Cutting Hay - View from the Cab - Part 3 of 3

Here is one final video of hay cutting.  We will be starting to cut our 3rd of 4 crops next week.  I will try to get some more videos of the other processes that go into making hay to feed our cows. 

A little bit more about this crop.  Alfalfa is planted in the spring of the year.  The seeds are very tiny - sort of like grass seed.  The roots of this plant go very deep - probably about 2 feet under ground.  Unless there are bad conditions in winter with ice, the plant comes back yearly and usually will produce a good yield for 3 or 4 years.  Each year the plant gets to be 18 - 24 inches tall before cutting and there are 4 cuttings taken usually every 30 days starting in the middle to end of May.  This mower will cut the plants about 2" from the ground meaning we have to do a very good job picking the rocks out of these fields.  Rocks and harvest equipment don't go well together!!  In a typical year, the four cuttings produce about 4 - 5 tons of haylage per acres.  This forage is high in protein which carries through into the milk produced by the cows.

Here's a song that we sing about hay when we host school kids.  (To the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat).

Milk, Milk, Milk the Cows

We milk them every day

Ice Cream, Cheese and Yogurt too

We make them all from HAY!!