Wednesday

End of Summer--or the last cutting of hay

  About this time of year, the last cutting of hay takes place here in the Western Treasure Valley. This is what it looks like on our farm. First the swather cuts it and arranges it into rows.




After being cut, it drys from one to several days in the field, depending on the moisture in the air. During the drying period hay is in the most danger of damage. Rain during this time can rot the alfalfa and make it unfit to be fed to the animals.
We have been in a drought much like the Mid-west, but we have reservoirs holding vast amounts of water saved from the winter snows. During the summer growth period we can irrigate the fields. When its dry, the baler moves in and makes short work of the large 3' x 4' x 8' bales.
 It takes a lot of practice and a talented loader driver to stack ten 1300 pound bales onto each flatbed truck. Fully loaded, the trucks carry over 13,000 pounds with each load.
 The thirteen tons of hay loaded on these two trucks is on it's way to the stack yard.
In the end, from this cutting, we have around 260,000 pounds of hay, finished and ready to be fed throughout the winter. Next spring, the cycle will start all over again. 
If you've never stood in a blooming alfalfa field, let me assure you those small purple flowers are among the most aromatic blooms in the world.

11 comments:

  1. I love how you captured this. The photos are wonderful!

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    1. Thanks Dee. It's such a satisfying feeling to get all the hay up in good condition. Thanks for stopping by.

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  2. Oh yeah. Love it. I agree with Dee, you have captured the sight, the sound, the smell. Such a sweet smell!

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    1. The scent of alfalfa in bloom is one of my favorite smells. I wish someone would make a perfume like that. Eau de Alfalfa.

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    2. Me too! It's sweet without being cloying. It's more a fresh sweet.

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  3. I LOVE that smell. The pasture around my house used to be planted in alfalfa. Now it's mostly grass and weeds but enough alfalfa comes back every year to smell sweet. Especially after a summer rain. (Not that we got any of that this summer.)

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    1. Alfalfa is one of my favorite smells. Sitting in the house, surrounded by smoke. Hope for rain.

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  4. I love these pictures, Stephanie! Wow, those are gigantic bales. Do you have special feeders or do you feed in flakes like we do with the smaller bales?

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    1. A few people use a large feeder and put a bale at a time in for cattle. All of ours will go to a feedlot and be ground into a mixe with oats and other vitamins to be fed in bunk feeders.
      We're using a couple for the horses and it's hard work.

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  5. South Louisiana is bailing hay at the moment for the winter feed crop. Great pictures. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and entering to win a book. Donna

    http://mylife-in-stories.blogspot.com

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  6. We are done for the year. Sometimes we get four cuttings but usually three. Thanks for stopping by.

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