Back home in PA alot of hay is cut by horse drawn mowers so the farmers can get into a wet field without doing the damage a tractor might. Still need the dry days to bale. They usually cut one day, rake the next and bale on the third. Of course they need to allow for Sunday as nothing gets done in the fields then. It's not unusal to see hay cut Friday or Saturday and allowed to lay on Sunday before raking or baling on Monday. I've seen them rake Monday am and bale in the afternoon.