MAKE HAY

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

used for this purpose is the so called side delivery rake (Fig. 3), an ingenious horse- or tractor-drawn device which sweeps the stalks into neat columns with leaves turned inward and stems outward (to promote uniform drying).

The raking operation goes quite fast once you get the hang of it. It's a bit tricky, though, since two mowed swaths must usually be thrown together to form one windrow of suitable size for field curing. A steady hand on reins or steering wheel is required and slip-ups will probably bring some ridicule from neighboring farmers who derive considerable amusement from amateur efforts (as I learned during my first summer).

The windrowed hay is next allowed to dry until most of its moisture has evaporated. One simple test for dryness is to twist stalks taken at random and examine them for internal dampness. Another is to put some wisps in a small box along with a couple of teaspoons or so of salt. Shake the container vigorously for about one minute. If the salt remains dry, the hay is ready to store.

Baling or stacking wet hay is not only economically foolish since the fodder may mold or rot, and no livestock will eat it in that state but downright dangerous. Moisture in the stack can lead to spontaneous combustion a lesson many a farmer has learned by the light of his burning barn.

"Make hay while the sun shines" is the traditional rule. Nevertheless, a passing rain on the hayfield isn't quite as serious as it's often made out to be. just wait a day or so after the shower until the surface of the cut fodder has dried. Then make another run through the fields with the side-delivery rake to turn the windrows over so that their bottoms can dry. If you're lucky, very little of the fine, choice leaves and other tender foliage will "shatter" and fall off. An extended wet spell, however, is another matter a misfortune that can ruin a harvest. Keep tabs on the weather reports during haying, and-as noted, if you're so disposed pray.

Dried hay may be stored in stacks or in bales. The easiest way to gather the fodder for stacking is to have someone drive a truck or pull a trailer between windrows while several helpers fork on the harvest. If you lay ropes on the empty bed of the vehicle and loop them over the top of the finished heap, unloading will be a simple matter of tying the ends of the cords to some stationary object such as a tree and driving away.

Haystacks should be built to look like haystacks and if you don't know what I mean, you might do well to spend an afternoon in an art museum, with particular attention to the room that houses the Dutch masters. The larger the stack the better, because big piles have a smaller ratio of surface area to volume and soon pack down thus preventing rain from seeping in and ruining the hay.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print