For most varieties of Lucerne, it is ready to cut when about 10% of the plants have started to flower and you have at least 3-4 rain free days for curing (drying). The best time to cut is mid-morning after the dew has burnt off. Cutting of the Lucerne in the afternoon will require a full day to dry before raking.
The Lucerne is cut with a machine called a Mower-Conditioner. It has several jobs. It first cuts the Lucerne at approx 30-40 mm (1-11/2 in) off of the ground, then feeds it through a set of special rollers (the Conditioner) that squash the stalks flat to release the moisture. The rollers have raised areas inter-spaced with low areas to better flatten the stalks. It is then feed out through a chute onto the ground to make a nice even row called a windrow.
Not all Mowers have a conditioner, this means the Lucerne will take longer to dry and needs to be on the ground longer. This can be a problem in summer when the weather is very changeable and the windows of opportunity without rain can be small. In winter the Lucerne can become very bleached (turns yellow and loose nutrient) before it is dry enough to bail. Any Lucerne paddock dried will lose some colour on the exposed side. The Lucerne in the picture was photographed late in the afternoon before it was bailed.
The number of windrows made by a mower at one time depends on how wide the mower is and how many sets of blades it has. On average 4 sets of blades are needed to cover an area of 1800mm (6 feet) to make one row approx 900mm (3 feet) wide.
If the cut is “light” (short or sparse Lucerne) the farmer may rake two or even three, windrows into one. This can increase drying time if the new windrows end up too heavy. There are several different types of Rakes, but they all essentially do the same job, they turn the Lucerne over so the bottom can dry and the Lucerne underneath can breath.
Raking isn't done till the morning dew has lifted and while the Lucerne hasn't dried out too much. It's not a good idea to rake after a full days sun as the dryer Lucerne on top is likely to loose its leaves when pulled at by the Rake and this cause the Lucerne to become “Stalky” and is devalued.
Once the moisture level in the Lucerne has dropped to about 20 to 25% it is ready to be bailed. A moisture level probe can be used to determine this. If one isn't available one way determe it's readyness is to grab a hand full of hay and twist around for about 3 turns in between your hands, if it doesn't breakup it is still to wet. An other way is, if you pulled a strip of stalk between your fingernails it shouldn't shred or it is still too wet inside.
Opposite to raking, bailing is down when the dew is coming down (which generally means very early mornings), so that you bail with the moisture just settling on the hay. This moisture helps keeps the hay fresh once bailed. If the dew is two heavy like just on sunrise you may have to stop and let some of it dry off or the bails will end up too heavy and wet and go mouldy.
A standard “square” bail of hay (as opposed to a round bail) weighs approx 25+ kg (55lbs), which makes approx 40 bails to a metric ton, (sorry I don't know the imperial conversions). It is approx (350mm x 450mm x 850mm) or (14” x 18” x 34”) in shape.
A Square Bailer uses a set of tines on a rotating drum (where the windrow goes into the bailer in the picture), to pick up the hay in the windrow and toss it into the collection area. Long fingers push the hay into one end where the ram, driven by the tractor, squashes the hay into the square bail chamber. Long needles feed two lengths of twine up between the bails and special knotting mechanisms on top, tie and cut the knot's to form the bail.
The force of the ram pushes the front bail along the chamber as it is forming a new one behind it. The last bail is always left in the chamber to make it easier to form the new bails the next time you use the machine.
Screw adjustors controlling a plate, are used to increase or decrease the weight factor by reducing or increasing the height of the square chamber. As these bails are often sold by number not actual weight it up to the producer to keep them as even as possible, normally erring on the heavier side rather than the light.
A trailer is often hooked on behind (see picture above) and a Catcher collects the bails and stacks them on the trailer while it is still moving. Alternatively a machine called an Accumulator collects the bails and neatly stack them on the ground in pallet size groups to be picked up later by fork lift.
Round Bails are approx 200 kg (440lbs) each and are formed with a special machine that rolls the windrow of hay into a big ball and ties it up with twine. They need some heavy lifting equipment like a forklift to pick them up. My knowledge is a little hazy on Round Bailers as I have only ever used the Square Bailer.
Lucerne needs to be stored out of the weather, The best type of protection are high, open or partly open sided sheds that allow the Lucerne to “breathe” but keep out sun and rain. Bails left in direct sunlight dry out and becomes bleached, this caused loss of nutrition. Rain Damage causes them to go black and/or moldy, making them worth only Mulch prices. While all bails will "yellow" on the outside stacking in Block formation will help keep them fresh inside, however to tight a packing and closed in areas can cause spontaneous combustion due to a build up of heat in the Luceren.
The Lucerne is only left to dry to about 40% moisture often requiring to be raked only once before it is collected and processed. It is cut into smaller pieces, has molasses added to it and then it is compressed into Blocks.
The Lucerne is dried to 20-25% moisture then collected and placed in a chaffing machine, cut up small and then bagged at approx 40kgs (88lbs) each. This a popular feed favoured by pig and horse owners, as it is often mixed into a mash with bran and grains.
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