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Archive for June 30th, 2008
Moisture readings at time of baling differ from moisture readings next day
Posted by Janice from Sherwood Park, AB, CA on June 30, 2008
I was baling timothy alfalfa hay yesterday. The moisture tester on the baler gave readings averaging 12 to 13 percent. The weather conditions were extremely hot (32 degrees celcius), with high humidity and no wind. When we went out to pick up the bales this morning (after a clear night, but with a heavy dew), the moisture readings using a moisture probe were significantly higher — high 20s and 30s (so much so, that they can no longer be used for equine hay). Do you think I am putting too much faith in the moisture tester on the baler, or could the weather have been a factor here?
Barry Yaremcio, beef and forage specialist, Ag-Info Centre, Alberta Agriculture and Food, Stettler, Alberta, provided this answer:
The moisture probes that you stick into bales or are in the chambers of square balers, obtain readings from the forage using an electric current differential. It measures the moisture on the exterior of the stem and leaves, and not what is in the inside of the stem. When you tested the hay after baling, the heat evaporated much of the surface moisture and you obtained a low reading. The next morning, after the moisture migrated out of the stem to the leaves and outer surfaces, you obtain a much more accurate reading.
If a hay crop is cut for only two or three days and is not properly cured, you will receive an artificially low indication of moisture content.
To determine if the hay is cured, take a handful of hay out of the middle to lower section of the windrow and hold it lengthwise as a sheaf in both hands with the cut end of the stocks extending out one hand and the leaf and heads out of the other hand. Grasp the hay somewhere in the middle of the stock, keeping your thumbs approximately 2-3” apart with palms downward, try to break the sheaf in two (no different than breaking a pencil). If the stems crack (audible to the ear), it is an indication that the hay is cured. If the hay bends and does not crack, it is not ready to bale.
Another test is to have the hay the same as above, with hands 4-5” apart, make circular motions no different than what your feet make when peddling a bicycle. If all the stems sever after four or five rotations, the hay is ready to bale.
To double-check your moisture tester, use the microwave to test 100 grams of product. The protocol is at http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/for4908.
Compare the reading you get from the probe to what the microwave test provides. For example, if the tester indicates 14 % and the microwave indicates 18%, then you know your probe is reading 4 % low. Adjust your hay moisture accordingly.
Remember, hay will go through a "secondary" sweat after it is baled. This will last for two to four days. After this period of time, the hay should be stable and moisture levels should not fluctuate. It is still important to have the moisture levels low enough at baling to prevent long-term problems.
