Hay & Feed
Bale First Cutting a Little Too Green and the Stack Heats Itself, Sometimes Hot Enough to Burn
Hay put up above 18 to 20 percent moisture keeps working after it leaves the field. Sometimes it just molds and loses…
Farm Equipment
Get the Swather and Baler Ready Now, Because the Breakdown at 8 O’Clock on a Cutting Day Is the One That Costs You a Windrow
A rundown on prepping your haying string before first cutting hits full swing in Montana — sickle sections, knotters, bearings, and the…
Hay & Feed
The First Cutting You Leave Standing for Tonnage Loses the Protein You’ll Buy Back in a Sack Come Winter
Waiting an extra week to cut first-cutting alfalfa or grass hay buys you tonnage and costs you feed value. Here's how to…
Hay & Feed
Alfalfa Weevil Chews the Top Off Your First Cutting While You Wait for the Field to Fill In
Alfalfa weevil larvae strip the leaves off new growth right before first cutting, and the frosted-looking field you're waiting on may be…
Hay & Feed
Put Up Hay a Little Too Wet and the Stack Can Heat, Mold, or Catch Fire Weeks After Baling
Baling first-cutting hay before it's dry enough sets off heating inside the bale that can spoil feed and, in the worst case,…
Farm Equipment
Service the Swather and Baler Before First Cutting, Because a Breakdown Mid-Field Costs You the Window
Haying equipment sits nine months and then gets asked to run flat out for three weeks. A few hours of shop time…
Hay & Feed
Cut Your First-Cutting Alfalfa at Bud Stage, Because Every Day It Blooms Trades Leaf for Stem
First cutting sets the tone for your whole hay year. Waiting for more tonnage costs you protein, and cutting too short costs…
Hay & Feed
Bale Your First Cutting Too Green and the Stack Heats Until It Cooks—or Catches Fire
Wet hay doesn't just mold. Bales put up above safe moisture can heat past 150 degrees, lose feed value, and in a…
Hay & Feed
Foxtail Barley Takes the Wet Spots in June, and the Awns It Buries in Your Hay Fester in a Cow’s Mouth All Winter
Those silvery seedheads coming on in the low ground and the field edges aren't harmless. Foxtail barley awns work into gums, cheeks…
Hay & Feed
The Alfalfa Weevil Frosts the Tips of Your First Cutting While You’re Waiting on the Swather
Alfalfa weevil larvae skeletonize the top leaves of a stand right before first cutting, and the damage looks like frost from the…
Farm Equipment
A Worn Bearing and a Dry Windrow Are All It Takes to Lose the Swather and Half the Field
Most haying-season fires don't start with lightning. They start with a hot bearing, a chaff-packed engine, or a rock and a sickle…
Hay & Feed
Bale That First Cutting Too Wet and the Stack Will Heat Until It Smokes
Hay put up a few points too green keeps working after it leaves the field. Learn to read moisture, stack for airflow,…
Hay & Feed
Cut the First Cutting at Early Bloom, or You’re Trading Protein for Tonnage You Don’t Need
Waiting on the alfalfa to bulk up feels like the smart play, but every day past early bloom pulls protein and energy…
Water & Irrigation
Get Water Across the Hay Meadow While the Creek Still Runs High, Because July Comes Fast
Mountain runoff peaks and drops fast in a Montana June. Spreading flood water evenly across a wild-hay meadow now decides how much…
Farm Equipment
Go Through the Haying Equipment Now, Because a Broken-Down Swather in a Weather Window Costs You the Cutting
First cutting waits on nobody. A weekend spent servicing the swather, baler, and rake before you drop the sickle keeps a good…
Hay & Feed
Bale the First Cutting Too Wet and the Stack Can Catch Fire Three Weeks Later
Hay put up above safe moisture keeps heating in the stack long after you've left the field, and by July it can…
Hay & Feed
Cutting Hay a Week Late Costs You More Feed Value Than the Extra Tonnage Is Worth
Waiting for the swather to fill the windrow buys you bulk, but the protein and energy are already walking out of the…
Hay & Feed
Alfalfa Weevil Chews the Top Off Your First Cutting Before You Ever Drop the Sickle
Weevil larvae skeletonize the leaves off your best alfalfa in June, right when the stand should be filling out. Here's how to…
Farm Equipment
Blow the Chaff Off the Swather Before It Lights the Field on Fire
Haying equipment starts more range fires than most people think. A little grease, an air hose, and a fire extinguisher on the…
Hay & Feed
Bale It Too Wet and the Stack Cooks Itself From the Inside
Hay that goes in the stack a few points too wet heats, molds, loses feed value, and in a bad year lights…
Hay & Feed
Cut It at the Boot, Not When You Get Around to It: Timing First-Cutting Hay
Every day you wait past the boot stage, your grass hay loses protein and gains stem. Here's how to read the crop…
Water & Irrigation
Shut the Headgate in Time: Timing Your Last Flood Before First Cutting
On Montana's flood-irrigated hay meadows, the trick isn't turning the water on — it's knowing when to shut it off so the…
Farm Equipment
Grease It Before It Grinds: Getting Your Hay Equipment Ready Before the First Windrow
A day spent in the shop before first cutting beats a day broke down in the field with a storm building. Here's…
Hay & Feed
Bale It Too Wet and It’ll Cook: Watching Moisture on the First Cutting
Hay put up a little green feels like a win in a short weather window, but bales stacked too wet heat, mold,…
Hay & Feed
Cut the First Crop at Bud Stage: Hay That Tests, Not Just Fills the Stack
First cutting is where you make or lose your protein for the year. A few days' delay and the right baling moisture…