I would like any advice, do's and don'ts....about making hay. Besides being glued to the National Radar what tips do you have....anything. Sometimes it seems that when I mow I must have done a rain dance!!!! PS I am in Michigan, if this makes a difference, the saying goes here "if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes"

If you are planning on making hay with horses then go to: http://workinghorse.yuku.com/. This board is not very active anymore but if you go to the farming with horses section and dig around in the old posts there is a thread or two on making hay that is very good. There is also an old issue of RH 1999 I think that has an article on making hay. Also Lynn Miller has a book Haying With horses.

Here in nw or/wash there is one window before rose parede to make hay. If you see others making it its too late to start, suckers alot of people in. I know quite a few who just wait till after july 4 to make hay. It is turning brown then but you dont have to fight rain and one rain or the damp ground before this prob does more damage than waiting and the hay will be better for it and so will yer haying additude. Waiting helps dry the ground which makes the hay faster and is possible to only turnit once in those scrocher days. It also is easier to mow with a sickle as its dryer at the base and will jam less.

Here in North East Connecticut I alwas tried to have my first cutting done by Mermoral Day weekend. I don't put up hay anymore but when I did we did 35 A and with a few days of hard work we got most of it in before the holiday. If we didn't get it all done then we tried for June near the end of the month. June is a terrable month. This year I think we have had 16 stright days of some kind of rain I think 6 inches. GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!!!!

I have gone from making hay using a #9 mower, a hay loaded and then putting it into the mow loose to the day of the disc cutter and big round bale. I have watched the weather and the sky for years.

The last couple of years I have found the best way to make hay without worry. Since my hay usage has plummetted I know rent my fields. Old habits die hard, I still watch the weather and think about the guys who are cutting my fields since I know how they feel. However, it is now some what easier to get a good nights sleep when there is hay on the ground, not to mention shoulders and back. Is this one of the advantages of getting long in the tooth?

Haying season always started mid may and finished about Oct with no days off unless it did rain. But I wore out my equipment and myself. There is a kid in town that bought a full set of new stuff. Think I'll ask him the price of putting my swamp in the stack.

We do 32 acres of hay with horses. #9 mowers, I&J rotary tedder(with 8 hp honda motor), New Holland 56 rake, ground drive 336 JD baler. I have yet to cut any hay do to rain this spring. However, I am blessed with good help(all females) who get the job done and are here the next day. Our hay is not perfect, but January comes around and all of our Belgian Mares, cows, sheep eat the heck out of it. My goodness there is no better feeling then doing hay yourself, freedom from the auction barn, hay ads, etc. I am not telling you this is easy--if it was everyone would do it. Watch for those western high pressure fronts and watch the wind Michigan can play tricks on moisture with all that water around you. Never give up--it is worth the fight!

you need to have all your equipment in tip top running order--then wait for a window of opportunity and go for it. You can split a field if you are woried about the weather. I have recently used a tedder with some "rescue success"

wally

We've had years of good haying weather. Might be different this year. Very wet spring. Looks like we'll be cutting the alfalfa around the 6-10th of July depending on bloom. Grass hay looks like it's a little slow due to the cold weather and we will probably start on it around the 24th of July, which is just a little late, but not much.
With all the ground we have to cover on a cattle ranch. You just start haying when the hay's ready and stop either when you're done or the snow hits you in the a$$.

Don't watch the weather. It will make you nervous and those percentages don't mean a thing. The forecast isn't good enough to rely on. Just cut the hay when it isn't actually raining (or about to). It should be cut when it's at the right maturity, regardless of forecast. If it gets rained on it won't be as good, or might even get ruined but if you cut it on time your next cutting will more than make up for the difference in quality. This is Midwestern advice, don't know a thing about the West, East etc.