Haymaking: Art & Science!

"If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence,
perhaps they take better care of it."
- Amish proverb

Summertime means sun, outdoor fun, picnics, and blooming gardens. To farmers it also signals the all important hay season. 

A view of the farm from one of the hay fields; almost ready for cutting!

As a farm dedicated to raising grass-fed cattle, hay matters all the more to feed the herd through the winter months. We bale both round and square bales; from own and locally leased fields. 

Weather plays a large factor during the hay season - we are continuously monitoring the weather for humidity levels and chance of precipitation. As the grass must dry (turning from cut grass to hay) before it can be baled, even a chance rainstorm can delay the process for days. Another option is to make hay silage; this involves cutting grass or legumes and then preserving them by fermentation in silos or large round bale covers. We have the equipment to do either, but store most of our winter feed as hay bales.

Blue sky and good weather, time to make some hay.

The goal of haymaking is to capture the nutrition found in grass in an easily storable form (hay bales) for the winter months. It is important to cut the grass while it is at peek nutritional value. This means cutting before the grass stems begins to decline in nutrition - also called "heading out".

First, the grass is cut - we use a rotary disk mower.

After the hay has been cut, it is allowed to dry or "cure" in the field. To expedite this, the hay is spread out and fluffed by a process known as tedding. A hay tedder is pulled behind the tractor; this piece of equipment is made up of multiple orbital arms that spin and lift the hay as you drive by.

Hay spread across the field, curing in the sun after being teddered.

Once the hay is sufficiently dried, it is turned over one more time when it is raked. Raking the hay forms the windrows needed to bale.

The square baler stands ready in the foreground; the rake forming windrows in the background.

Now, we are ready to bale! Round bales are very heavy and can only be lifted by a tractor fitted with a hay spear. Square bales are significantly smaller and are lifted and stacked by hand. Square balers can be adjusted to bale different size and weight options.

The round baler at work.

Square baling! The hay wagon is attached to more easily collect and stack the square bales as they come out of the baler.

How do we get the bales from the baler to the hay wagon? A device known as a "kicker" launches the bales for us!

The finished product! Square bales are stacked and stored in the barn until winter.

This entire process will be done multiple times during the season making multiple batches of hay or "cuttings". The number of cuttings in the season is dependent on the amount of rain and sun we get, how well we have fertilized the fields, and how hard we work.

Haymaking is certainly the perfect balance of art and science.