Cow Food in Pictures

Last week and through the weekend we cut our first round of hay. It may seem like winter is a long ways away, but as soon as the snow leaves we are already planning on how to harvest our winter feed again.

Here is the process in pictures:

After a week of this

We finally got to do this (cut hay)

After only a few minor set backs,

a photo shoot and interview by Hay and Forage Grower,

Photo by Hay and Forage Grower

and many field lunches

the hay was cut

and raked. Raking helps dry the hay down to the proper moisture for storage.

Then we chopped it (see the tractor, chopper and wagon in background).

Jonnie kept an eye on the wagons.

Day chopping turning into night chopping and bagging.

Night chopping turned into night fixing of equipment.

The guys called it quits around 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Then started setting back up around 8:00 a.m. and were back in the fields by 10:00 a.m.

 Finally everything got in around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. 

There were a few acres to bale on Monday.

Round one of three (or maybe four) is done and put away.

Remember the organic milk shortage last winter? This was caused by a shortage of cattle feed. We were only a few short days away from running out of feed completely here. So getting this hay in is a huge sense of relief.

Now I should actually see the whites of Tim’s eyes for a few days before we start this all over again with our barley and peas…sigh…the life of a farm wife 🙂