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The ability to make quick repairs and perform routine maintenance on your hay equipment is crucial to an efficient and productive hay season. The following is a list of parts, supplies, and tools that every hay producer should have on hand--some in the equipment shed and some in the tool box to carry out to the field. You likely already have several of these items on your small farm. If you need to purchase any, however, most can be found at your local equipment dealership, at an ag box store, o …

As the old adage claims, prevention is worth a pound of cure. More applicably, in the world of hay production, prevention is worth pounds of curing hay--and the best way to prevent problems in the hay field is through regular maintenance of your equipment. Several of our previous blogs have discussed maintenance to prepare for the hay season and maintenance to close out the hay season. This blog will provide a check list of maintenance that should be performed each time your equipment is us …

Over the past few months we have been covering the basics of hay production. We have already discussed mowing and tedding. In this blog we will discuss the raking process. Once your fields have cured, it’s time to rake. Though by this point in the process your sights are set on a field full of sweet-smelling bales, raking should never be overlooked in its importance to the final product. Raking done well can increase the quality of a bale while raking done poorly will surely decrease it. …

April’s blog discussed the first step of the baling process--mowing. This month’s blog will give tips for the next step--tedding. What is a tedder? A tedder is an implement that is used to fluff and spread hay to decrease drying time. Tedding is typically done after the hay is mowed and before it is raked into windrows for baling. Many hay mowers, unless they have a built-in conditioning system like our Ibex TS51C and TM67C drum mowers, tend to windrow the cut crop into a tight pile that …