Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Rural Living Third crop was a wrap today

How do you store loose hay?

Silos and horizontal pits equals silage.

Climbing up in the open-topped silo in the winter. Using the pick-ax to loosen some fodder. Throwing it down the enclosed ladder. Getting to the bottom and clearing it away to crawl out. Spreading it down the bunks by carrying it with a scoop shovel. Getting jostled by the swinging heads while doing so. Getting a nice bruise in the back of the thigh from a blunted horn. Good times.

I haven't seen a feed bunker or a silo in use for quite awhile, only bales.

That stuff looks pretty green yet. What's the moisture content when you chop ?

About 60-65% .

We always shoveled it out from the bottom door. Heat from the ensilage kept it from freezing.This was in SW PA in the 50's, when the silo was right next to the barn.Then the milk inspector says that wouldn't do anymore and we had to start a trench silo away from the barn. Shovel the stuff onto the wagon, shovel it into wheelbarrow, take it into the barn , spread it a long the bunks . We didn't have a pickup or front in loader. Dad said he need either with 4 boys around.
didn't

Good crop. Great feed!

Looks good for a third.
Forgetting politics, Global Warming is definitely a thing.
When I was in farming, a 3rd wasn't guaranteed here.
1st was end of May early June. School closing time.
Now, second can be later in June.



Rain has been spotty here this year.
We live in a mountain gap and get more than most,
a co-worker lives 15 miles and was complaining his lawn was burnt up.
Ours looks like early May, cut it every dam week all summer.
Normally, July and August are every 2-3 weeks.

I lived outside of Albuquerque for about 10years and did some alfalfa haying. I got irrigation ditch water March 1st and usually got 5 cuttings a year. Here in Colorado, the 2nd cutting is considered gravy where I live. Everything got burned up from the drought an heat this year though.We have had little monsoon rain the last few weeks and may get a cutting yet, but not much. It will be one of those deals that is questionable of getting enough off to pay for machinery to run over it

With $4 farm diesel I told all the folks I cut for that I'm not this year. I live an hour east of saddlesore. The monsoons came and made the weeds grow, too late for the grass or alfalfa to do any good. Will probably have to buy some hay for the goats and the 1 cow and calf we have for the first time ever in 25 years of living here. Have had 1 or 2 years that we didn't cut before but didn't have any animals at those times.