Page 23 - The Farming Years proof

FARMInG WITH HAY In MInD
I had clearly decided that our entry into farming was to be making hay as the grass was there and we maybe could get a second cut after the grass had grown around August. We had no investment in the crop but we had investment in the machinery that could be used for many years.
First of all we cut the grass around the two factories which dried quickly because it was a thin crop and we baled 149 bales. The hay in the top 13 acre eld was a different story. It was very thick because John had put ample fertilizer on it in the early spring. In spite of changing the blades and consistent sharpening the mower clogged up and had to be cleared by hand. The mowers of today are a different cutting principal and would not have blocked. The problem with the old type mower was you had to proceed at a cer- tain speed for the grass to be cut and cleared. Being so thick the grass took over a week to fully dry for hay. We tedded the rows of hay every day which is the process of uf ng up the hay to allow air to get into the rows and help it dry. When it was dry we used the acrobat rotary rake to put two rows into one. This raked up any hay that had drifted from the rows and gave a neat big row for the baler to proceed.
The second hand baler worked well and we only had one part needing replacement during the whole of the season. With pa- tience and time we baled 1,550 bales from the 13 acre eld. It smelt right and had a bounce.
At this time only balers producing small rectangular bales were available. Large round bales and large rectangular bales were a long way away. So the system was to pile the bales into piles of 8 with 2 on a row, each row crossed for stability. This helped to keep them mainly dry if it rained and made fewer stops for collecting on a truck or trailer. Jim Johnson, one of our truck drivers, came from a farming family and had worked on the farm in his younger days. He was very quali ed to help and clearly had more experi-
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