Farmer Gary reports that hay season at Howell Farm has thus far been a dramatic but ultimately successful operation.
“All those fields, we got them in just in time,” he says. “The weather forecasts do not hold. They predict longer periods of sun.”
After each cutting of a hay field, the hay needs to dry in the sun for a day or two – depending on conditions -- before it is bailed and put away in the barn. Often, deciding when to cut hay becomes a calculation of risk and reward, and the end game is often a race against a looming rainstorm to get the hay stored safely before it is soaked and ruined.
So far, by just inching out a few rainstorms, Howell Farm’s haying operation has been lucky. Or, depending on how you look at it, they’ve been good.
On Friday, Farmer Rob used a tractor to replant one of Howell Farm’s hay fields with fescue. Traditionally, the farm plants Timothy hay, but over the past several years there has been a problem. Farmer Rob explains:
“Cereal Rust Mite has reduced longevity in our Timothy fields. Fields that should last five years are declining more rapidly. The major symptom is curled leaves like corn in a drought, but even when the field is moist. Tall Fescue is apparently less susceptible. We planted a field a couple years ago and just planted another.”
“All those fields, we got them in just in time,” he says. “The weather forecasts do not hold. They predict longer periods of sun.”
After each cutting of a hay field, the hay needs to dry in the sun for a day or two – depending on conditions -- before it is bailed and put away in the barn. Often, deciding when to cut hay becomes a calculation of risk and reward, and the end game is often a race against a looming rainstorm to get the hay stored safely before it is soaked and ruined.
So far, by just inching out a few rainstorms, Howell Farm’s haying operation has been lucky. Or, depending on how you look at it, they’ve been good.
On Friday, Farmer Rob used a tractor to replant one of Howell Farm’s hay fields with fescue. Traditionally, the farm plants Timothy hay, but over the past several years there has been a problem. Farmer Rob explains:
“Cereal Rust Mite has reduced longevity in our Timothy fields. Fields that should last five years are declining more rapidly. The major symptom is curled leaves like corn in a drought, but even when the field is moist. Tall Fescue is apparently less susceptible. We planted a field a couple years ago and just planted another.”
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