Can someone give me the steps on how grass is turned into hay?

Question

i need specific names of the machnes nd how long inbetween the cutting and drying!

or even a website!!!!!

Answer 1

CHAPTER II HAYMAKING


Haymaking turns green, perishable, forage into a product that can be safely stored and easily transported without danger of spoilage, while keeping losses of dry matter and nutrients to a minimum. This involves reducing its moisture content from 70 - 90% to 20 - 25% or less. Techniques for natural pasture, sown pasture and crops specifically cultivated for conservation at three levels of technology are considered: manual haymaking; simple mechanization with draught animal power or small tractors; and fully mechanized systems. It is, of course, possible to have some or all of the operations of haymaking done mechanically under contract, provided that the fields are big enough to warrant it; this is feasible where the climate at harvest time can be relied on. In areas of uncertain climate, however, it is less suitable, since equipment must be on hand for each operation as the weather and condition of the hay dictates. Further notes are given in Chapters III to VI, where hay crops are discussed.

Problems in haymaking vary according to the crop, climate and prevailing weather at harvest:

- Under sub-humid and humid temperate conditions, the main problems are related to slowness of drying, so, to avoid loss by spoilage, the aim is to dry the crop as quickly as conditions will allow.

- Under hot, dry conditions, in contrast, the problems are more likely to be either shattering of the finer parts of the plant, through too rapid drying, or bleaching, with consequent loss of carotene and vitamins.

The main discussion is on climates where drying is a problem, as these are the most difficult for haymaking. Fine-leaf grasses and legumes are traditional hay crops in most areas but, in the subtropics, hay is made from coarse cereals such as maize and sorghum, now mostly in small-scale farming situations, notably in India and Pakistan. On mechanized farms, nowadays, coarse cereals are usually ensiled.

Where hay is made from pasture, rather than arable crops, the fields may be both grazed and mown at different seasons of the year. If the main output of a field is hay, it will still be grazed when the weather is unsuitable, then left for the forage to reach the correct stage at the optimum season for haymaking; the aftermath may thereafter be grazed. With grazing fields, the immediate requirements of the stock has priority but, at the season of peak grass growth, forage availability outstrips the needs of the herd and the whole or part of fields (shut off by electric fences) may be used opportunistically for hay.

Types of hay
Hay may be made in several forms, according to the conditions, its intended use and the level of technology.

- Long hay, the traditional, age-old form of herbage, mown, turned and carted is the main subject of this book.

- Chopped hay is an option where conditions for drying are good and systems highly mechanized; it is less bulky and better for mechanical handling, but must be conditioned, windrowed and collected with a forage harvester.

- Baled hay. Originally baling was by hand (trusses or bottles), and then by stationary machines. It has been automated since the 1950s, with the introduction of the pick-up baler. Big bales which can be individually handled by a tractor-mounted front-end loader are now the main kind in large-scale farming; round bales are the simplest to make and most popular. Their shape sheds rain and resists water better than traditional bales.

- Hand-trussed hay is widespread in manual haymaking, often as a means of reducing shattering.

- Wafered and pelleted hay is dense and free-flowing, so it is easy to transport, handle and store. Field units are available, but expensive; they are used for high-quality legume hay in climates which allow rapid drying. Losses are lower than with baling.

- "Dried grass," i.e., herbage artificially dried at high temperatures, has been produced from time to time; the process allows conservation of a younger and higher quality material, but it is not currently economically attractive.

- Barn-dried hay. Equipment for fan-assisted drying (with or without additional heat) is now available, but is not widely used.

Principles
The drying process

Moisture-loss is rapid at first, especially from the leaves, as the stomata are open. As the herbage wilts, the stomata close and water has to find ways out through the waxy epidermis of the leaves and stems. The moisture inside the stems takes longer to get out. With the coarser forages, some mechanical conditioning at the time of mowing is necessary if the crop is to dry evenly and in a reasonable time. The rate of drying, of course, depends on the weather: sunshine, wind and the moisture content of the air are the main factors.

Drying should be done as quickly as possible to minimize losses. At mowing, the herbage will contain between 70 and 90% of moisture, and this will have to be reduced to between 12 and 20% before the hay can be stored safely. The safe moisture content will depend on a range of factors, including storage method; local climatic conditions; size of stacks or bales; where the hay is to be stored; and the nature of the crop. As a very rough guide, 25% moisture is recommended as a maximum for long loose hay; 20% for chopped hay and 5% for pelleted, cured hay.

