I'm so glad I'm not in alaska! Do you have bad rain at peak of hay season? Some years we get rain everyday through the whole month of May, and couple weeks in june. Some years, we get rain every other day.
When I say "turned silage," I mean that it gets put up with a chopper and stored in the silo. Horses will founder on hay silage if you over feed, but they love it.
As far as salting the hay stack goes, Salt actually does help, not just make it taste better. Unless you have found really recent science that says I'm wrong, it's been common farm practice for as long as I know. I don't know if the haymaker's handbook has anything to say on it, I'll check. I'm pretty sure a quick online search will find info that supports me. Or, maybe you found others who disagree... Regardless, proprionic is better, but I assume Dave doesn't have an applicator set-up.
One of the biggest mistakes that people make with hay is to cut it at the wrong time of the day, or the just the wrong time. If hay gets cut while the dew is still on, it takes too long to dry out. If hay gets cut the day after a rain storm, the ground under the hay is too damp, and the hay will pick up the moisture and trap it as soon as you lay it down.
So, mid-afternoon to early evening on ground that was rained on... and, anytime after all the dew has completely burned off. I just watch the color of my front tractor tires. I can tell exactly what the moisture is like just by watching my tires. If they shine, it's way way too wet. if they are a dark clean black, it's still too wet. If they turn a bit to teh gray side of black, it is just right. If they get covered in dust, I think you better pray for it to rain! LOL
I was mowing hay this year at a certain point right before I cut myself off where the dust coming out of the haybine made it hard to see. The hay wasn't burned up, but the ground was just that dry. I was sitting at 20% moisture after 14 hours of dry time. That is way way too dry for my liking.
You can disagree with me anytime. I don't pretend to know everything, but I do it professionally.
I will say this, though...
I have heard so many myths and things that vets and horse trainers have said, where I can jump on g-oogle and disprove them in less than 15 seconds. Then, I get the crazy horse ladies who will open a bale up adn toss it in the air to see if dust comes out of it, telling me that all dust is mold spores. Truthfully, I don't think I have ever seen hay that doesn't get dusty after setting in the barn for a few months. I tell them to come back with a mold test kit, and then, I never see them again.
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Today's Featured Article - Hydraulic Basics - Part 2 - by Curtis Von Fange. In the last entry to this series we gave a brief overview of hydraulic system theory, its basic components and how it works. Now lets take a look at some general maintenance tips that will keep our system operating to its fullest potential. The two biggest enemies to a hydraulic system are dirt and water. Dirt can score the insides of cylinders, spool valves and pumps. Wate
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