The Kuhn
Haying System
Higher quality hay in half the time
M
ost of us are still occupied with winter chores and other winter
activities. Although, time passes quickly and those of us involved
in haying will soon start thinking about the coming haying
season. It might be useful to take a look at what we have done in the past
to see if we might be able to improve ‘’the way we‘ve always done it. ‘’
Whether you’re doing 20 acres
or 2,000 acres, there are ways to
improve the process, and we need
to think beyond how fast we can
cut. We need to look at the whole
process. Our goal is to bale the best
crop we can. What changes can we
make to improve the quality of hay
we harvest? Do we have the right equipment? Is it set for optimum
performance? Is our equipment in the best condition? Are we using it in
the most efficient manner possible? There is quite a bit to choose from
when choosing hay tools and we need to choose the right machine for
the crop conditions. Let’s look at the process and what is involved.
Getting the crop cut is the first step and will chart the course for
everything else. If we get that right, the chances are much better for
By Pat Konechne, Kuhn North America, Inc.
& Rick Walters, Southwest Ag, Inc.
harvesting quality bales. As soon as the hay is cut, it becomes a perishable
product and has to be cared for on a timely basis. When the crop is cut,
respiration and photosynthesis continue until plant moisture is reduced to
60% - 65%. During this time, valuable plant nutrients are being used to
support this growth, which reduces the relative feed value of the crop. We
want to get the crop dried to 60% relative moisture as quickly as possible
to preserve the feed nutrients. What can we do to promote these good
drying conditions? The hay needs to be exposed to air and sunlight. This
is a key point to remember throughout the process.
There are several opportunities to promote drying beginning
with mower conditioners that today are adaptable to various crops.
Adjustments can be made to the width of the windrow, the intensity of
the conditioning, the floatation and the cutting height. These adjustments
greatly affect how well the crop is cut
and placed into a windrow.
Let’s start with cutting the hay by
considering the cutting width. Using
a 14’ to 18’ mower conditioner in a
high-producing crop produces a single
dense windrow compromising drying
time. A narrower cutting width produces a smaller volume windrow that
dries faster. There have been many debates on the value of conditioning,
but most hay producers agree that harvesting the best possible hay
would be difficult without the use of a conditioner. Two general types of
conditioners are roller and non-roller. The roller conditioner is probably
the most familiar and best understood, but to be effective it must be
correctly adjusted for the crop. The best roller conditioner design is when
the roller and the cutter bar width are the same, allowing for even crop
flow through the conditioner. A 16’ cutter bar with a 9 ½’ conditioning roll
will cut hay fast but it dries slowly because of uneven conditioning. The
hay mat going through the rollers will be thicker on the ends and thinner
in the middle. To be effective, the gap between the rolls needs to be
uniform and close enough to crimp all the hay passing between the rollers,
and the roller pressure needs to be
sufficient to hold the rollers together.
Both the roller gap and pressure are
adjustable and should be checked
as crop conditions change.
To check your conditioner, start
the machine and cut 50 yards or so
into the field and stop, turn the machine off and go back to look at
the hay in the windrow. Pick up several stems throughout the windrow
to see that it is only cracked. This is sufficient to allow the moisture
to dissipate. On alfalfa, if the head of the plant is a dark color, this
indicates over-conditioning. You will see broken stems as well, which
means the gap needs to be increased at least a stem thickness. If you
over-condition to the point of breaking the stem, it takes the rigidity
out of the stem making a tighter windrow restricting air movement and
Whether you have been
harvesting hay for years
or just getting started,
try to match the equipment
to the environment.
slowing the drying process. If there is bunching in the windrow, take
a look at the windrow forming shields to make sure there is nothing
disrupting the flow. If the ground is dry, you can widen out the windrow
to reduce the bulk of the windrow, speeding up the dry down. Once the
rollers have been adjusted, you want to check them for cleanliness. If
you’re in new seeding or have a lot of gopher mounds, dirt can build up