The swath is the mown forage lying in the field; the windrow is either made by raking one or more swaths together or formed directly by a mower-conditioner or windrower. After drying in the swath, further drying in the bale, stack, barn or field may be needed. The harvesting method used should match the rate and total amount of drying that can be expected in a swath or windrow. The quality of hay can be roughly assessed in the field both visually and by handling, twisting a bunch if necessary. It should feel crisp and look bright. Bleached hay always indicates a badly weathered crop.

The drying process in the swath is reviewed by Jones and Harris (1979). The stomata close soon after the herbage is mown. The amount of water to be removed is "roughly equivalent to that transpired by the crop in one day under the conditions of May and June in the south of England." There are two types of limitation to water loss: (i) those which restrict movement of water from plant tissues to the air immediately surrounding the plant within the swath, and (ii) those which restrict the movement of water from the air within the swath to the ambient air. The most favourable conditions for drying are at the swath surface, where both radiation and air circulation are at a maximum. The requirements for drying are a supply of energy and a water vapour gradient decreasing from the evaporating surface to the ambient air; this varies throughout the swath. Within the swath, a microclimate develops which limits water loss. As drying progresses, the humidity gradient within the swath increases because density is reduced as water is lost, so more solar radiation can enter and air-flow is improved. Under British conditions, Jones and Harris (1979) recommend that if the weather is sunny the swath should be spread to get the full benefit of radiation; if conditions are dull but windy, then the swath should be set up for aeration. Again under British conditions, Clark and McDonald (1977) found that in July there was limited evaporation from the swath from dawn to 09:00, high evaporation from 09:00 to noon, a decrease from noon to 18:00 because of decreasing available energy and increasing swath resistance, and evaporation was almost zero after 18:00.

The main operations in haymaking
Haymaking methods vary depending on crop and circumstances, but the main operations are more or less the same in all cases:

- mowing, which may be combined with conditioning;

- artificial conditioning for rapid drying. (an innovation, and only sometimes carried out);

- turning and tedding to allow even drying of the swath, help dissipate heat and reduce the danger of mould development and fermentation;

- windrowing, i.e., putting the cut herbage into rows for further handling and collection, and sometimes also for protection at night. In hot arid conditions, windrowing protects the crop against shattering and bleaching;

- trussing or putting into cocks (small heaps) are intermediate stages of drying used in some manual systems; and

- carting and storage, with or without baling. In traditional systems the cured long hay is carted and stored in stacks or barns. Baling before storage is much more common in modern, mechanized systems.

Losses in haymaking
To keep losses and spoilage to a minimum, operator skill and experience is essential in giving the attention to detail which is necessary throughout the haymaking process. Much depends on the judgement and experience of the operator. The main way of minimizing loss is to dry the herbage as rapidly and as evenly as possible, and handle it with care thereafter.

Causes of loss include those considered below.

- Fermentation, with losses beginning as soon as the crop is mown. Enzymatic oxidation of the sap and the activity of bacteria and moulds on the crop surface cause losses, with generation of heat. If the crop is not aerated sufficiently to dissipate the heat, serious damage can occur. Turning and tedding must therefore be prompt and adequate.

- Mechanical leaf loss occurs during tedding and field handling.

- Leaching losses occurs if rain falls on the crop during the curing process. Re-wetting of partially dried hay is much more serious than rain on newly-cut herbage, and can cause both leaching and increased mould damage. Should rain be imminent on a partially-dried crop, it should, if possible, be gathered into bigger windrows or cocks.

- Further mechanical loss occurs during collection, transport and baling. Their severity depends partly on the skill of the operator.

- Spoilage in the stack or bale is particularly dangerous, and can lead to the loss of the entire harvest, usually as a result of storing material which is at too high a moisture content in over-large units or poorly designed stacks which allow rain penetration or do not allow some ventilation. The ideal moisture content for stacking or baling depends on the crop and the site, and experience and field judgement must be the general guide. The farmer must judge by feel and make a decision in the light of the prevailing weather: when the herbage feels crisp in the hand and does not show moisture when twisted, it is probably at 25 - 30% moisture and ready to bale. Moisture meters are not generally available nor convenient to use in the field, and taking a representative sample is not easy. Fine-leaved, thin-stemmed herbage dries most quickly; large coarse grasses with thick stems and nodes (e.g., Sudan grass) can still have a lot of juice in the stems after the leaves are quite dry. In extreme cases, the fermentation may raise temperatures to levels where spontaneous combustion occurs. Poorly cured or mouldy hay, apart from losses, will lead to poor intake or refusal by stock, and may contain mycotoxins. Mouldy hay gives rise to the human disease known as "farmers' lung."

