Grass is still grass even...

[trijjicon]

Even after teddering, when I go to bale it or load it up...it still says grass. Now, for a fact, it has rained on it every time I go to tedder. My theory to just let it lay there (after teddering) has resulted in it getting rained on again. So, that's the way it is? If the grass gets cut and/or teddered and it rains...u gonna get no hay ever?

[Bowfin]

Are you playing seasons?

[dogwalker1]

With Seasons: Teddering changes wet grass to dry-er grass, it still needs time in the sun to turn to hay. You need to keep an eye on the weather forecast and mow (and then tedder if the grass is over 20% moisture I believe) when you expect to have at least a good full sunny day for the grass to finish drying into hay. If it rains too often, you're out of luck. With some geos this effectively means you can forget about making hay in autumn.

[trijjicon]

I probably should have never installed Seasons. lol I' am just not use to "farming" as it probably truly is. I have not been "reading the charts". But that was obvious, wasn't it? Thnx for clearing that up.

[SeaDog]

Originally posted by trijjicon:

I probably should have never installed Seasons. lol I' am just not use to "farming" as it probably truly is. I have not been "reading the charts". But that was obvious, wasn't it? Thnx for clearing that up.

It isn't obvious but isn't that hard either. IRL farmers go through this all the time. The grass needs to dry in the field before bailing or collection. If it rains then they need to ted it so that the underside gets exposed to the sun and dries and then rake it again. This is a big deal in a hay farmers life and causes lots of worry and headache. If it rains before the cut grass is dry then the workload just went way up and the quality went down. Check the weather report in seasons and DO NOT cut the grass if the wet crop symbol is showing or rain is in the near forecast.

[trijjicon]

I could well imagine how it is IRL for farmers. I was just use to playing regular mode & did not have to factor in all the real stuff. First time trying Seasons & I have learned to study the charts & plan accordingly.

[Daddy]

Once it turns brown (yellow), you're good to go. As others suggested, it probably had not dried due to precipitation. Unfortunately, there's no way to check it's state other than the visual appearance or by collecting some.

On a related note, I ended up disabling seasons. Growth of grass still seems inconsistent and buggy. I planted a new field and it went through two stages of growth while another field remained stuck at stage 2. I went through another 3 or 4 years of oddities before giving up on it.

[trijjicon]

I can believe that. While Seasons is "more realistic", I find some of it "just not right". But I could say that about the game in general. Just personal opinion mind ya. I can still c the appeal this game has. I appreciate ur input.

[mally6659]

i wait till it,s down near 16 % dry then cut if no rain, next day or so then tedder
windrow then bale

[SeaDog]

Of note: In Seasons there are three stages of drying for grass: Wet grass (dark green), dry grass (lighter green), hay (straw colored). Before you cut you should look at the weather report and make sure you do not have rain in the near future. It will decrease the yield of your cut grass and cause more work for you to get what is left.

1. If you cut it wet (or it gets rained on) then it will be wet grass - ted it and it will turn into dry grass (color change). You can also let it dry in the field without tedding but you may lose yield over time.

2. Once it is dry grass (if no moisture icon is present when you cut it then it will be dry grass upon cutting) you can bale it and wrap it for silage bales or pick it up with a forage wagon, dump it into a silage clamp, and compact it for bulk silage. Silage takes one season to cure. It is dry grass until then.

3. You cannot store dry grass in bales or a pile - it will rot and disappear over time.

4. To get hay you need to let dry grass dry more (you will get another color change). If your goal is hay then you should cut it dry (no moisture icon). Wet, uncut grass will not rot or decrease in yield so best to let it dry prior to cutting it. The ideal weather situation is that the grass is dry before cutting and you have one or two days ahead of no rain. There is also a 'drying potential' value on the weather screen but I have not found it to be overly useful.

5. You can bale hay but it needs to be stored under cover or, like dry grass, it will rot and disappear.

Hope this helps.

[Wizard]

I'm using seasons and basically running a large scale dairy farm. That means lots of grass. On the forecast screen, it shows you if it'll rain or not, and the drying potential of the day parts. A drying day part is indicated by a (+)

Basically, you need to cut in the morning, and preferably get all your cutting done before 9am to not miss any of the drying day parts. You only need to tedder if it was wet when you cut it.

It'll be hay the following day. If not in the morning, then by the afternoon.

Follow that system for two consecutive days not forecast for rain and you'll be all set.