LINNEUS, Mo. – May’s precipitation has made haymaking challenging when rain is frequent and sometimes unpredictable, but University of Missouri Extension state forage specialist Carson Roberts has a tip to help hay dry down quicker.

Roberts turns the knob to set the swath boards on the swather to the widest setting.

This hastens drying by spreading the hay thinner and over a larger area. The thinner layer speeds drying and allows curing and baling to occur faster, Roberts says.

“You will notice that this changes the width of the windrow to expose more of the forage to the sun, which may cause some bleaching,” says Roberts. But the trade-off of some minor bleaching is less detrimental to quality than wet hay left in the field in larger windrows when rain occurs. “You can make high-quality hay and put it up fast,” says Roberts.

Carson Roberts’ Facebook page has a video of him demonstrating this technique.