First Hay Bales

The weather has definitely been different this year. There is only so much you can do on the farm until the conditions are right. Case in point: chopping. Normally we are chopping our wheat, rye, and ryegrass for the cows to eat sometime after the middle of April. So far it has been too wet to do anything. 

We had about eight inches of rain in less than two weeks plus all the extra rain we'd gotten before that. The weather has also been mild here. I know this because the kids and I have had discussions that went on too long about wearing shorts to school.

In the meantime the silage we have in our silos is getting low. We have been able to chop a little without getting stuck, just enough to put on a wagon to feed as green chop, that is immediate feeding without letting it go through a fermentation process in the silo. The wheat and such is holding on to the water so much that our mower and chopper can hardly cut it.

First Round Bale of Hay

To solve that problem I actually ran the tedder and rake over it trying to get it dry enough, but not too dry, that we could get it to go through the chopper. Some of it that got too dry made the first hay bales of the year.

Many jokes around here have been made about how the preachers can stop praying for rain for the drought we endured last year. Things are looking up. Yesterday was the nicest day we've had with sunshine all day long and the ground is finally drying up. Hopefully chopping will begin in earnest very soon!

December Hay

Our hay production was not as good as we hoped it would be this year. The drought we experienced this spring really deprived us of much production. What hay we did put up from the first cutting was too dry and right now even some of our finicky calves don't like it as much as they should.

Later cuttings we harvested came in between rains. We had lots of weeks in late summer and early fall when it would rain three or four days out of the week. You have to have at least a couple days of dry weather and low humidity to get up good quality hay and that didn't happen very often.

This year we broke our record of latest hay baling in the year. We finished this week. Normally we don't have seventy degree weather in December, but you have to make the best of what comes along and we did!



So it isn't exactly Christmas hay, but we're glad to get it harvested. This last hay will be fed to heifers this winter and I know they are going to enjoy it.

Lower Temps and Rain Make a Difference

It is amazing the difference that ten degrees and a little rain can make. With 105 degree temps and no rain for around two weeks, things were getting dry. The corn was twisting and we didn't know if it would be able to last. The cows had lost some milk production as well, from the heat.

Hay Field Whirlwind

I was raking hay this afternoon when I saw a whirlwind going through the field. I have tried to photograph or video tape them before and never been able to get one. This one was one of the widest I've seen and lasted a very long time. It eventually went on to the left and out of sight.

The good news was that it only bothered the hay I had yet to rake!

Hot, Dry Weather On the Farm

Many people notice heat and lack of rain by how green or brown the grass is in their yard, but this has a more dramatic affect on dairy farms. When it is hot cows can slow down in milk production which directly influences the farmer's income. To help offset the heat we make sure our animals have access to shade and plenty of fresh water.

Hot, dry weather also can put a strain on crops. We have some mid summer crops we'd love to plant, but until there is rain we can't put the seed in the ground. Likewise with our corn, when there is little moisture the plants will twist in the heat while patiently waiting for the rain. The dry weather has been good for putting up hay as it can be quickly mowed and baled, however 2cd and 3rd cuttings will not come if there's no rain.

One of our local television stations and my extension agent came to my farm this week to highlight how the weather is affecting farmers.

Wordless Wed: Waiting on the Sun