its hay season in North Carolina

[LynnG]

Its the time of year you hope you can have a week of dry sunny weather with a breeze..to harvest hay crops to store to feed this year and winter until next spring. I always try to buy as much from the local farmers as I can and store it in my available barn loft and sheds. Last fall I had overseeded oats into an existing tall fescue field. needless to say with the dry winter, the oats were short and stunted. What the deer didn't eat, did head out and will help make the fescue a nice mix for the non-preggie mares. The rest of my hay I bought was mostly oats and ryegrass mix. The horses love oat hay cut at the right time...it makes for pretty delicious hay which the horses love...and heavy bales to lift, load, unload and stack. Every space is full right now......I'm glad hay spring season is over.....

Here's some pics of all the hay harvesting fun (yeah!!! NOT)... and a few extra from this past week......... at Gracewood Farm. They are loaded from my farm gallery pages. ............

http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/misc/5_06_treebluetractor_1.jpg
I got a truckload and a half of hay from this neighbor's field...this is fescue with a good stand of grass in it. I actually took the pic for the view of the tree!

http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/misc/5_06_cowsline_3.jpg
......as the cows watched us get up hay! (I actually drove the truck 8-) )

http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/misc/5_06_elsiecow_2.jpg
Elsie the cow was the main hay supervisor!

http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/misc/5_06_cuttingGWhay_5.jpg
Back to Gracewood's hay field...at least it didn't get rained on THIS year after being cut!

http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/misc/5_06_cuttingGWhay_4.jpg
David cutting the tall grass for hay..though it was thinner then I would have liked in spots.

http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/misc/5_06_cuttingGWhay_6.jpg
David on his tractor with the mower under the cloth, so debris doesn't kick out and hurt someone or thing.

http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/misc/5_06_cuttingGWhay_7.jpg
The hay mower has alot of small circular blades just like mini-bushhogs. See why it was covered when it was running!

http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/misc/5_06_cuttingGWhay_8.jpg
Checking out the cut hay...David and Smut

http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/misc/5_06_balingGWhay_9.jpg
Starting to bale the wind-rowed hay. It was a bit green still, so stopped!

http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/misc/5_06_liftingbalesGWhay_10.jpg
Did I mention I was driving the truck?! I did unload and stack though.

;-) Well got some hay stored for the 17 horses here..well one more mare to foal...in July.

and they are already lining up for their winter grub!!!!!!
:roll: :D :shock:
http://www.geocities.com/lynngallup/gracewoodfarm/images/misc/scratchLine1_10_06.jpg

[SandyMM]

We just put up about 145 bales last weekend - enough to last us maybe 3 1/2 months - but because it was _so_ rich compared to the last of the available hay, we have to watch _very_ carefully for any digestive problems..... Had one with a bellyache this morning, but more likely it was due to the start of the semi-annual weekend campout/trailride in the pasture - and a lot of _loud_ party-goers! :roll:

We put up with it twice a year (Memorial Day and Labor Day campouts and trailrides), but they do always have incredible cookouts Friday and Saturday nights! Besides - this is likely the last one since the state will be taking the property in the next few months to extend the bypass around town... :-/

[LynnG]

I got probably close to 500 bales stored (don't even want to think of the cost.....ughhh!!! all at once) from hay harvested over the last 3 or so weeks. I haven't stopped feeding hay due to dry winter/spring, and looks like it will be same for the summer. I hate to say it, but the hurricanes when they come up the east coast do bring us alot of our seasonal rainfall...and past two years they have gone the way of the gulf coast pr up thru GA and western NC more so. Even being inland 2 hrs from the Atlantic, we usually get good rain..even if turned into tropical storms. I'm just glad to have a good amt of hay under cover. The hay bales here from the farmers cost .75 & a $1. more then last hay season. So that adds up when you're talking over 400 bales. With fuel costs so high, fetilizer costs were sky high, plus the lack of rain limited the quanity the farmers could harvest due to less hay.

Its a done deal......and in the barn. YEAH!

[Jane Hurl]

I've never seen a mower like that before. Looks to be a more sophisticated machine than mowers here. Up here mowers have small triangular "teeth" set on 8' carriers called "blades", one blade top and one bottom, that pass back and forth across each other. They don't "spit" hay. They just drop it behind, lying flat.

We don't use a plain mower. Ours is a "conditioner" or "haybine". It cuts it with the triangular teeth, then lifts it up and runs it through rollers that crush stems, squeezing moisture out in the process. Then it spits the hay out the back in fluffy windrows for more drying. We LOVE that machine!

[reuben T]

disc mowers, almost everyone mows with them round here now, except those who run cheap with old equipment. (like me) It's been recommended where there's risk of blister beetles not to use a crimping mower, so the beetles can escape, a few crushed beetles can kill a horse. havn't checked their range, they may be southern bugs.

[Jane Hurl]

They must be southern bugs as I've not heard of them.

Wait a minute! Just because I've not heard of them doesn't mean they aren't here! I'll have to check that out!

[Jasfino]

Theres nothing like working in the hay.. that proves any faster.. your on a farm... :D

Nice pics... I wish our hay was in.

[LynnG]

The farmers have mowers/conditioners here too. This is the first time I have seen them use this one...maybe because the grass wasn't reach thick...more tall stem. It worked though. Hay season is good and not so good... I just pay for the farmers and help to bring the bought hay now and put it in the hay loft. They get a bunch of guys together and rather have fun with it..you never heard so much chatter going on....

and the smaller 3 pickup loads ..I had help to load the hay in the field and then I unloaded it myself, but just into sheds...not lifting overhead like into the barn loft. ;-)

[Rose Mary Axell]

Wow it will be at least another month before we even start to think of haying! We usually put up about 200 round bales (1400lbs each).

My husband may not be all that fond of my horses but he sure makes nice hay!

[CarolU]

Nice pictures Lynn and a nice photo essay. Interesting to see how they do it in different places. We have big swathers which have the triangular teeth Jane described. Then big belts move the hay to the center of the rig and it goes into a conveyer where it is crimped and falls out in wind rows. We probably get away with doing this in one step because of how dry it is. It's very rare that we have to turn the rows for them to dry completely before bailing.

They've already cut/bailed first crop alfalfa here, but my grass won't be ready for another month.