Post by DanMa on Jun 15, 2005 8:47:12 GMT -5
Well, Joann, KFC is right on the money about custom haymakers. 
So much so, it makes me wonder how they develop a similar mentality. I had our local custom haymaker come out to look at my field which was sown quite late last Fall by the construction crews who had finished running a municipal pipeline through my property. So, it is long and narrow, approximately 40' wide covering about 2 acres. It was one excuse after another; some of them did have some truth to them. The hay wasn't high enough, I'd only get about 200 bales (that's probably more than I'll need for an entire winter and this is the first cutting). He suggests liming again in the Fall with pelletized lime which won't blow away in the wind. Could that have been the problem? I had a soil test done and told the crew how much lime and fertilizer had been recommended /acre. To the best of my knowledge, that is what they put down. According to him, even with the late sowing it should be waist high--don't I wish! He says it's not worth my money for him to cut it and that I'm better off buying it. (He charges by the bale which is about 50% of what it costs to buy hay so how can I be better off buying it when I'll have to pay twice as much)? It will be difficult to dry (it's not his favorite orchard grass). I planted an Alfalfa, Timothy, Clover, birdsfood trefoil mixture but there is no trace of Alfalfa anywhere. In most places there is mostly clover. I thought the best clover for haymaking should have pinkish/reddish flowers but much of this is white with pink crowns (and it's not White Dutch Clover--I don't think). One area is predominantly Timothy. Here and there, one can see a few very small shoots of birdsfoot trefoil. He'd like to overseed with orchard grass in the Fall. Aren't the legumes more nutritious? He says I'm better off to just graze the cows there (they'll never eat 200 bales worth of fodder between now and snowfall).
I guess I'll really be better off once I get some used haying implements and make my own. ;D In the meantime, if time permits, I'll play around with making and drying some small amounts by hand just to get the hang of when it's properly dried, etc. Besides, I LOVE scythes & sickles. I just need 48 hours in a day.
Unless someone has any suggestions for convincing this guy to cut this (the clover is past the 1/3 bloom stage KFC recommends and is probably about full bloom by now).
So much so, it makes me wonder how they develop a similar mentality. I had our local custom haymaker come out to look at my field which was sown quite late last Fall by the construction crews who had finished running a municipal pipeline through my property. So, it is long and narrow, approximately 40' wide covering about 2 acres. It was one excuse after another; some of them did have some truth to them. The hay wasn't high enough, I'd only get about 200 bales (that's probably more than I'll need for an entire winter and this is the first cutting). He suggests liming again in the Fall with pelletized lime which won't blow away in the wind. Could that have been the problem? I had a soil test done and told the crew how much lime and fertilizer had been recommended /acre. To the best of my knowledge, that is what they put down. According to him, even with the late sowing it should be waist high--don't I wish! He says it's not worth my money for him to cut it and that I'm better off buying it. (He charges by the bale which is about 50% of what it costs to buy hay so how can I be better off buying it when I'll have to pay twice as much)? It will be difficult to dry (it's not his favorite orchard grass). I planted an Alfalfa, Timothy, Clover, birdsfood trefoil mixture but there is no trace of Alfalfa anywhere. In most places there is mostly clover. I thought the best clover for haymaking should have pinkish/reddish flowers but much of this is white with pink crowns (and it's not White Dutch Clover--I don't think). One area is predominantly Timothy. Here and there, one can see a few very small shoots of birdsfoot trefoil. He'd like to overseed with orchard grass in the Fall. Aren't the legumes more nutritious? He says I'm better off to just graze the cows there (they'll never eat 200 bales worth of fodder between now and snowfall). I guess I'll really be better off once I get some used haying implements and make my own. ;D In the meantime, if time permits, I'll play around with making and drying some small amounts by hand just to get the hang of when it's properly dried, etc. Besides, I LOVE scythes & sickles. I just need 48 hours in a day.
Unless someone has any suggestions for convincing this guy to cut this (the clover is past the 1/3 bloom stage KFC recommends and is probably about full bloom by now).
) and then the price tags scare us off (even old, horse-drawn implements). I just found a site that has some good info on haymaking as well as scythes - scytheconnection.com - by the author of the addendum to The Scythe Book. I'm just about ready to buy my scythe. My boys helped me with the measurements today. They were interested in the pictures of the author's two girls scything and making haybales. Let us know how the haying works out.
]. 'Anyway, I guess haylage is an option. and it can be covered with a tarp. I never thought of driving over it back and forth, but if it gets the job done...why not? How thick are the batches they drive over before they get another batch? I do have portable electric fencing and may try a section. 
