Skip to main content

First Cutting of Hay

Last week was a dry one, and we were able to cut and bale the first cutting of hay. We choose to hire someone with a large baler to make big round bales of the first cutting hay, which goes in the sheep barn. There is still a lot of work involved in haying this way, but it is machine work, and not back-breaking manual labor. 


The crew spent the better part of two days preparing the hay storage area (which recently held lambing pens), hauling the hay in from the field and carefully positioning it in the storage area. 


We place each bale (weighing over 1,000 pounds) on a wooden skid or pallet. Hay that comes in contact with concrete will mold and rot. The pallets allow air circulation underneath the bales.


Each bale is labeled with the field information. The hay has been chopped and netwrapped, making it easier for The Farmer to feed by hand come wintertime.

More first-cutting hay is being cut right now. The weather forecast is for scattered showers off and on all week, unlike last week's completely dry forecast. We will see if we can get this batch of hay in without it being rained on. Always a gamble.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bloggy Giveaway--Now Closed

**This bloggy giveaway is now closed** Thanks to all who participated and gave such great comments. Janette is the winner of the $15 gift certificate to our etsy store . I'm participating in the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival . Click the link to go to the carnival where you can enter to win literally hundreds of things. The good news is that even if you have no time to play on the computer trying to win hundreds of things, you can still enter to win one thing right here. This week, I will be giving away a $15 gift certificate to be used toward the purchase of an item in my etsy shop . This contest is open to residents of the United States or Canada only. The winner will receive free shipping on whatever item they choose. Items in my etsy shop include handwoven rugs, wool yarns and roving from our farm, and the ever-popular cotton dishcloth! To be entered in this wonderful drawing, you must go to the etsy shop and look around a bit. Then come back here and type a comment that ...
132 comments
Read more

A Major Set-Back

About six weeks ago, one of our hay fields looked like this. Simply gorgeous--almost ready to cut. We were in the fields, planting like crazy. Planting late, because of a cold, endlessly rainy spring. Despite the fog that envelopes those who are planting late, planting like crazy, one thing stood out in this hayfield. The tracks. What on earth? Someone had been in our hayfield! Not just an ATV, riding along the edge, either. This someone had carefully ridden back and forth across the whole field at regular, methodic intervals. And that someone was BIG. Ruh-roh. Trouble. The only huge thing that rides back and forth across a hayfield at methodic, regular intervals leaving only tracks is a spray rig. Someone must have sprayed our hayfield. Our organic hayfield. The Farmer started calling neighboring farmers. The first one said he does all his own spraying. Not likely he would be confused about which field was his. The second farmer told us he hadn't ordered any custom spraying late...
8 comments
Read more

This Giveaway Is Now Closed!

Today starts a giveaway at Farming in the Shade! I am happy to contribute this complete hat kit (needles not included) to someone who has a knitting obsession and a small person in their life. Here are the rules (contest open to US or Canada residents only): Giveaway ends May 1 at 9 p.m. EST. Winner will be announced by Sunday, May 3. Enter by posting a comment on this blog post. Tell me something about your knitting--who taught you to knit, your favorite yarn, the coolest thing you ever knitted. Make sure you leave contact information! Earn extra entries by: 1) Following me on twitter. (If you don't know what twitter is, don't worry. It's another way to waste your time on the computer.)  Add a comment here so I will count it as one entry. 2) Tweeting this giveaway (no more than once daily). Add a comment here so I know you did it. 3) Blog about this giveaway. Add a comment (with link) here so I can go visit your blog. 4) Follow or subscribe to this blog (or tell me if have...
45 comments
Read more