Hay Making

AS we have no sheep this year we've had a surplus of grass to deal with.

In the past I've got contractors in to cut the grass and bale the hay, whilst I turn it to dry it. Then I could then do something with the hay.

This year I took a different approach as the contractor I used to use is no longer trading.

Hay Making

We cut three fields of hay this week - around 7 acres. 

It's always a gamble when you cut hay but it seems to have paid off this week and even though we thought we'd be battling the rain for Thursday it's still dry here at the moment.

Cutting the crop - quite a bit on it this year.

 To be honest other than organise everything and decide on times to do things I've done very little with the hay this year (although it still seems to have taken up loads of time). It was far to hot to have a little one in a tractor with me so Ken offered to turn the hay for me with his old '35. I think he loved every minute! And I had my contractor cut and bale the hay, the girls loved watching the tractors.

Spreading hay

Great to see a tractor like this working so well.

The hay drying late on Tuesday evening

Old versus New - The old '35 keeping up with the big boys

I love the fact that we had a nearly new tractor working alongside one that's older than me (much older!).

41 round bales in total

So luckily we got it made in time, Tuesday was so hot that it pretty much dried it in one day. The guy cutting it, Rob, said that the one field of ours was the most grass he'd seen on one this year, that's why in the four acre field we had 30 bales! 

I now need to sell them all as I have no where to store them. 

Anyone want any good quality meadow hay? anyone else been hay making?

Why Round Bales?

We baled our hay at the start of this week - our big farming endeavour every year!

Bales in the sunshine

 We round bale ours and the other day someone asked me why. We could make much more money from them if we baled it into small square bales and sold them through the winter. Our main issue with that, other than very few contractors will bale them like that anymore, is we have no storage for them. 

Bales in the rain

One day we will build a barn to store our bales in (if we can get planning), but in the meantime we will keep having round bales. These can spend a bit of time in the rain without getting too damaged and they are easily transported away from our little smallholding - sold off the field. It's a good job too with all the rain we've been having over the last couple of days!

Moving Bales

The bales have gone today. Dad found someone who wanted to buy them so picked them up this afternoon. As well as this he came with a trailer full of bits and bobs for a rather large project we're starting next weekend (but more on that later in the week).

An enjoyable job



A good, secure load



Off they go!



A flat tyre just to make things interesting!



Getting a wheel off a tractor with no jack - just a few tricks my dad taught me!

Things were going so well until we had a flat tyre on the little loader tractor. The only advantage with this was dad showed me a trick on how to take a tyre off a tractor without using a jack (as I didn't have one).
We did have to continue loading the trailer with the flat tyre, but as the tyre is completely perished where it burst it will need to be scrapped anyway so no great loss, just bad timing!

Making Hay

 Another busy week!
Thursday night dad came over and cut the hay. It's been that hot that it's taken hardly anytime at all to make.


Nice field of grass

I turned it a couple of times over the weekend and decided that even though I'd booked the contractor, Spike, for Monday to bale it, it might have been too dry by then so I rang him up and he came over yesterday afternoon. We were having friends over for a BBQ as well so when they turned up I was covered in dirt and sweat as I had only just finished! It's a good job they know what I'm like!



It's made some lovely hay

We made 22 and a half bales. Not a huge number by any ones standards but it keeps the place looking tidy until I find the time to get some more stock (and do some fencing), and should help fund some other things we need like gates and wire.
I just need to sell them now!

21 Bales of Hay

I know to a "proper" farmer 21 round bales of hay isn't much. I know this because I grew up on a proper farm where most of our fields were bigger than the total area of what I've got now. But I'm still quite proud of our first little harvest.

Spike the contractor baling the hay

 The hay is really good quality, smells really sweet and we baled it at just the right time (the weather sounds like it's going to break next week).

So what to do with 21 one round bales of good quality hay? Sell it I'm afraid.

We don't have any ruminant stock and we've no where to store the bales in the dry (planing permission was turned down for a barn) so a hand painted sign on the side of the road is all we've got at the moment, just hope someone rings before they get too wet! If we sell them I'll put the money towards getting permission for a barn so next year we're not in such a hurry to sell them.

Hay making

It's been a busy week this week. Coming home from work I've had to turn the hay to get it to dry, although doing this in the evening isn't as good as doing it in the mid-day sun, i wanted to get it ready for the weekend. 

sunny evenings

  Yesterday evening I book the contractor to come and bale my three little fields on Saturday. I'd have it all rowed up and ready for him, just had to pray for sunshine.

Last bit of spreading the hay

 We woke up to a thick fog this morning and it took until half ten to clear, I then turned it all before lunch so the sun could dry the underside, after lunch I went out and turned the wet bits under trees and round the edges again before setting the hay bob to row up.

All rowed up and ready

I rowed up all three fields then went to unlock the road gate just as "spike" the contractor turned up!