Harvesting Wheat & Baling Straw
Wheat is harvested locally in early to mid-July, depending on the weather and how quickly the crop matures. This year’s wheat crop experienced the second-coldest April, followed by the warmest May and above-average rainfall in June.
Wheat is harvested in early to mid-July in DeKalb County. Farmers use a combine to harvest their wheat. The same combine harvests corn and soybeans. Farmers change the head of the combine for the different crops.
Wes Anderson, a Waterman farmer, anticipates an average wheat crop this year, with yields of around 80 bushels per acre, while Dale Sanderson, a Sycamore farmer, stated that his winter wheat is also shorter this year. Soft red winter wheat is grown locally and throughout Illinois.
Farmers grow wheat as a cover crop to conserve the soil and also as a grain crop as part of their rotation with corn and soybeans which reduces pest problems.
Winter wheat is primarily used for food, with the remainder of the wheat plant being used for straw by livestock. Some livestock consume the straw as roughage, and it is also used as bedding for livestock. Livestock farmers choose to grow wheat so that they have available land to apply manure.
Wheat is baled into straw and used by livestock for roughage and bedding. It also is processed and used in foods such as cereals, cakes, cookies, crackers, flour, and wheat germ.
Flat breads, cereals, cakes, cookies, pretzels, pastries, pancakes, crackers, and wheat germ are just a few of the foods that DeKalb County wheat is used in. Other uses include pet foods and glues.
How do you know when hay is ready to bail?
Farmers can bale their hay by breaking stems in half or twisting them in a circular motion to see if they break cleanly. u201cIf all the stems break and crack, that’s an indication that the hay is cured, and then you can rely on the moisture test that you’re getting from the probe,u201d Yaremcio said.
How dry should straw be to Bale?
The best moisture level for baling hay or green feed depends on the type of baler you have. If you have a large hard-core round baler, 15% moisture is ideal; the bales will keep for a long time at this moisture level. *In low-humidity areas, the lower moisture range is preferred.
How long does wheat hay take to dry?
Because hay requires three days of good weather to cure, which can be difficult in late May or early June, a good strategy is to mow a day before or immediately after it rains, assuming that the weather will be good for the next few days.
How long after cutting hay can you bale it?
Subject: How long does your hay take to dry before baling? Cut first thing in the morning, ted about 2-4 hours later, do nothing the next day, rake as soon as the dew is gone (-48 hours after cutting), let dry about 3 hours, and bale.
Can you cut and bale hay the same day?
Alfalfa was planted in a wide swath at the University of Wisconsin Arlington Research Station (Figure 2) and reached 65 percent moisture in about eight hours, allowing it to be harvested for haylage the same day as cutting.
Can you Ted hay with dew on it?
If the drying conditions are poor and rain is forecasted or the hay is heavy, te it a second time. This applies to any type of hay, grass, legume, or mix; if there are a lot of legumes, use slow rpm and do it with the dew on. You may only have a few hours to get it right.
How do you check the moisture content of hay?
Weigh the dry hay to get the “dry weight,” then divide it by the wet weight to get a percent number, which you can subtract from 100 to get the moisture content percentage.
Can hay be too dry to bale?
While hay with extremely low moisture levels may not be susceptible to mold and bacteria growth, much of the hay’s nutritional value has already been lost, and when hay is too dry before baling, the forage leaves become stiff and brittle, making them more likely to fall off.
At what temperature does hay spontaneously combust?
When the internal temperature of hay rises above 130u00b0F (55u00b0C), a chemical reaction occurs, producing flammable gas, which can ignite if the temperature rises high enough. This can happen in loose hay, small or large bales or stacks, and stored inside or outside.
Can you bale wet straw?
Damp straw stored indoors can develop white moulds that bind the bale together and make it impossible to spread out. A 7-inch depth of wet straw in a round bale is half the straw in the bale; if the same amount of dry straw is required to u201cdry upu201d wet straw, the bales would be useless for bedding a pen!
Can you bale wheat for hay?
The wheat begins regrowing early in the spring, and Reich cuts it for hay in early to mid-July, just as the heads are emerging. Though the plants are still green at the time of cutting, they dry quickly in the swath, allowing Reich to bale the hay two days later.
Why is Bale called wheat?
According to the University of Kentucky AGR -1 Lime and Nutrient Recommendations, baling wheat straw removes 12 lbs of nitrogen, 4 lbs of phosphorus, and 20 lbs of potassium per ton of straw, respectively, so the cost of baling wheat straw will fluctuate as commercial fertilizer prices fluctuate.
Do they bale wheat?
Wheat is baled into straw and used as roughage and bedding by livestock.