Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Dunns Fish Farm

We all have to make a living regardless of the weather. But some things cannot be done responsibly in some weather.

Due to local climate and soil type/moisture, I can't really start making hay before June 10 or so. I have to be done baling hay by September 15, or what I cut will never dry. I nursed a field for 9 or 10 days in late September one year learning this, raking it every day. The weather was gorgeous, bright and sunny. The hay was always half dry and half wet.

(Advances in technology and knowledge will let the envelope be expanded sometimes. I gotta get a tedder and see what it will do to decrease my drying times. Similarly, it's easier to haul live fish in a properly rigged truck than in a bucket.)

I COULD bale hay in the rain, or too early or late in the year. I know people who cut AND bale in the rain. I know a guy who round baled in December one year. But the hay would not be fit to feed my livestock.

Of course, the guys next door who cut and bale in the rain SELL all their hay. I think always to different customers. Either that or very non-discriminating ones. Caveat Emptor.