Haymaking

Although I have been moaning about the cool spring the grass once it had started growing has done very well. The weather conditions though have made for some strange happenings. The grass bolted to seed and the alfalfa which normally should be cut when there is between 10% and 20% bloom hardly had a bud let alone a single bloom. So we cut the grass a bit late and the alfalfa a bit early making for a fair quality and good production. We made hay on 32 acres and put up approximately 70 tons of hay. This is not a bad yield as we use no fertilizer and the fields were grazed for the last two years. We will get a second cut and possibly a third it the weather is kind, if not a third cut we will graze it till winter, using it as "foggage" or stockpiled pasture.

Our neighbours did some custom work for us one cutting the hay and the other baling. I turned it and raked it prior to baling and latter hauled it home and stacked it in the barn.