Month: August 2022

It is coming.

I know it’s hard to believe on a day when the thermometer reads 100 degrees and you could fry an egg on the hood of the tractor, but winter is coming.

So, what do we do to prepare? We bale hay, of course. From June to August, we get ready for winter.

Mowing

Mitch taught Jayce how to mow this year and JD Hart filled in when Mitch and Jayce couldn’t get to the hayfield. Mowing takes longer than any other job in the hayfield because it’s just 9 foot each time around.
All down and ready for the next step.

Raking

Jayce raked and I subbed in when necessary. It’s not a bad job in an air-conditioned tractor. The rake picks up a row of hay 27 foot wide (1 round for 3 of the mower) and throws it into a windrow about 3 foot wide for the baler.

Baling

Baling is the most complicated job, even with all the bells and whistles on balers now. The baler is set to wrap a 5-foot-wide and 5-foot-tall bale weighing about 1200 lbs. In a perfect world, you could make your windrows 5 feet wide and just drive in a straight line, but our world and our hayfields aren’t perfect. So, Mitch has to go back and forth to keep the bale the same size from one side to the other.

There are disadvantages and advantages to everything. The main disadvantage of a net-wrapped bale is the time it takes to remove and dispose of the netting. The benefits are the bale “keeps” better and longer (there is a lot less waste due to water damage on the outside of the bale-a significant savings) And the speed of baling – the baler only spins the bale 2.5 turns with net wrap versus app. 40 turns with string-tied bales.

Enjoy the heat. Winter will be here before you know it.

Until next time.

Don’t forget to shut the gate!