Haying

Haying is the agricultural practice of cutting grasses or legumes to make dry forage for animal feed. The aim is to produce hay with a low enough moisture content to be stored safely over winter or during periods when fresh pasture is scarce.

Typical steps include cutting or swathing the forage, allowing it to dry (cure) in the field, turning it with a tedder to improve air circulation, gathering the cured crop with a rake, and baling the material into units such as rounds or squares for storage.

Forage crops used for hay include grasses such as timothy, ryegrass, orchardgrass, and meadow fescue, as well as legumes like alfalfa and clover. Haying is distinct from silage or haylage, which preserve forage by fermentation at higher moisture levels rather than through drying.

Equipment ranges from traditional hand tools and horse-drawn mowers to modern tractor-powered mowers, conditioners, tedders, rakes, and balers. In many regions, hay is stored in barns or haymows, while round bales are common for large operations and square bales for smaller farms or storage efficiency.

Quality depends on harvest timing, weather, curing moisture, and storage conditions. Poorly dried hay can spoil, mold, or heat, reducing nutritional value and palatability. Haying also involves considerations of safety and, in some areas, ecological practices related to field management and biodiversity.