to about 1200 acres he farms in corn , soybeans , and wheat . Spates says “… growing hay is the easy part . Getting it cut , properly dried , baled , stored or delivered at the perfect time is the real challenge .” He explains that managing weather is a daily gamble all farmers face ; when rain threatens you choose whether “ to cut or not to cut .” A bit of rain on early-season , fresh cut green hay won ’ t hurt it , but it can complicate the schedule , requiring more attention to manage the moisture content . More mature hay molds more easily if it gets wet after cutting .
Spates has two full-time , yearround employees to help handle deliveries and equipment , and he staffs up with seasonal labor every growing season to keep the harvest moving fast . Many a teenager living in the Ag Reserve or nearby has spent long summer evenings loading and stacking hay bales in a mad race to get hay stored away , out of impending dew or rain . New high-tech equipment makes drying and baling more efficient , but also increases costs . Even a modest tractor now can cost more than $ 100,000 , so most farms do their own maintenance and keep their machines running for many years . During the busiest part of the season Spates keeps lots of equipment in heavy use : at least four tractors and various attachments for cutting , “ tedding ” ( fluffing hay into airy rows to dry it ), raking , and baling , along with equipment for harvesting corn and soybeans .
At Deere Valley Farm in Dickerson , Rob Baker and his wife Samantha , along with sons Josh and Zack and his parents Paul and Nancy , are third , fourth and fifth generation farmers . The family farm team raises beef cattle and hogs , and grows hay and corn to feed them on their own land and hundreds of acres elsewhere . Rob has long provided agriculture consulting services , including pasture management advice , and stresses that hay in winter is a natural extension of the
PHOTO : sari o ’ neal
seasonal life cycle . Hay provides food when pastures go dormant , giving the land a chance to recover as nutrients go back into the soil to rejuvenate it for the next growing season . The Baker family offers a variety of hay to “ retail ” customers ; about 50 % for horses , who need a calorie-dense mixture with few weeds , and 50 % for cattle , whose tougher digestive systems can handle a wider range of grasses and even some we consider weeds .
Todd Greenstone of Brookeville , who farms more than 900 acres , with 250 acres of it in hay , says that hay has been a constant in his diversified farming for more than 40 years . His team delivers hay on a regular schedule to various large horse farms , including Wheaton Park Stables , and to Rolling Acres Show Stables in Brookeville . At each farm up to 100 square bales a day can be consumed .
As agricultural land is more fragmented , with fewer large fields of 100 + acres , and more fields that are 20 to 50 acre remnants between building lots , Baker
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