Well, we made it. Mostly. I think we used up all of our good hay karma last month though. This round of hay making was just a wee bit more stressful (and if you detect a note of heavy sarcasm there, it's the heat, my brain is still boiling). In the end, the hay is good and it's in the barn. That's what counts.
Everything was looking great right up until we started baling. The baler made 63 beautiful bales of hay and then, kaboom, it broke. We were sort of lucky because the guy who knows the most about fixing balers (which are incredibly complex and finicky machines) was there. He was there because Riding Buddy had had to call him over to work on their baler the day before when it broke. We did get that hay in as well. Eventually. After working on our baler all afternoon with no progress, we finally went and got RB's baler. It limped along with troubles of it's own and at 5:30 we were still looking at an entire field of hay ready and waiting to be baled.
We finally called the neighboring dairy farm to see if they would come and round bale it all for us. Round bales are hard for someone like me, with just a few animals, to handle, but I would have found a way. We didn't think they would be able to help out this time though, as they too, are trying to get hay made.
I am not quite sure how it all worked out, but they showed up with their square baler instead and baled all of it, finishing at about 9:30. Ordinarily it is not good to bale after the sun goes down. The air changes and the dry hay starts to pull moisture out of the air, which is not good. However, it was soooooo hot that the air stayed dry, our work crew was still there, hanging tough, but couldn't come back the next day. When the sun went down, the farmer asked me if I wanted him to stop, he thought the hay was still OK, but we were really cutting it close. I asked if he could bale it the next day and he told me they had 30 acres of their own to bale and another 40 acres to round bale. I told him to keep going as long the hay was dry enough to bale. With the threat of rain coming, no help and an iffy baler, it wasn't worth the risk. He baled it all.
We looked things over this afternoon. The fate of the baler is grim and uncertain. We are hoping it can be fixed, but don't know yet. We are still hoping to make some second and third cutting, but they are always easier because it is a small amount. The majority of the hay is done and it looks good. Baling it late doesn't seem to have hurt anything this time and there is enough of it. Everybody gets to eat this winter. And we all need a week to recover.
I'm in awe, of the intense amount of work in this heat and the strength of your community. Well done!!!
ReplyDeleteWow...sure do hate that when things break down and you are under pressure.
ReplyDeleteWe have been purchasing our hay. Our place is all hills, trees, and rocks.
When it is so hot and humid...things always seem so much worse.
Thanks to you I finally understand the phrase "Make hay while the sun shines!" Of course I know the greater meaning of it, but I've always been fascinated with word and idiom origins. Not having spent any time on a farm other than as a visitor, I didn't have a clue as to the importance of this.
ReplyDeleteNancy in Iowa
And I forgot to say, "Congratulations!" Your good karma and great neighbors pulled it all together!
ReplyDeleteYou must be a good neighbor, or else all those people would not have toughed it out and the dairy would not have "bailed" you out.
ReplyDeleteYou have to be so relieved the hay is in and you can rest now. Kudos to your wonderful neighbor and work crew :)
ReplyDeleteNow, about that baler...we're keeping our fingers crossed for you.
Bad day yesterday, but I bet the hay looks good in the barn today!
ReplyDeleteHay always looks good in the barn:)
DeleteOh my gosh, Kris, I can commiserate. Our hay guy has had his square baler break over and over these last two weeks. We have yet to get a bale of hay. We can't handle the round bales either... 3 little goats would waste 95% of a round bale!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you got yours in!
Good neighbors are a blessing! What kind of baler ? I have a green one waiting to turn into salvage. There is a lovely, quit elderly red and yellow one that I use occasionally and I love it. But, I'm pretty much stuck with round bales. So, what I do is cut the strings on the bale, and push. I might have to push with the 4-wheeler the first time or two. As it rolls, hay comes off. I fork the hay into the trailer behind the 4-wheeler, go put it out for the sheep, repeat. If I have a bale standing on end, I remove the strings, and, starting at the bottom with a chain saw, cut up. You're using the top of the bar. I go around the bale making 6 cuts. It falls apart. Fork it into trailer behind pickup and go feed cows! I do miss the square bales!
ReplyDeleteThe baler is a New Holland 268 Hayliner. I imagine you old red and yellow baler is similar. I have heard of the chain saw thing, but I have never tried it myself. I have fed round bales and baleage in the past. My favorite method of dealing with them was to scatter them out in the field in the Fall and use the electric fence to keep the animals away from them. When it was time to feed one out, I moved the fence rather then the hay. It was easy and worked really well. Now though, my one horse and 2 donkeys won't eat them fast enough to keep from spoiling a lot of it. I would have figured something out if had to, but I am glad to have the square bales instead.
DeleteHow wonderful to have grass that you can get baled on your own property, and not have to buy expensive hay or worry if you can even find any hay at all.
ReplyDeleteOr hay worries are not about broken balers here in New Mexico, but if we can even find or afford to buy any at all.
What a blessing to have a barn full of beautiful hay,
~Lisa
It is a blessing to have a barn full of hay and I often wonder how you folks in the desert manage. I always wonder why there are so many millions of acres of abandoned farmland and hay fields in the Northeast while people are raising beef cattle in the desert. I hope you can find hay for your Apache and the rest of your herd.
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