- Wastage during utilization includes losses from opened stacks and poor feeding techniques. It is dealt with in Chapter X.

Hay preservatives

Several proprietary preservatives are now available; their purpose is to allow hay to be stored at elevated moisture levels that in the absence of preservative would result in severe deterioration or moulding. Hay of 40 - 50% can be stored. Propionic acid is one of the substances used. Anhydrous ammonia or urea treatment, which was originally developed for improving the digestibility of straw, has given good results in hay by improving its stability under anaerobic conditions, as well as improving its nutritive value. The ammonia, in addition to excluding air, has a fungicidal effect, and also increases the crude protein content of the hay. This is discussed in Chapter IX, where the treatment of straws and stovers is described.

Timing of harvest and stage of growth

Two main factors determine the timing of haymaking: the expected weather of the season and the stage of maturity of the crop. Usually the season will be pre-determined by potential availability of herbage and the likelihood of suitable haymaking weather. Pasture, natural or sown, will be managed, by grazing or taking silage cuts as necessary, so that the herbage reaches a suitable stage for curing when good weather is expected. Where sown forage is to be cured, the crop will be chosen and its cultivation organized to match good haymaking weather. If a farm intends to make a lot of hay, consideration must be given to growing a range of species and cultivars to extend the season during which the various crops will be in peak condition for haymaking, and thus make best use of the available equipment and labour.

All steps in haymaking should aim at producing as high a quality of product as possible, but the stage of maturity of the crop is the major factor determining the quality of the final product. Herbage quality drops off rapidly with increasing maturity, especially after flowering, but very young, leafy grass is less easy to handle than more mature herbage, and its yield is less. A compromise between yield and quality has to be made, and, usually, cutting at early to mid-flowering will give a reasonable product. Where tripod drying or barn-drying facilities are available, a younger product can be dried. In "good" haymaking climates, younger material can be cured more successfully than in areas with moist climates, or where there is danger of tropical storms. Cereals for hay are cut at a more mature stage than are pasture grasses, often when the grains are fully formed. Hay from natural pasture is more influenced by the natural growth cycle than are sown crops, and harvesting seasons are often traditional. Many hay meadows rely on natural fertility rather than applied fertilizer, so there is often only one period in the year when they carry sufficient herbage for haymaking.

The time of year depends on the availability of suitable herbage and the weather pattern. The rest of the farming cycle and availability of labour and machinery of course also have a determining role. The aim is always to have both high-quality herbage and a high probability of suitable haymaking weather coincide. Where there is an overall scarcity of forage, farmers may make hay even when the quality of the crop is poor. For example, in the monsoonal tropics and subtropics, a lot of hay is made from very over-mature herbage because the weather during the season when the grass is at its best quality is unsuitable for drying. The product is poor, but even hay which is no better than straw is highly valued. Examples are given in the case studies on Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and the Sahel.

The time of day to start is equally weather dependent, but if the day dawns fair, it is best to mow as early as possible. If the crop is very wet due to previous rain or heavy dew, it may be advantageous to wait an hour or two while the upper part of the crop dries somewhat, since standing grass will dry more quickly than a cut swath. Mowing should not, however, be put off too long, especially under tropical conditions, where afternoon showers are usual. If cut early, the crop can often be turned and windrowed in a morning, before the afternoon rain. Where the scythe is used for mowing, it is everywhere agreed that it is best to start while there is still dew on the herbage, since this greatly facilitates mowing. For haymaking by sickle, however, Skerman and Riveros (FAO, 1989) recommend waiting until the dew has dried. Early mowing allows the other operations, especially turning, to start early and increases the chances of having drying well advanced during the first day.

Deciding whether or not to mow on any given morning may be a problem. In arid areas and climates with a fairly definite dry season (e.g., making oat hay in the North African late spring, or irrigated fodder in arid areas) there is little difficulty. In uncertain climates, however, it is necessary to assess whether there will be a spell of good weather sufficient to allow the making of hay safely, or at least to be able to get it into large windrows. Local weather forecasts, as well as experience, will help, as the time required to cure hay varies greatly with site and climate. In good tropical and subtropical conditions, it can be cut and cured the same day; under humid temperate conditions, several days of good weather are required. In the UK, hay is rarely made in under three days. Delay once the crop has reached a suitable stage of maturity will, of course, reduce the likelihood of producing high-quality hay. Mowing when there is a possibility that poor drying weather will hamper curing may lead to slow drying, long periods in the field, rain damage and possible mouldiness. The final decision is one which requires all the farmers' experience and skill, but in a case of indecision it is probably better to mow than to put off.

