How to Tell When a Hay Field is Ready to Cut

By Kenny Coogan
Updated on April 23, 2024
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by Adobestock/Olha Rohulya
Piling cut hay into windrows makes your baler more efficient.

Want to get started on small-scale hay production? Learn how to tell when a hay field is ready to cut with expert advice for beginners.

Looking for a way to feed your animals quality feed or jump-start a small baling enterprise? If you’ve got 2 to 30 acres of land, investing in small-scale equipment and starting your own hay production is possible! By growing and processing your own hay, you can control the timing, quality, and pricing.

How to Tell When a Hay Field is Ready to Cut

Larry Seymour, a recently retired product specialist at BCS America, recalls getting started with hay production shortly after moving to the country: “We felt, as newcomers, we’d pretty much have to make our own.”

Knowing your weather is one of the first steps when considering hay production. “To make good hay, you need a weather forecast with three rain-free days,” Seymour says. You don’t cut hay when it’s wet, and it certainly won’t grow easily in a drought. In wet conditions, you’ll have to wait longer to use your equipment (you don’t want to compact all that mud and harm the fields!), and your hay will have a harder time drying.

“We mow in the mornings, and then it lies that day, and gets raked the second day, and then baled on the third day,” Seymour explains. “We have to do that to get it dry, and if our ground is wet, we set the mower so we’re mowing 3 inches high, so when the hay falls, it’s off the ground.”

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