COMPARING
FORAGE DRYDOWN RATES USING A
SUPER
CONDITIONER IN WISCONSIN
Matt Hanson[1]
Introduction
Producing
quality dry hay is an ongoing challenge that producers face each year. Some producers attempt to take the bad
weather out of the dry haymaking process by building on-farm hay driers, using
hay preservatives at harvest or making additional passes over the field with
crimpers and rakes to promote the drying process; all of which add to the cost
of production. Last winter, a Jefferson
County producer questioned whether any research had been conducted in Wisconsin
with the Super Conditioner manufactured by Circle C from Hermiston,
Oregon. Research conducted by Oregon
State University showed that the Super Conditioner could reduce the drying time
of hay by one-third to one-half. A
reduction in drying time would provide a larger window of opportunity for
producers to harvest high quality hay and improve profitability while
minimizing the threat of the hay getting rained on.
After
several inquires with state specialists, it was determined that very little
research has been conducted with the Super Conditioner in Wisconsin. To answer the producer’s question of whether
the Super Conditioner would significantly reduce the drying time of his hay and
expand the research-base of knowledge, arrangements were made with Circle C to
use a pull-type model of the Super Conditioner to conduct studies at the
producer’s farm during 2001. Two
studies were conducted in Jefferson County to compare the drying time of hay
using the Super Conditioner versus other hay making equipment.
Materials and Methods
Two hay dry-down studies were conducted
at a producer’s farm near Palmyra, Wisconsin during 2001. The first study was implemented on May 30th
and compared four hay-conditioning treatments in a randomized complete block
design with three replications.
Treatments included a Kuhn discbine mower without a conditioner which
served as an unconditioned control, a New Idea 5209 discbine with a crimper
conditioner, the Kuhn mower followed by the pull-type Super Conditioner and the
New Idea 5209 with crimper conditioner followed by the pull-type Super
Conditioner. Hay moisture levels were
collected over time from cutting to harvest.
A second study was conducted during July
to compare the producer’s regular hay making routine versus the use of the
Super Conditioner. The study consisted of two treatments and was replicated two
times. The first treatment, which
matches the producer’s regular hay making routine, was the New Idea 5209
discbine and conditioner followed by another pass over the windrow with a New
Holland 402 crimper to further fluff the hay and decrease the drying time. The second treatment was hay mowed with the
New Idea 5209 discbine with the rollers spread open so they would not condition
the hay. The pull-type Super
Conditioner was then used to condition the windrow.
Results
and Discussion
The results of the first dry-down study
are shown in Figure 1. Moisture levels
collected just after initial cutting were not significantly different (Table
1). Within 6 hours after cutting the
two treatments that included the Super Conditioner were significantly drier
than the other treatments. It took
nearly a day before a significant difference was observed between the New Idea
mower and conditioner versus the mower-only control. Many producers questioned what impact rainfall would have on the
Super Conditioned hay since the entire stem of the plant was split open by the
rollers. By mid-afternoon on May 31,
the study received 0.34 inches of rainfall which helped answer some of those
questions. The moisture levels of
alfalfa with the Super Conditioned treatments increased most rapidly after the
rainfall. The moisture content of the
New Idea and conditioner treatment increased also, but not as rapidly as the
Super Conditioned hay. It appears that
the Super Conditioned hay absorbs moisture at a much greater rate than the
crimped or unconditioned hay. The study
received an additional 1.5 inches of rainfall from June 2 through June 7. Sampling resumed late afternoon on June 8
after a day of drying. Following the
rain, the Super Conditioned treatments once again dried faster than the other treatments. By 4 pm on June 8, the Kuhn mower plus Super
Conditioner treatment would have been ready to bale and was significantly drier
than each of the other treatments. The
New Idea mower plus conditioner followed by the Super Conditioner would have
been ready to bale during the late afternoon of June 8. The lag in dry-down may be attributed to the
hay being conditioned twice, once with the New Idea rollers and then again with
the Super Conditioner. This process
appeared to overcondition the hay, causing juices squeezed out of the stems and
leaves to literally glue the hay together and slow the drying process. The Kuhn mower treatment and the New Idea
mower and conditioner treatment were ready to bale approximately one day after
the Kuhn mower plus Super Conditioner hay treatment.
