Producing Quality Oat Hay

Curing
For every one tonne of hay baled approximately
three tonnes of water needs to be removed by
evaporation. Dew can add an additional one to
two tonnes of water per hectare.
Curing speed is affected by environmental,
management and mechanical factors (Table 7.2).
An understanding of each of these factors can
help improve the quality of hay that is baled,
stored and eventually fed out.
Table 7.2 Factors that affect the curing of hay.
68 PRODUCING QUALITY OAT HAY
Environmental factors
Solar radiation, temperature and wind combine to
drive the speed of the curing process (Figure
7.3). However, the speed of curing is also
influenced by humidity and rain.
The faster the curing process generally the better
as hay quality continues to decline during the
curing process. This is because the cut plants
respire while their moisture content is above
30%. Respiration is an important part of the
drying process but at the same time plant sugars
Environmental factors Management factors Mechanical factors
Solar radiation Crop maturity Tedders
Temperature Leaves versus stems Mower conditioners
Humidity Time of mowing Super conditioners
Wind speed Windrow formation Windrow inverters
Rakes
Figure 7.3 Influence of solar radiation and airspeed on evaporation rate of water -
source W. Dernedde (1980).