My husband has made the machinery ready for haying. The tractors are being repaired. The baler is being checked out and greased up. After sitting in the machine shed all winter, it needs a going-over. He fixed the flat tire on a hay wagon.  Getting ready takes work.

The alfalfa is nice and thick.  It did not suffer winter kill in spite of the harsh winter.  The snow-cover of winter protected it.

The hay was cut five days ago.  It has been lying in the field to dry.  Three days ago my husband crimped the hay to accelerate the drying process.  Yesterday he raked it and we tried to bale it.  Alas, the clouds hung in the sky and the sun did not fully make the hay dry enough to bale.  Even today, the dew is heavy and there is no breeze.  The sun is shining, however, so later in the day we hope that we can actually bale the whole field.

We bale small bales.  Many farmers have upgraded to the large round bales or large square bales.  We are using the old machinery we bought from my husband’s dad. It is old and needs repair, but since our farming operation is set up for this type of baling, we are sticking with it.  Our hay wagons hold about 80 bales.  We have to master loading bales neatly.

Hurray! We got the hay baled and stored just in time.  Just after finishing the job the rain began to fall.  We seem to have to race with the weather.  How nice that we have it under shelter and the hay will stay dry.

Photo credit: Wenda Grabau