Makin' Hay

Tractor, bailer and wagon harvest the hay,
with Jim driving all the equipment. 

 We have roughly 4 acres of land in alfalfa/grass hay that we cut, dry, bale and store in the barn. This is fed to the goats in the months when pastures are not growing. We just finished our second crop, which means this is the second cutting from the field this season. If the weather cooperates, there should be a third crop harvest. Baling can take about a week to complete. Jim cut the hay on Wednesday, then raked it on Friday,  A "rake" is a farm implement that moves the cut hay into rows. Jim raked it again on Saturday to turn the hay over so the underside is brought to the top so it can dry. If the hay is baled before it is dry, it can mold which can make the animals sick; it could also spontaneously combust in the barn and cause a fire. Once the hay is dry enough, the baler is hooked up to the tractor, followed by a wagon. The baler picks up the rows and compresses them into a square, ties them with twine and throughs the bale into the wagon. When the wagon is full it is driven to the barn, each bale is taken off the wagon, loaded onto a small elevator that takes it into the barn, then grabbed and stacked neatly. Baling hay takes a good amount of labor, with the help of Jim, Diana, Alicia and Rosalyn, we got all the hay put up in the mow. Now we are hoping for that next crop in late August.

Rosalyn takes hay from the wagon and loads it
 onto the elevator that takes the hay into the barn.

Alicia and Jim stack the hay into the barn mow.

On a sad note, our dog Oliver passed on Wednesday. He had been slowing down over the last year, but were not expecting him to die so soon. He was a true farm dog, and a true family dog, and most of all he loved all people. He would join many hikers on the Ice Age Trail that borders our farm and assist them on their journey.

For our Dreamfarm CSA Share members that are receiving the Variety Pack, you received an aged cow milk cheese in your last delivery. This cheese was made last fall from Jen, our Jersey cow. It was then aged through the winter and weekly was washed with salt water and turned. Our goats and cow are continuing to provide the milk for your cheeses. It has been a good summer for animals as they do not like it so hot.

Dreamfarm continues to work with the goods days along with the challenges a farm can bring. We have had multiple raccoon attacks in our chicken houses, along with owls who come at dusk and get in the small chicken doors if we do not get them closed in time. Without our dog Oliver, there is not the guarding of the area. We also put up some portable fencing so we can move our goats, sheep and steers through a managed pasture system. A goat got herself tangled in the fence and hurt her foot/hoof. She was limping for days but is looking better. Last week a sheep got her entire head caught in the fence and wrapped around tight. Sheep are much harder to control than goats. But we did get her to hold still and got the fence cut. Off she ran!! I took down the fencing after that.
Here it is August 1, I am sure there is more fun to come.