The number of cuts per year varies greatly. On natural pasture, only one cut from the spring or summer flush is usually possible (unless the herbage is greatly modified by fertilizer). Sown pasture and fodder may provide several cuts. For pasture, alternate grazing and mowing (for either hay or silage) is often used, according to the needs of the herd and the weather at the time when a surplus to conserve is available. Hay can only be made when forage is available at the right stage and suitable drying weather is available! Irrigated crops in semi-arid areas have good haymaking conditions and cutting should be organized to maximize production while maintaining quality through frequent cuts. This is especially important for the major irrigated forage, lucerne, and details are given in Chapters III to VI. In warm, irrigated areas, cuts may be almost monthly.

Haymaking
Haymaking requires rapid action to take advantage of such good weather as is available, to make the best use of the equipment, labour and power available, and to synchronize and complete the multiple tasks involved. The amount cut should match the capacity for conditioning, tedding and baling, so that each part of the field is dealt with as it reaches the required moisture content.

General principles

All activities in haymaking must be done on time, from mowing, through turning, to windrowing and baling or stacking, otherwise the crop will spoil. At no point until it is won can mown hay be left. The amount mown daily must therefore correspond to the labour and machinery available for all the other activities that must follow. Mowing should be so organized as to minimize turning and "empty" time for the mower, and to facilitate subsequent operations. Whatever machine is used for tedding or windrowing, it is best to follow the mower round the field in the same direction when the swaths are first moved. If conditioning is done, it should be at, or immediately after, mowing, as should be the first turning to improve aeration and speed up drying.

Under good conditions, the made hay can be carted from the windrow after one or more turnings. The time involved varies greatly according to climate, weather and crop. In dry, warm subtropical conditions, hay can be trussed, baled or carted on the day of its cutting, and indeed may have to be in order to avoid undue leaf-loss through shattering.

Figure 3. Shaftal (Trifolium resupinatum) drying on a rammed-earth surface. Note the local sickle; the brush is for recovering shattered leaves (Ghazni, Afghanistan)



Practice and equipment
Agronomic details of crop installation and management are dealt with at length in Chapters III and IV, but it is worth repeating that careful land levelling, at sowing and where necessary between mowings, is essential. Where frosts occur, heavy rolling in spring of fields with stones and pebbles on the surface is very worthwhile for protecting mowers. Heavy applications of nitrogenous fertilizers are limited by increasing density of sward, which hinders drying and can cause lodging, with subsequent harvesting difficulties and losses.

Damage by wheel traffic can lead to severe reductions in stand production and life, either through soil compaction or, especially in lucerne, by damaging crowns and re-growth when field operations are delayed. The lightest equipment compatible with the task should be used; mown herbage should be removed as soon as its condition allows and unnecessary passage on the field avoided. Great longevity of lucerne stands is claimed in some small-scale farming areas (Afghanistan, northern Pakistan) where all operations are manual. Could this in part be due to absence of damage by wheeled implements?

Manual haymaking
Mowing

Until the middle of the nineteenth century, all hay was hand mown. There are two basic hand tools: the sickle and the scythe.

Sickles are designed for cutting cereals, but are poorly adapted to mowing hay, and very slow and laborious in comparison to the scythe. They are, nevertheless, widely used, especially in India and Pakistan, often in a blunt, saw-edged version. Where farms are very small and haymaking a secondary task, equipment is kept to a minimum.

The scythe is the traditional grass-cutting tool of northern Asia and Europe. It can mow at about five times the speed of the sickle. It requires a sward which is reasonably free from obstacles, must be kept very sharp by regular whetting throughout the day, and requires some skill to use. A scythe cuts wheat faster than a sickle, but it does not leave bunches ready to tie. Where the preference in cereal harvesting is for the sickle, small-scale farmers seem loath to acquire additional cutting tools for the minor hay crop.

Answer 2

A machine called a hay baler is used and the farmer drives it around the paddock and it cuts and bales the hay and then drops it in the middle of the paddock ready for the farmer to come along and pick it up.

Hay can also be baled into large round rolls which need a machine to transport them as they are so big. It is better to cut the hay after morning dew has dried and the soil isnt damp. It is also important that the grass isnt too dry as if baled when too dry it is brittle and breaks.

Answer 3

grass and hay are not the same thing, hey is grown to cut when it reaches a specific height then dried and cut into bundles.

Answer 4

the grass grows and when it's tall enough, it's cut and formed into the rolls or squares by machine... it slowly dries and becomes hay... that's an odd question... are you doing a report?

Answer 5

cut it
Dry it
You get hay

Answer 6

I think you should do your own homework. That's how you learn.