Hay quality of the first study was
analyzed at harvest using the wet digestion method (data not shown). The relative feed value of the Super
Conditioned hay was approximately 20 points lower in relative feed value (RFV)
than the other treatments. However,
much of the difference between RFV’s between the treatments was likely
attributed to the hay being raked twice after the 1.5-inch rainfall without
considering of the moisture content of the hay. The Super Conditioned treatments were drier at raking and appeared
to have lost substantially more leaves than the other treatments.
The results of the second dry-down study
are shown in Figure 2. In this study,
the producer’s typical haymaking routine was found to have a similar dry-down
rate compared to the Super Conditioned treatment. Although similar, significant differences in moisture were
observed between treatments within five hours after cutting (Table 2). After that sampling period, moisture levels
of the Super Conditioned treatment remained approximately 5% lower than the
other treatment throughout the study.
The hay in this study would have been ready to bale approximately four
hours earlier with the Super Conditioner treatment.
Does it pay? Although the drying time of hay was not reduced by one-third to
one-half, as documented by Oregon State University, the Super Conditioned hay
in this study did dry significantly faster, from four hours to a full day
improvement, over the other treatments.
With a retail price tag of approximately $21,000 for the pull-type unit
or $13,000 for a complete roller conditioner kit that will attach to nearly any
make of haybine, careful cost comparisons will need to be made between the
various systems. It appears that the
Super Conditioner can save money by eliminating additional passes over the
field, perhaps eliminate an extra tractor and equipment, reduce fuel and labor
requirements, reduce the amount of preservatives needed since the hay dries
faster and potentially improve hay quality at harvest by minimizing the risk of
rain falling on the hay. If you’re in
the business of making quality dry hay, and a lot of it, then the improved
dry-down rate from several hours to a day earlier, as documented by these
studies, could certainly help to justify the price. Producers will need to evaluate and decide for themselves whether
the improvement in drying rate will pay for the equipment over time.
Figure 1. Alfalfa dry-down study comparing four
conditioning treatments.
Table 1. Alfalfa dry-down study comparing four conditioning treatments.
|
Treatment
|
Sample Date and Time
|
|||||
|
May 30 1 pm |
May 30 7 pm |
May 31 1 pm * |
June 1 1 pm ** |
June 8 4 pm |
June 9 6 pm |
|
|
----------------------------Moisture
(%) -------------------------------- |
||||||
|
Kuhn
Mower (w/o
conditioner) |
82.4 |
76.3 a |
71.7 a |
77.3 b |
38.6 a |
16.0 a |
|
New
Idea 5209 with conditioner |
81.4 |
76.0 a |
68.3 b |
80.5 a |
31.0 b |
12.7 b |
|
Kuhn
Mower + super conditioner |
79.9 |
71.9 b |
62.7 c |
78.6 ab |
16.2 d |
9.1 c |
|
New
Idea 5209 with conditioner + super conditioner |
81.4 |
70.5 b |
62.1 c |
77.8 ab |
24.8 c |
4.6 c |
LSD (0.05) = 2.8
* 0.34” of rain occurred after sampling
** received 1.5” of
rain from June 2 through June 7
making routine versus the using the Super Conditioner.
Figure 2. Alfalfa dry-down study
comparing the producer’s regular hay
Table 2. Alfalfa dry-down study comparing the
producer’s regular hay
making routine versus the using the Super Conditioner.
|
Treatment
|
Sample Date and Time
|
|||||
|
July 2 2 pm |
July 2 7 pm |
July 3 1 pm |
July 3 7 pm |
July 4 7 pm |
July 5 7 pm |
|
|
-----------------------------------
Moisture (%) -------------------------------- |
||||||
|
New
Idea 5209 with conditioner + New Holland 402 crimper |
83.4 |
74.2 a |
66.9 a |
34.8 a |
17.1 a |
7.9 a |
|
New
Idea 5209 with rollers opened followed by Super Conditioner |
83.4 |
72.5 b |
61.7 b |
28.6 b |
13.5 b |
5 b |