I know to a "proper" farmer 21 round bales of hay isn't much. I know this because I grew up on a proper farm where most of our fields were bigger than the total area of what I've got now. But I'm still quite proud of our first little harvest.
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| Spike the contractor baling the hay |
The hay is really good quality, smells really sweet and we baled it at just the right time (the weather sounds like it's going to break next week).
So what to do with 21 one round bales of good quality hay? Sell it I'm afraid.
We don't have any ruminant stock and we've no where to store the bales in the dry (planing permission was turned down for a barn) so a hand painted sign on the side of the road is all we've got at the moment, just hope someone rings before they get too wet! If we sell them I'll put the money towards getting permission for a barn so next year we're not in such a hurry to sell them.
I did wonder what you were going to do with the hay on your last post...but I didn't want to appear thick by asking!!
ReplyDeleteJane x
Not thick at all! I'll get some stock next year that can eat it. This year I hope just to cover my costs and make a little bit.
DeleteLooks like good hay. I hope you don't need permission to put a tarp over them! Used to be you didn't need permission for a barn. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteThe hay is nice stuff. I know I could put a sheet over it I was just hoping I could sell it before then! shame it seems like you need permission now if you park your car for too long!
DeleteIf your barn has a wheel at each post is it a barn or farm equipment? My chicken coop is a trailer and not taxed as a building, fair is fair.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about building a "mobile field shelter" as you dont need planning for one, yet. The ground here is quite wet so it would be difficult to move but it would be a good short term solution.
DeleteSuch a shame you didn't get permission for the barn. Nice looking hay as well :-)
ReplyDeleteWe are digging holes and pulling out tree stumps, at last! At least while the weather stays dry...!
Make the most of the weather as it feels like worse weather is in the air!
DeleteInteresting to see how you are doing your hay. Round bales do shed the water a bit but not enough to leave them outside all winter in your part of the world (or mine). Did your baler contractor have an option for wrapping them? I've seen a lot of them setting outside around here but they are all wrapped in plastic.
ReplyDeleteI had been making 120lb 3 twine bales but the demand has shifted towards horse people who want 75lb bales. It takes so much longer to bale the hay it is kind of painful.
Here it seems to be either really big operations and really big bales or small somewhat amateur operations with poor quality hay.
I'm trying to fit in between somehow.
Interesting post. Glad you got your hay done.
I wont leave them out all winter. If worst comes to worst I'll have to lug them over to my dads farm but thats a good treck in a tractor! We only wrap in plastic for silage but I wanted to avoid the extra cost of getting them wrapped. Small bales are pretty popular around here but it's finding someone to bale them for me until I get my own machines (one day). We used to do loads of small bale stuff when I lived at my parents. Wee used to deliver and stack (by hand) 7000 bales of hay to a pig farm. We used to LOVE that one!
Delete21 round bales is nothing to sneeze at! You can always use them for mulch around your fruit trees and in your garden. Amazing how hay mulch will cut back on watering and also decompose to make your dirt nicer :O). We use it all the time here for that. Of course we don't get enough rain and its hotter than hades here so we have to mulch deep to keep moisture in :O). We tarp over the top so as to keep the rain off but our bales but it let air move around them by not tarping to the ground. Seems to work pretty well. :O). Course we are not feeding ours we are using for garden and for beds for the goats.
ReplyDeleteHopefully I wont have to use it as mulch! Theres nearly a weeks worth of wages sat out in that field! I do want to get some mulch in though, when we had the allotments we used to have spent mushroom compost which was great for that kind of thing, and it broke down the soil really well.
Deletetarp is ok for bales but they sweat when the sun comes on them (as the ground is still really wet). I think I just need to put up a bigger sign to sell them!