Ted inside the moisture window, once if possible, in the morning after the dew has lifted. Outside the window you are buying drying hours with leaf, and the exchange rate is bad.
How to ted hay without losing the leaves
window HAY WINDOWchecked 2026-09-16responsible Windrow Field Manual (a named masthead, not a person)
What you need A tedder set to the working width; a moisture reading; a field with enough trash-free surface that the tines do not gather soil.
[['Above 60%', 'One, and consider a second tomorrow', 'Drying is surface-limited; leaf loss is small'], ['45–60%', 'One', 'The band where a single pass reliably pays'], ['30–45%', 'None, or one at the gentlest setting', 'Leaf shatter is rising faster than the drying gain'], ['Below 30%', 'None', 'Rake and bale; tedding is pure loss']]
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Steps
- Take a moisture reading before you start. If the crop is below the window, do not ted.
- Wait for the dew to lift. Tedding wet with dew spreads the water rather than removing it.
- Set the tedder to the widest working width the crop will allow, and check the tine angle against the manual.
- Drive at the speed that gives a full lift without throwing material over the mown width.
- Take a second reading two hours later. If the spread across the field is wide, ted again; if it is tight, stop.
Where the leaf goes
| Handling | Leaf loss, dry crop | Leaf loss, crop in the window |
|---|---|---|
| Mower-conditioner | Small | Small |
| Tedder, one pass | Large | Small |
| Rake | Moderate | Small |
| Baler pickup | Moderate | Small |
The table is the reason the window matters. Every operation has a cost, and the cost is roughly fixed while the drying benefit is not. Handling a dry crop pays no drying dividend at all.
The claim to argue with
The manual holds that in a dew-heavy climate, tedding the evening before a clear day beats tedding on the morning of it, because the crop that goes into the night fluffed sheds the dew faster at first light. The argument is contestable and depends on how much dew you get.
Where the numbers come from
- S1Forages: Harvest and Storage, Penn State Extensionsupports the harvest and storage sequence in which tedding sits
- S2Forages: Production and Harvesting, Penn State Extensionsupports the production and harvesting practice for the crops tedded here
- S3Table of Contents, Hay and Straw Conservation, FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin 154supports the drying and conservation framework the tedding window comes from
One link, one document. No home pages, no search results, no bare domains.
Put this page down Put this page down when you have decided the pass count for today. One pass inside the window is usually the whole answer.