Then I raked Calvin's field. Then late afternoon/evening I baled the hay as it was dry. Last year I got 6 1/2 bales from the field. This year I got 2 1/2 bales. The amount was 38.5% of last year's total. I thought Donna's field looked lighter than last year when I cut it. I had guessed 50% of normal. John's field also looks lighter. Much different than my hayfield which was way higher than last year. Newly planted field, irrigation last year making sure there was no moisture deficit as the last half of last year was drier than normal, and fertilizer made a difference.
Since I had a half bale I decided to bale the loose hay I had accumulated when moving the bales. I had almost a half bale worth of loose hay.
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| Loose hay in the barn. I also had a small amount of loose hay in the hayshed. |
I would have had a fully complete bale but the process of forking the loose hay into the baler of previously baled hay resulted in lots of chaff. I put it in the barn as the cattle love eating it.
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| Residue from baling the loose hay |
It was getting dark by the time I put the three bales in the hayshed, as Mama, her calf, and Diamond were elsewhere in the pasture eating grass. Just as I finished it began to sprinkle rain lightly. Fortunately it didn't last long. Donna plans to bale her hay with her new baler tomorrow with help from her daughter and son-in-law and the last thing she needs is rain.
I'll clean my baler tomorrow and put it away.
This morning the bull, 10 cows, Red's calf and Panda's calf crossed the river and went to the south pasture. By afternoon half the cows were complaining and wanting their calves to drink and drain their full udders. So I went out and opened the gate to let them back into the middle pasture. All went except Red and her calf who wanted to lay in the shade under a tree and chew their cuds.
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