The Bovine Bugle

Can't make hay when the sun don't shine

The farmer we buy our winter feed from, Dennis Demar, has been done with the first cutting of hay long enough to be thinking of trying to do the second cutting. Dennis puts all the first cutting of hay into large round bales that he bales wet and wraps in several layers of plastic so that the hay ferments. Because the grass is baled wet, he can mow the grass one day and bale it the next. The second crop of hay is put up mostly as dry square bales and this is posing a problem for Dennis so far this summer.

To make dry hay usually takes at least 3 sunny, warm days. During those 3 days you use machinery to spread the hay out and fluff it up to help it dry. With the weather patterns we've had lately, we have been lucky to have 2 nice days in a row. I'm getting concerned because we are almost out of square bales, which we use to feed the young heifers still in the heifer barn. And if Dennis doesn't get the second crop off soon he might be able to take a third cutting from the fields. The weather forecast for the end of the week is looking a little better. With a little luck, we'll be mowing away hay this weekend.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont
------------------------------------------------------
Hear the story of how one woman made a commitment to reach the summit of Mount Washington, New England's highest peak, after attending Stonyfield's Strong Women Summit, in The Strong Women Daily News.