Don't wait until May to try to do something. If you do, you can bet you'll have yellow fields next year, too. To help with this problem, hay additives may be an option, especially if you're growing a high-value hay, such as alfalfa. But carefully weigh the added expense of additives and the equipment needed to apply them. You may be asking yourself which additive to use.
Hay additives fall into two basic categories, drying agents and inhibitors.
Drying agents enhance field drying, and inhibitors increase the moisture range in which you can bale hay for safe storage. Studies from Oklahoma show a drying agent can cut drying time by as much as 24 hours, with an average being about 12 hours. With drying agents the best moisture content for storage is still 18-20 percent. Inhibitors, on the other hand, restrict aerobic processes to make safe storage of hay possible above 20 percent moisture. The upper limit is around 25-28 percent in Tennessee.