstown

Never seen one on a square baler.
Not on a MF187 anyhow.


Moisture meters can be reto fitted to any square baler MF NH etc

http://media1.sparex.com/Common/Images/Regular/58492_pic1.jpg

Sam Kade

Damo810 wrote: »

Could you not do it the old fashioned way, take a sample, measure it, dry it out and then re-weigh?

The old fashioned way is to know exactly when it is fit to bale by looking at it. No cookers or moisture meters needed

GrandSoftDay

Sam Kade wrote: »

The old fashioned way is to know exactly when it is fit to bale by looking at it. No cookers or moisture meters needed

There's a fella that we used to make a lot of bales for and he was as mad as a big of spiders. Every time I go into a field of hay all I think of is running around a field roaring ''Crispy crispy'', he would also never wait until it's fit to bale it. Lost a hay shed a few years back because of it too.

kingstown

GrandSoftDay wrote: »

There's a fella that we used to make a lot of bales for and he was as mad as a big of spiders. Every time I go into a field of hay all I think of is running around a field roaring ''Crispy crispy'', he would also never wait until it's fit to bale it. Lost a hay shed a few years back because of it too.

Makes the use of a moisture meter a no brainer..! :rolleyes:

moy83

Think is a moisture meter for timber any good ? I made as tight a ball of hay as I could there and stuck it in . I'm getting 10% . It was cut monday morning and looks ok . Will I square bale or not lads ?

kingstown

I wouldnt - a moisture meter for timber is a different tool -

The Hay Moisture meters operate at a different moisture range normally 8% 45% and is designed for Hay
Attached is the link to the instruction manual for the American Tester that Sparex offer and it explains how to use the tester.


http://media1.sparex.com/common/docs/58474.pdf

jd06

well lads, put a half inch round bar in some of the bales tonight
most were ok, the bar was a little hot on some, but one was hot and de bar came out damp, not good? hay 2 days old??

Sam Kade

jd06 wrote: »

well lads, put a half inch round bar in some of the bales tonight
most were ok, the bar was a little hot on some, but one was hot and de bar came out damp, not good? hay 2 days old??

You baled it too soon even though there was scorching weather forecast

bogman_bass

Rang mullinahone co-op to see how much a hay moisture meter was

€549! :eek:

No thanks!

tanko

Any lad that couldn't make hay this week will never manage it.

Sam Kade

bogman_bass wrote: »

Rang mullinahone co-op to see how much a hay moisture meter was

€549! :eek:
I have a moisture meter built into my head comes from many years square baling hay in my younger years

No thanks!

tanko wrote: »

Any lad that couldn't make hay this week will never manage it.

They should be banned from making hay for life

Upstream

jd06 wrote: »

well lads, put a half inch round bar in some of the bales tonight
most were ok, the bar was a little hot on some, but one was hot and de bar came out damp, not good? hay 2 days old??

Can you leave them in the field for a while? It helps to turn them as they'll be damper on the bottom, get as much moisture out of them as possible before you bring them in.
We made around a hundred bales last year that were a bit on the damp side. We turned them once in the field, then took them to the shed and laid them all out on the floor to dry then out a little more. We turned them again after a few days and then built them a few days later. A lot more work than if they were baled dry but they didn't heat too much and kept well.

bogman_bass

if you can bring some in an open yard where they can season without drawing up moisture from the ground it may help

Brown Podzol

jd06 wrote: »

well lads, put a half inch round bar in some of the bales tonight
most were ok, the bar was a little hot on some, but one was hot and de bar came out damp, not good? hay 2 days old??

Wrap the hot ones.

Zoo4m8

Genghis Cant wrote: »

Let's look at this from a different angle. Is there a moisture meter available handy that would give you a reading at which you would know that the hay sample is fit to bale?

Look...if you can't tell when it's fit by sight, touch and smell then quite frankly you shouldn't be at it... Moisture meters ffs!
Sorry, had to say it!

jay gatsby

tanko wrote: »

Any lad that couldn't make hay this week will never manage it.