and cause over-conditioning. When properly maintained and adjusted,
roller conditioners can be very effective.
Non-roller conditioners are very
simple with only one rotating
component. Kuhn conditioners are
referred to as either poly-flail or
finger comb conditioners. They are
lighter and will require minimum
maintenance for the life of the
machine. The conditioning concept is different, rather than crimp and
crack the stem, the finger or flail bruises the stem and scuffs the wax to
release the stem moisture. This bruising will show up on the stem as a
darkened area. Over-conditioning would be indicated by broken stems.
Kuhn poly-flail and finger comb mower conditioners are full cutting width
conditioners and tend to fluff the hay when discharging it into the windrow
and are very easy to adjust, not requiring tools. Poly-flail and finger comb
conditioners are very effective and gentle conditioners designed so that
the cut end of the stem enters the conditioner first. This minimizes leaf
loss and head damage maintaining feed value and appearance often
superior to roller conditioners.
Another thing to keep in mind on your mower conditioner is the float-
ation adjustment. On today’s modern disc cutting machines, you cut at
a high rate of speed. If you hit an obstruction, the cutter bar floatation
is going to save the cutter bar. Flotation must be properly adjusted and
be responsive enough to reduce impact damage to the cutter bar. If the
cutter bar is set too heavy it can plow through gopher mounds putting
dirt in the windrow, degrading hay quality, leaving streaks in the field
and wearing the skid shoes more quickly.
Another important adjustment is cutting height. Cutting short may put
a little more hay in the bale, but it will also put more dirt and trash in the
bale. If you cut higher, up to 3 inches or more, you allow extra air to get
under the windrow. Drying will be improved, but more importantly our
cool season grasses (brome, orchard, fescue, etc.) that have growing
tips 2 to 3 inches above ground will generate re-growth up to two
weeks faster for the next cutting. The owner’s manual for your machine
will explain how these adjustments are to be made.
Kuhn offers several disc mower conditioners including 3-point hitch
models, side-pull models, center-pivot models that enable both right
and left side cutting, tractor front-mounted models and front- and
rear-mounted combinations with total cutting widths up to 29 feet.
All of which have full-width conditioning. A center pivot machine adds
maneuverability when cutting irregular fields. A relatively new concept
that is very efficient and cost-effective is a tractor with a front mounted
mower conditioner and a pull type on the back. This requires a front
PTO and 3 point hitch which allows you to use both ends of the tractor.
Depending on the power available, you can cut from 18’ to 29’ and
put the hay in 2 or 3 windrows with full width conditioning for faster
drying. If you have a smaller tractor, a 9’ to 10’ front mounted mower
conditioner only is an option. Kuhn’s large selection of disc mower-
conditioners allows you to select the right machine sized to your needs.
This provides a cost-effective alternative to owning a single purpose
self-propelled swather tractor in a short season hay production area
with a limited number of cuttings by replacing it with a year round use
tractor with enhanced capabilities.
approach because it is more perishable, more time sensitive and a
larger percentage of relative feed value is dependent on leaf retention.
Now that the hay is tedded, when do you rake it? You don’t want to let
it lay much past the wilt stage, or raking will cause significant leaf loss
reducing relative feed value. Kuhn leaf saver rotary rakes utilize a simple
sweeping action that gently creates fluffy, well aerated windrows. As
soon as you can use a Kuhn leaf saver rake and create a windrow that
doesn’t slump or settle it is time to rake. Conventional rakes such as
rollabar rakes and wheel rakes roll the hay over the ground and rope
the hay into a windrow. The heavier the hay the tighter the windrow,
and this compromises the drying process. Consequently, the hay needs
to be dryer before using a conventional rake. If you are going to rake
with a conventional rake tomorrow, you can rake with a rotary today.
Using the tedder and rotary rake together can take a day and a half
off the drying time and maximize leaf retention. Since the rotary rake
is PTO-driven it does not need to contact the ground to operate. The
benefit is less dirt in the hay, faster drying, and when used properly,
your hay will be cleaner and greener, with higher nutritional value.

