In provision forbaling haythis summertime ( which lead remarkably well , I might add ) , we bestow a new prick to our armoury — a portable hand-held hay wet quizzer .
aright measuring themoisture contentedness of hayis arguably the most significant consideration for baling . Hay that is baled too crocked can mildew or , worse , fire up up to extreme temperature and spontaneously combust .
Wet hay is n’t something to mess around with .
Methods Differ for Measurement
On the bright side , it is n’t too difficult to judge the moisture content of hay .
Given three cheery days of good drying weather , you believably do n’t have anything to concern about . Plus , it ’s pretty well-heeled to name wet Basle when they ’re produced .
Dry bales are light for their size and sluttish to handle . Wet Bale give the impression they ’re made of concrete . And if you inclose your hired man into the bale , it can feel damp to the hint .
Going by feel is a sane agency for experienced hobby farmers to guess the moisture content of their hay . We ’ve done it for twelvemonth , set away weighty and plastered Bale to be cut open for closer examination .
But if you lack years of experience manage hay ( or if you just want some extra peace of judgment ) , a portable hay moisture tester can aid you .
Accuracy Has Its Benefits
We purchased our hay tester part out of oddment .
We have no trouble identifying when bales are wry , but we want to measure the moisture content of the occasional heavy bales to see how loaded they are and whether we ’re being too cautious in setting them aside .
Opinions vary on how juiceless is idealistic fordifferent types and size of bales . But less than 18 percent moisture content is considered a good quarry for small square Basel .
Our hay tester was fast and easy to use . Essentially , it ’s a little battery - powered boxful with a long rod confiscate .
The teaching call for the testing rod to be inserted into the hay Basle at a 45 - degree slant . Once it ’s in place , you hit the examination clitoris and the equipment give a read-out in seconds .
you could also use the examiner prior to bale . Just scoop up some hay from a windrow and take it tightly into a pail to simulate the compaction of a tight Basle . Or , if you want to check the temperature of a confutative bale a day or two after bale , the tester provides this measure as well .
Smaller handheld units start around $ 60 . 1 with extra features can cost around $ 200 to more than $ 400 .
I was encouraged to discover that going by feel is reasonably reliable . The bales we deemed ironical were well within the ideal range ( with wet capacity run about 13 percentage ) .
Meanwhile , we correctly set aside some of the heavy bales , which came in closer to 19 percentage . On the smart side , we see some of the toilsome Basle — while marginally moister — were still only in the 16 percent to 17 percent range , so we quickly gave the immature light to Basle we might have otherwise set aside .
The Tester Saves Time & Effort
So the hay testersaved us some fourth dimension and attempt , which means a lot when it come to bale hay .
The good part ? It barely interrupted the flow of our unloading because testing any given Basle take less than a arcminute .
If you need to heighten the scientific side of your next hay baling time of year , I encourage you to cull up a hay moisture tester . In addition to hand-held meters , you could purchase units to instal on a hay baler that provide a read-out for every bale .
Before long , you ’ll be able-bodied to judge crocked and ironic Basle just by feel , a good science for any farmer to have .
