Hmmmmmm...we decided to take a serious look at our crop.
The first sign...the alfalfa is laying down after 12 hours of watering.
It's thick with big leaves and comes up to the bottom of
the wheel line...a good two feet tall!
This photo is just for Mrs. Mom...see her drool ;~)
Ha! Couldn't help myself!
Second sign...when you really don't need to wear
rubber boots while moving wheel lines...
...except for protection from snake bites!
The cold and wet sure are a shocker
to the system at 5 AM!
I talked to Hay Man Rudy and he said go for it!
After this set turns off at 4:30 PM today, we'll
let the ground dry for a few days and we're supposed
to get some hot weather...perfect for baling!
Prayin' for good weather~
Hot Weather....... snort! whats that?
ReplyDeleteI have 2 horses with thrush! we
have had nothing but rain and cool. Today looks promising, but HOT! I have forgotten what that means.
Keeping fingers crossed for hay, I know how that feels.
I'm jealous!
ReplyDeleteOur prairie grass has maybe reached 10" in height.
Saying prayers for warm, dry weather for you.
Thanks for some interesting pictures. I love seeing alfalfa, and I like the smell of it too!
ReplyDeleteDrool I did girl!! LOL BUt along WITH the hay, I was drooling over the irrigation. Man alive I'd love to be standing UNDER that right about now. It's 105 here again. Just got in from trimming horses. Sonny is waiting for more hay, and since he is not starving to death, he can wait until I cool off some!
ReplyDeleteAs always, you have such amazing pix!
We should have cut hay like 2 weeks ago. You gotta make hay when the sun shines, like the song says. Unfortunately its been nothing but rain rain rain.
ReplyDeleteThe ground is saturated here too. Your crop looks great. Do you do your first cut before it flowers?
ReplyDeleteThey are starting to cut hay in the valley too. It is still wet though and now they say maybe 10 dry days. Our place here is so wet that we haven't even laid out the irrigation lines yet. We had to put on fertilizer for the second time due to the rain that leeched out so much of it. Hope this bunch sticks as it's not cheap to keep fertilizing but it's that or see the grass leach out and not grow.
ReplyDeleteHope the weather cooperates.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures. I wish we could post smells to our blog as well as pictures. Fresh cut hay baking in the sun is my favorite!!!
How much do you sell your hay? I was watching a SPCA show, and we had flooding in a region. The cows were so thin, and the farmer had hay covered up in their plastic bags. They gave the excuse that the flood and the drought caused the trouble.
ReplyDeleteShirley~We try to keep the bloom under 10%. If it gets too ripe, the protein and RFV (relative food value) goes down and it won't test high enough for dairy quality. There are buds on the plants, but it hasn't actually bloomed yet. Last year we had so much rain and couldn't get it cut so it didn't make grade. Second cutting never makes grade because it grows so fast (very hot weather), but 3rd cutting made dairy quality...we get more $$ for that of course!
ReplyDeleteAnn~Flood and drought...both can be devastating for farm crops. As I mentioned to Shirley above, different types of hay go for different prices. Feeder alfalfa hay sold last year between $80-$95 per ton, dairy quality sold between $120-$150. That of course is in US dollars.
Well I certainly hope you get better weather than we have been getting here, rain, rain and more rain. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you stay dry.
ReplyDeleteThanks for some interesting pictures
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