The Wilmington morning star., 1940-09-02
EARLY HARVESTING
0F HAY ADVOCATED
proper Cutting And Curing
Of Crop Asked By Exten-
sion Agronomist Blair

pXpreSSloH "
referring to a large sum Of
money. If COWS, horses and mules
,o,,l6 talk they probably also
,,.o,,ld say that amt hay in scor'
I'D some of the grasses and other
rrops being harvested and cured
* bay at this season OF the year
in North Carolina.
F c, Blair, Extension agronom'
;st of N. C. State college, says
.h.t most of the hay made in
North Carolina is too nearly ma.
.nrp when harvested. Much So
cslled hay is nothing but a mixture
~ rine seeds and straw" tn G
snecialist declared. There is ar
idea prevalent among farmers thai
Good hay must contain lots Of
Grain This is wrong.
Good hay must be leafy and
Green in color. The stems must be
small, soft, pliable, and free from
woodiness. Farmers forget that in
waiting for the grain to develop,
thew usually lose more nutrients
from the stems and leaves than
thew gain from the seeds. Some
animals have to tough it out all
winter on the stalks alone, the
,ood having been shattered or
threshed out"
Blair says the very best hay is
made from plants that are cut be-
fore they bloom. However, as
these plants are sappy and hard
TO cure. and as slightly later cut
ting makes a higher yield with
little or no loss in total feed value
per acre, it is a good practice
with most crops to delay harvest
until the plants approach full
bloom. Then if the hay is cured
carefully, a desirable feed from
all standpoints is obtained.
DigestibIe Protein Counts
The percentage Of digestible pro-
TEN is the best criterion Of the
value of hay, and Blair cites an
experiment. conducted by agricul-
tural scientists which showed, for
instance, that a ton Of lespedeza
hay contained 214 pounds of di-
gestible. protein when cut before
the plants bloomed, 202 p o d S
when cut while the plants were
in early bloom, and only 178
pounds when cut after blooming.
Similar results were obtained from
cowpea, alfalfa, red clover, Sudan
grass and timothy hays.
The Extension agronomist re-
commends that soybeans be cut
for hay as soon as the pods begin
TO form; that cowpeas be cut when
the pods are half grown; and that
lespedeza be cut when in early
bloom, or when IL inches high,
whichever occurs first.
In discussing the curing of hay,
Blair says: Hay should be cured
SO as to preserve the leaves, which
contain most of the nutrients; to
preserve the natural green color;
to avoid damage from rain or dew;
and to avoid damage from mold.
The leaves r the first part of
the plant to dry out after cutting.
They may become so brittle that
tney shatter off in ordinary handl-
ing, while the stems are still
green. AS long as the leaves are
Kept alive. they help cure the
stems by drawing moisture out of
aen. For this reason hay should
not be left on the ground long after
cutting, but raked into small win
COWS when the leaves begin to
Wilt. This is usually after three
Or 1our hours of bright sunshine.
Windrowing Is Important
Very heavy crops often dry out
on Top, with very little curing next
70 Inc ground. This makes wind
rowing soon after cutting still more
important, since the raking expos
60 me moist portion to the air
@a sunlight. Windrows of heavy
elops should be turned over again
WIN the rake later in the after
iooh' The side delivery rake and
nay tedder are excellent imple-
,lients for stirring and Fastening
ue curing of heavy hay crops.
another reason for raking hay
saliy is that long exposure to the
sullllght will bleach the green color
food value.
II the weather appears settled,
ue nay may be left in the wind
NV overnight. But rain will DAM
ase more hay in the windrow than
% me ground; SO, if there is any
hui caaon of rain, the windrowed
M as should be put into cocks for
m Aignt. In the mountain section,
%,sere the dew is heavy enough to
U,a,' oiof the hay, cooking up this
10y IS always advisable. The
S HshS Should be about four feet in
men, five to six feet high, and
h capped and smoothed down so
N.Y. my Will shed water. Additional
moseeuon from both rain and sun
nisoo De provided by covering with
sm,aS OF canvas about a yard
off lne next day, after the dew is
ba nay left in the windrow should
rsnt safhed over as an aid to more
ba 'lu curing, Cooked hay should
cassa neao out loosely. In most
to nn. !ne hay will be dry enough
ern ~. INTO the barn during the aft.
BIei OF the second day."
r;raa r calls attention to Extension
Mluldf No. 237 ..Makino HOY, IN