Weather conditions play a key role in getting hay dry enough to bale or chop. However, there are management decisions that you can make to help speed up drying time.

Dan Undersander, University of Wisconsin forage specialist, offers these strategies to speed hay and haylage drying:

• -Cut a wide swath. Ideally, you want plants to lose 20% water as soon as possible to minimize dry matter loss, Undersander says. That first 20% loss comes from the stomata openings in the leaves. Legumes have 10 times more stomata than grass so you need to lay the crop out flat to dry. Conditioning or crimping only cracks and dries the stems.
• -Keep the crop on stubble and off the ground. Don’t put in windrows since this makes the crop heavier and it sinks through the stubble and to the ground.
• -Cut alfalfa mixes about three to four inches high. Mixes with 30% grass dry faster. Keep in mind that ryegrass dries slower than the others.
• -Conditioning is needed when baling the crop. When considering flail or rollers, Undersander says rollers are better for alfalfa. Flails were invented in Europe for grass and they are fine for that. “With a flail, the drying rate is about the same [for grass and alfalfa], but you’re going to lose 2% to 4% DM in leaf loss,” he says. Undersander doesn’t recommend tedders for alfalfa either since they may over-condition the crop. They are good for grass, he says.
• -Check tension and spacing of conditioner rollers. They need to be about one-third inch thick--about as thick as a quarter. “Roll up a square of aluminum foil and run it through to check the spacing,” he suggests.
• -Super conditioners really do work, he says, but each type has its drawbacks. A macerator is slow and not practical to use. Some rotary rakes and inverters are expensive. Wheel rakes are good but you want a model that is ground-driven.