While some areas of the country are experiencing extreme drought, here in Ohio we feel like we might just need to build an ark. June brought us 20 straight days of rain and a total of 23 out of 30 days of rain for the month. We collected over 12 1/2 inches of rain just in June. All of the rain has made hay making nearly impossible. If you were one the brave ones that didn't listen to the weathermen, you may have taken advantage of the 4 rain free days on Memorial Day weekend to cut hay. We listened to the forecast that called for rain and didn't cut. The next 3 day window without rain was July 4th weekend. We jumped...but we were only brave enough to cut the 8 acres at home.
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Labor Day weekend here at the farm was the perfect mix of hard work, complete relaxation and family fun. I guess pictures will describe it best.
We spent our 4th of July weekend baling hay. The weather finally cooperated enough for us to cut the other 20 acres at Tucker Road. Well, kind of cooperated...Daniel was cutting hay in the rain. The weather report changed about 3 times an hour. We knew that we were short on time, so he cut Wednesday evening in the rain so that we would have a good full day of drying on Thursday.
We ended the weekend with 35 bales hauled home, sleeved and stacked by Sunday night. It made for a very busy weekend, but we were able to cross a huge item off of our to do list. We now have a total of 57 round bales. Only 18 round bales and 200 square bales to go. Last weekend we completed our first round of hay. We had a few clear days and the front two acres at Tucker Rd. were prime for cutting. Daniel wanted to start with the two acres so that he could give the new equipment a good test drive without risking a large hay crop if something went awry. The haybine worked perfectly!
The 8 acres at home was not looking very good. The hay was at prime maturity but was not very high or thick. Daniel took in a soil sample to see if we could diagnose the issues. We are still waiting on the results. At the last minute he decided to go ahead a cut our field. It didn't amount to much, but it gave us the opportunity to add to the field and get an early start of the second cutting. We have spread manure on the field each spring and last years' hay crop was very acceptable. We are very puzzled about this years' growth. We are really hoping that the cold weather and a late frost are the main culprits. Daniel raked with his new rotary rake and the jury is still out as to if it is a keeper. We ended up with 3 days of high seventies weather and intense sun. It was perfect curing weather. |
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AuthorHello! I am Heather... the city girl turned mom to manure loving country boys. My husband and I both grew up in the city, but spent weekends visiting grandparents in the country. We are first generation farmers who learn best by almost always doing things the hard way. I hope you enjoy following along with our adventures down on the farm. Archives
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