This year's hay harvest was better than expected, we ended up with 500 bales from the approximate 15 acres we cut and baled. We didn't have the money to fertilize or seed last fall or this spring, so our expectations were low on how much hay we'd actually produce.
The spring rains kept us out of the field a little longer than the past few years, so we didn't start cutting until the 2nd week of June, when normally we'd have been done by then. The extra rain helped with production, but hampered harvest a little as we had a small storm front roll through catching us with bales on the ground still. We had put up about half of our harvest in the barn when the remaining bales in field got rained on. We had to wait a week while the bales dried before we could start bucking again. We turned each bale over by hand to ensure they dried and wouldn't mold on us. Thankfully, the sun cooperated and our bales dried and we got the remainder put up.
We also shared about 50-75 bales with a neighbor that's helped us buck hay in the past. They feed a few steers on their pasture and could use the feed to help with growing out their beef.
Bale Count
John Deere 224WT Baler in action