I wouldn't be too hard on any lad that gets caught with a few. Last year was the same weatherwise and I know of several around here that had the hay heat. Happens every year in fact, making hay is not straighforward, grand in a big open field with the headlands gone off it. However if you have a small field with high ditches and or a couple of varieties of grass and clover in it its not possible to make a uniform batch of hay, it all dries at different speeds and by the time the wettest is made the driest is burnt out.

Also a lot of the hay this year was knocked with grass still sappy and the ground damp. That immediately adds an extra couple of days but after a week on the ground everyone gets jumpy and says sure it must be made by now. There is a reason that all the older lads talk about hay being hard to make in June.

onyerbikepat

To be fair, most young people now don't have experience of making hay. In the old days it was very common and most guys well used to it. The last time there was hay made here it all heated. Made by two relatives that are always telling me what I should be doing on the farm. :rolleyes: I wasn't around at the time.
In the old days, it was always a very anxious time for farmers, when to cut, when to bale , 'what is the forcast like?' etc etc. Some bad years, most of the crop was left rotting in the fields. I remember that too.

sheebadog

I make a good bit of hay for export to the racehorse business.

Have a probe and bale once under 16% moisture. All big squares so must be turned for 14 days before putting in shed.
The probe takes the guesswork out of the equation especially with inexperienced staff. After two weeks the heat is usually gone out of them. Big squares are a b@stard for heating.

paddysdream

Couple of points.
Used to make a lot of hay here,mainly for sale.This was in the late 1980s before moisture meters etc were widely available.This idea of hay being fit to bale in June after 4 or 5 days is a bit wide of the mark.
Always found it took a week of pretty good weather to make hay from even a half decent meadow.Different story with half dead grass cut in mid July.
There's nothing worse than baling hay and finding it heating whilst the sun is still splitting the tree's.
One little tip is if bales are heating a bit then turn the flat side towards the wind and turn the opposite side towards it the next day.If you do this for a few days then you can usually stop those that are on the cusp from heating through.
If you check bales its always the side facing away from the wind and sun that starts to heat first.
This of course is only any use if the hay is almost fit or a few around the headland.Wont save bales that are heating strongly.
As regards moisture meters,many of the lorry men drawing straw and hay from around here back north and west have them.Most will now probe bales, esp big squares before loading and reject those over a certain moisture.No point in hauling heated or damp straw.Most big square bale operators have them as well.

Robson99

A small bit of heating is no harm at all. Only sweetens it

kingstown

As regards moisture meters,many of the lorry men drawing straw and hay from around here back north and west have them.Most will now probe bales, esp big squares before loading and reject those over a certain moisture.No point in hauling heated or damp straw.Most big square bale operators have them as well.

Fully agree with you Paddy, thats why they are being sold..! These guys don't want to be caught out with a artic load of bad hay.
We used one last evening while baling (made 1000 square and 117 round) and we checked the rank before bailing with a tester avg reading was 14.1% but some were as low as 13.8 up to 14.5% Temp was about 21* at the time.
One ould fellow was in the meadow while the work was going on and he was spitting feathers saying there wasn't any testers ''in his day etc'' but after a while he was fairly interested in having a good old look at it all the same and said it a right yoke all the same..

Muckit

bogman_bass wrote: »

Rang mullinahone co-op to see how much a hay moisture meter was.......€549! :eek:

Get two of them sure. Be 'handy to have' :pac:

kingstown

Price should be nearer the €250 + vat range for
http://media1.sparex.com/Common/Images/Zoomed/28716_pic1.jpg

onyerbikepat

We used to make a reek in the field too, after maybe a day or two after baling (Small bales). We'd leave a gap between the bales too to allow the air to flow tru the reek. A week later then we'd bring them into the barn. A lot of work but worth it when it rains,......... and it's been known to rain here in Clare.