The busiest time of the year

Spring is such a busy time of the year on the farm and this one has been no exception.

Since we're a grass-based farm, we have to stockpile feed for winter. In order to do this, the first grass that grows so quickly and lushly in the spring is mowed, raked, baled and wrapped to preserve it for late fall and winter when there's no grass available.

We've learned that the hay really needs to be made before Memorial Day in order to have the amount of protein that will be required to keep the cattle thriving during the cold winter months. This is a different routine than the more common (in northeast Ohio) way of storing hay as dried grass that is used as a supplement to a corn-based diet for cattle.

The hay in the wrapped bales is fermenting. The bales "puff up" a bit as they cure inside the wrapper; if the wrapper is punctured, the hay will spoil. Aaron lines the bales up along the edge of the fields where the cattle will be kept over the winter and then feeds a combination of the fermented feed and dry hay from mid-December until the grass starts to grow again in the spring.

These bales are unwrapped or drier hay that will help balance the high protein content of the wrapped hay. Too much protein isn't good for cattle, any more than it is for people. The balance is both an art and a science that takes careful management year-round.

The early warm weather gave way to a more rainy late spring and our hay-making was a challenge but the biggest push is done for now. We'll continue to bale some hay throughout the summer; it will take more than 250 bales of hay to get our livestock through the winter.

This undertaking, added in to the regular routine of farm work and keeping up with yard work, makes for a very busy time of year!