While the Sun Shines

We rely on hay for the cattle to survive while the grass isn’t growing. It can be stressful seeing dark clouds with drying hay on the ground.

One time our friend who we hire to cut and bale our hay said yes when the fellow in line before us asked him to bale some more that he had not planned on. It rained and rained on our previously dry hay. We raked and raked to try to get some of it put up and edible. It smelled like dirt.

I read about direct cut grass silage. This was used in England and New Zealand where sunny, dry days can be hard to come by. It sounded like a dream come true avoiding those worrisome days while the hay dries.

Through the grapevine I found the high speed chopper and wagon for sale in Northeast Iowa that would give us worry-free hay making (silage). Dawn had the map and I drove our trusty Camry to New Albin. At one point we were at a junction of four roads. I think the map makers couldn’t believe there could be such a place. But there was a little store there and I went inside to ask for directions. The grumpy lady should have charged us for the info as I think that was the only “business” she ever saw.

Anyway, we bought the lacerator and wagon. The lacerator mounted on the three point of our 125 hp tractor and the wagon followed behind. The lacerator flail chopped the green grass and directed it into the wagon. When full, a conveyer (apron) on the floor moved the pile out the back and we used a tractor loader to form a pile about 80 feet by 30 feet and eight feet high.

We covered the pile with plastic and sealed the edges with dirt. Silage must be oxygen free. If a critter made a hole in the plastic we sealed it with tape right away. With a good start and no glitches, we could make a pile in a day. When it was about half done we put a perforated sewer pipe in it so it stuck out the side. Then we sucked out the air  with a shop vac to tighten the plastic onto the pile.

To feed the silage we used the same wagon but without the lacerator. It delivered the feed out the side to form a nice windrow from which the cows could eat.

Generally, Dawn and I could do the work ourselves but to lighten her load stacking and forming the pile we had Jason come down and together they made a beautifully formed pile that fit the plastic just right. Once, Dawn went across the road to the house for snacks,  wading through the tall grass in the ditch, she came back and handed Jason a sandwich and he appeared to be frozen in fear. They stood there awhile, then Jason swatted a big garden spider off of her chest. Those little adventures make farming memorable.

Another time, we had pasture way up the hill from the house and made the pile out there. I had the tractor hooked-up to a generator and that powered the vacuum. The next morning I went out there and found the tractor still running. I guess the fuel tank must have been full.

As time went by we found that the cows were not gaining weight at a proper rate and I asked Allan Nation, owner of Stockman Grassfarmer Magazine, about it. He said we would have to feed some hay to provide more dry matter.

Our dream to make our own winter feed was dashed. But then we are social animals and rely on society to provide most everything else. So what?

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