One of the (many) things we're learning how to do this year is to make our own hay -- and at the same time, learn how to use draft horses to make the hay. For over a decade now, we've purchased hay, and it has always been our single largest feed cost. Like a lot of agricultural commodities, hay has continued to go up in price, year after year. So an important step for us in our drive to be more self-sufficient is to put up our own hay crop.
There's a lot to learn about the haymaking process, and of course you have to do it in the very small windows of time that Mother Nature gives you with the weather. Kate and I, with the help of our wonderful neighbor Jim D., took some of the equipment out for the first practice run today.
That's Kate in the photo above, using the horse-drawn sickle bar mower. The blade is low in the grass and you can't see it in this shot, but it extends out to her right side about 7 feet. I had already made the first pass, and she's now driving the horses down the mowed section and cutting the swath on the right.
Here's a photo Kate took of me just after I got underway earlier:
Next we tried out the tedder, which picks up the mowed grass, stirs it around, and drops it back on the ground, fluffing it in the process. All this helps it to dry. Here's Kate on the tedder:
Another view of her coming back down with Bob on the left (in the foreground) and Bill on the right:
And finally, here's a photo of me tedding:
If you click on that photo for a larger image, you should be able to see the grass being swirled around.
We still need to try out the side delivery rake, which picks up the grass and fluffs it again and forms it into windrows.
Our plan is to put up loose hay, the old-fashioned way, rather than baling it. This summer we will see how we do!
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Please Vote for the Farm!
The new Shelter Challenge started Monday, April 9 and ends at midnight on June 17. Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners. There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.
*** We are now LISTED UNDER OUR NEW NAME, ROLLING DOG FARM. State is still NH for New Hampshire. ***
Please remember, you can vote every day ... consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.
We just won $1,000 as a weekly winner for Week 4 of the last contest, and thousands more in the previous contests. The Shelter Challenge really does bring in a lot of money for the animals here!
You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.
Thank you for your votes!
I LOVE seeing photos of the horses work!
Posted by: Mary H./Washington state | June 14, 2012 at 03:01 PM
I'll bet Bill and Bob are enoying being out there working. They really are beautiful animals...so regal.
Again, I have to say how interesting it is for me to learn about what running the farm entails. For a suburban girl like me, I get tired just reading about all that work!
Posted by: Ann | June 14, 2012 at 03:38 AM
For Bill & Bob this kind of stroll through the field must seem like a cake walk instead of having to drag a plow through muddy or hard baked soil. Do I hear a soft neigh of agreement in the background??
Posted by: Peggy S. | June 13, 2012 at 04:04 PM
Way to go! Hard work but worth it. I hope you get a bumper crop.
Phyllis
Posted by: Phyllis Snow | June 13, 2012 at 03:37 PM
If you'd wear black pants and hat you'd look decidedly Amish!
Posted by: Mircat | June 13, 2012 at 03:09 PM
I AGREE WITH THE ABOVE. WHAT YOU DO TO BE SELF SUSTAINING IS WONDERFUL. THE HAY LOOKS GOOD FOR THE FIRST CUTTING. WE HAVE BEEN VERY DRY HERE IN NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS SO WE MIGHT BE BUYING HAY FROM YOU THIS FALL - HA!
Posted by: FELICIA | June 13, 2012 at 03:06 PM
That looks so fun! (But I know is dusty and sticky...)
I really admire what you are doing to get away from the huge pet food corporations and agribusiness. That has become high on my agenda for after I retire, when I have time.
Nancy
Posted by: Nancy Kelly | June 13, 2012 at 03:02 PM
A-MA-ZING! It's beautiful!
Posted by: Linda | June 13, 2012 at 12:23 PM
Your combination of old school, ie: BillyBob and newer machinery is so cool. The best of both worlds.
Posted by: Anne in FL | June 13, 2012 at 11:52 AM
Bill and Bob always look so proud of themselves. (As they should really, that's hard work!)
Posted by: Becky M. | June 13, 2012 at 11:42 AM
Now I'm even more curious. Where are you going to put the haystacks? How big can you make them in your area without them rotting at the bottom? Are you going to cover them? Here in WA. state, it wouldn't work, rain would ruin it.
How many acres are you haying, and will you still need to buy some?
I just love driving through local fields during haying season, the smell is a true gift. I'll bet if you are in sight of the roads, people stop to watch you haying with horses. Wish I was closer, I'd come and sit for hours just watching and lend a hand it you needed it!
Posted by: Diane Borden, Chehalis, WA | June 13, 2012 at 11:11 AM
You guys are amazing in all you do!
Wouldn't want to spoil it with a "reality" show, but boy, it'd sure be a good one! It truly is interesting, the things you do and how you do them - even in the 21st century!
Love the pics of Bob & Bill. They are gorgeous!
Posted by: Lisa K. - San Diego | June 13, 2012 at 10:10 AM
M-m-m! I bet it smells good. Will you be able to get 2 cuttings this summer? Do you use manure or what to fertilize the field?
Posted by: Kathleen Rivard | June 13, 2012 at 10:08 AM
That is so cool!! I didn't know you could put it up loose. You guys aways amaze me with all that you do and also taking care of all you animals. You are such a blessing!!!!
Posted by: toni ezell | June 13, 2012 at 10:07 AM
Cool!
Posted by: Leila K. - Western Wash. | June 12, 2012 at 10:24 PM