Hay!

I noticed on my way home from town today that one of the farmers has begun cutting first crop hay. I wonder if he is a bit early and just needs the hay, or if it's truly ready. I know a couple of our fields are knee high already, but haven't quite reached the right stage. I will claim ignorance on what that stage is. Something to do with just before the alfalfa blooms for peak nutritional value.

As I mentioned in an early post, we have done some adjusting this year to accommodate the rising cost of corn. We don't need a lot of corn to feed what little cattle we raise, so we just plant what we absolutely need. The rest of the fields are either in pasture or will be hay. This year, if the weather holds true, we will have a bumper crop of hay. Unfortunately the cost of fertilizer, namingly pot ash, has more than doubled since last year, in fact it's tripled in price!

So, right now I am eying up the hay fields hedging for a couple of wagons to get me through next winter. Maybe even three wagons! I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed I can get second crop, but at this point I will take what I can get.

My fingers and toes have been crossed so much lately I'm starting to walk funny! Hope it helps though.