As a perishable product, once we have the crop cut, we are at the

mercy of ‘’Mother Nature.” You can wait and hope it doesn’t get rained
on, or you can use additional options to stimulate drying. The hay you
are cutting is approximately 85% moisture and will settle quite a bit in
the next few hours. The more it settles the slower the drying process.
You can wait until it is dry enough
to bale, but how many days will
that take? Relative feed value of the
crop decreases every day the hay
lays in the field. Your option is to
stimulate uniform drying by fluffing
and aerating the windrow. One very
effective tool is a tedder. A tedder
What to
will spread the windrow evenly and
allow the air to get at the crop to dissipate the stem moisture. You want Keep in Mind
to ted your hay as soon as you can. In alfalfa you can ted within 3 hours
of cutting and you will have less than 1% leaf loss. So why can’t you
Conditioners don’t dry hay, they
just spread the windrow out right off the mower conditioner? If the
ground that the hay is going to lay on is dry, this is an effective option. are the beginning of the process; you
If there is surface moisture and you lay down a wide windrow, the sun
will generate heat in the ground and moisture then evaporates from the need sunlight and aeration.
ground, rises to the cool crop stems and condenses. You can actually
feel the moisture on the bottom of the windrow. In this situation, you When you break that bale open
want to make the windrow out of the mower conditioner reasonably
narrow. This will allow the ground to dry, and as soon as it is dry you and it looks nice and green and full
can spread the hay onto the dry ground with a tedder. This is a very
of leaves with no dirt and your
effective way to stimulate drying, especially those early cuttings in the
spring and the late cuttings in the fall. Grass hay can be tedded more livestock eats it all, you know you
than once if necessary. Alfalfa is a different plant and takes a different
are getting it right.
 Have a
great haying season!

Tedders come in various sizes from single windrow models, to models
up to 56’ wide. The staff at Southwest Ag can get the right size tedder
for your mower or mower conditioner. Just tell them how wide you are
cutting and they can size the tedder to it. If you are not sure about a
tedder and would like to try one first, Southwest Ag can rent you one to
see if it works for you.
If you don’t use a tedder, a rotary rake can be very effective in fluffing
and aerating a windrow to promote drying. If you have hay that has
been rained on, as soon as you can get on the field use a rotary rake
to turn and fluff the windrow. By doing this in a timely manner you can
save a hay crop.
The baling process is where the drying results really count. What you have
done up to this point will have a big effect on the ease of baling. Round
balers and square balers perform differently in regard to moisture. You can
actually put up higher moisture hay with a round baler because a round
bale will cure if left a few days before stacking. Most of the round balers
sold today are sold with net wrap rather than twine. The net wrapped bale
stores better and sheds moisture better
than a twine tied bale. If you are baling
a lot of round bales, net wrap will save
time because it takes as little as 1/6th
the time to net wrap than twine tie; this
can save hours in the field. This saves
time and fuel with less leaf lose during
wrapping. A 4’ wide round bale will go
on a truck without over width issues.
If you are in the commercial hay business, the square baler is the baler
of choice. A large square baler will put up tons of hay in a short period of
time. It will stack and ship better as well. Kuhn round and large square
balers can be fitted with an opticut cutting system that will cut and size
the stem length as it goes into the bale chamber. There are several
benefits to the opticut option. By cutting the hay as it is baled, you will
have a denser bale. An opticut bale that is put in a feeder will be more
efficiently utilized because livestock will be able to get hay out of the
bale easier and in bite size quantities. Bales that have been processed
in the baler, and fed free choice, will go 30% to 40% further because
not as much is wasted. If you are using a mixer feeder, an opticut bale
will mix in nearly half the time of an uncut bale.
Harvesting hay has changed dramatically over the years. This change
has been for the better by providing more efficient ways to put up hay. If
you don’t like your results, then you need to change your system. We’ve
detailed several simple things that can be done to improve harvest
efficiency and hay quality. Other improvements are more major such
as replacing a piece of equipment to improve productivity. Efficiency
is important to all of us in time savings and operating costs. Whether
you’ve been haying for years or you’re just getting started, try to match
the equipment to the conditions and certainly match the companion
machines that are used in the process. The size of your equipment
should match the level of production you need. The staff at Southwest
Ag is very knowledgeable on haying equipment because of their 30
years experience with hay equipment and can advise you on the right
machine for your conditions. You also have the option to rent hay
equipment if you choose not to purchase or just want to see if a piece
of equipment really meets your needs.
Remember in the past when you were out checking your hay and you said
“it’s ready to bale, get the rake.” In the future, you will come to realize
that if done properly, when it’s ready to bale, you will get the baler.

For more information you can contact: Pat Konechne, Kuhn North America, Inc., pat.konechne@kuhn.com or Rick Walters, Southwest Ag, Inc., rick@swaginc.com.

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