Baling the First Cut of Hay
Our big hay baling project continues at my Bedford, New York farm.
Hay is a harvested plant that’s dried and cured after being cut in the field. In most cases, hay is cut during the late bud or early bloom stage to maximize its nutritional value. This week, my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring, along with crew member, Domi, worked hard to cut, toss, rake and then bale the hay in my fields. Chhiring's son, MingMar, took photos with a drone to capture the arduous process. We're all so excited about this first cut. The first cut of the season is higher in fiber content and lower in protein and fat - my horses will love it.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Earlier this week, I shared a blog explaining how my hay was cut and tedded. A tedder spreads and fluffs the hay in a uniform swath after the mower-conditioner has made the windrows.
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- Here is a drone shot showing some of the windrows ready for baling. Thankfully, this was another beautiful dry day at the farm.
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- A baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store.
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- Here is the motor that helps to move and propel the bales into the wagon.
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- Chhiring hitches the baler to my tractor. I am so glad I have all the necessary equipment here at the farm. Having the “right tool for the right job” is very important.
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- Large rolls of twine are positioned and tied to each other, so they can feed into the baler and secure the hay just before it shoots out into the trailer.
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- Here is a closer look at a row of hay ready to bale. I have three separate areas for growing hay. They are all planted with a mixture of timothy, orchard grass, Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, and clovers – all great for producing good quality hay.
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- Chhiring starts this process midday when there is the least amount of moisture.
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- The tractor rides to one side of the windrow while the baler passes directly over it to collect the hay.
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- The hay is lifted by tines in the baler’s reel and then propelled into the wagon by a mechanical arm called a thrower or a kicker. The bales are manageable for one person to handle, about 45 to 60 pounds each.
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- Behind the baler is the hay trailer or wagon, which is used to catch the bales once they are formed and tied. It’s covered to protect the bales from any unexpected rain and to offer shade to Domi who is stacking the bales as they are thrown.
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- Here is Domi ready to catch each bale as it shoots out of the machine.
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- All the hay is dry and passing through the machine smoothly. If the hay is properly dried, the baler will work continuously down each row. Hay that is too damp tends to clog up the baler.
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- A baled “square” is seen traveling through the shoot. A measuring device—normally a spiked wheel that is turned by the emerging bales—measures the amount of material that is being compressed and then knotters wrap the twine around the bale and tie it off.
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- This bale accidentally fell out of the trailer and will be picked up on a later pass. Each bale is about 15 by 18 by 40 inches large. The number of flakes in the bale is determined by a setting in the baler. Many balers are set for 10 to 12 flakes per bale.
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- Chhiring goes evenly and slowly over every row of cut, tedded hay.
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- The hay trailer has high walls on the left, right, and back sides, and a short wall on the front side to contain the bales which are stacked neatly from front to back.
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- The trailer fills up pretty quickly. Luckily, I have two hay trailers. Each one can hold about 150-bales. Chhiring drives up and down the windrows of all the hayfields which takes about two hours. This hay will be more palatable for the horses. Feeding early-cut hay greatly reduces the amount of grain a horse needs. In all, we collected 400 bales of hay!
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- Chhiring, MingMar, and the drone stopped for a quick photo. Once the trailer is full, it is brought to the stable, where the hay is unloaded and stored. I am so excited to see all these bales of hay made right here at my farm. Below is a short video of the bales shooting into the trailer.
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