There's a lot of physical work in making hay, and clever timing as well, if the
valuable leaf is
to be retained in the bale for best nutrient retention.
Cutting, tedding, baling, then picking up, trucking and unloading and stacking
in the shed.
With lucerne hay there is another step - it MUST be stored in the open for
several (many)
days because bacteria in the hay ferment and cause a significant increase in
heat of the bale.
Farmers who are stupid enough to store their lucerne hay right after baling
will likely see their
valuable hay + shed go up in flames through spontaneous combustion.
The old-style methods are VERY labour-intensive. farmers cannot afford this
kind of
operation now, and in any case the labour is just not available.
Here is a 1950's photo of meadow hay I helped my father make. He drove the
tractor and
baler, while I stood on a sled towed behind the baler, assembled the bales in
3's as shown,
and tipped them off the sled at the right time to form lines of 3's for easier
pick-up for cartage.
This was a family operation and no wages were paid. I was about 18 at the time
and home
for the Xmas hols.
http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=3196
Provided a farmer has the correct equipment, "he" can do it all mechanically
without outside
or manual help. Bigger bales mean fewer individual movements, therefore greatly
increased
efficiency.
Some time later I will post pics of lucerne big round bales made and dealt to
all by the one
man who owns the farm alongside the country property my partner used to own.
Feed-out is
similarly done mechanically as the feeding trailer unrolls the rolls as it is
towed along behind
the tractor.
These big bales of lucerne are stored in the open air well away from buildings,
and used to
feed merino sheep both in-lamb ewes and (castrated) wethers grown for wool...
I don't think the NZ farmers who feed wheat straw to their beef cattle in
winter have read the
article that Moose quoted .... they may well augment it with some better
quality fodder (
Lucerne hay and meadow hay) as well, or green-feed grown specially ( this is a
common
practice in the colder south where I live).
Crops such as swedes, turnips, choumollier (spelling).
Brian Swale
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