This year, we’re adding a new step to the process of harvesting hay from our pastures: weeding and fertilizing!
In our first year, we were really just getting our bearings for what all happens on the farm from day to day and month to month. In the interest of time and capacity, we skipped this vital step in the process of creating the most from our harvesting efforts.
The result last year was a bit lackluster. We got plenty of hay that lasted us most of the winter – however we noticed lots of weeds and generally thin areas of the pastures while harvesting.
With that in mind, we looked ahead a bit this year and ordered a buggy of fertilizer and weed prevention mix to be spread on both pastures in the Spring.
This mix should encourage the pastures to grow thick and lush with significantly fewer weeds. Generally, the livestock aren’t interested in the weedy portions of bales, so our goal is to create more hay for more efficient bales and more productive feeding later.
Today, Aaron picked up our buggy from Daily Ag in Oskaloosa and used the Allis Chalmers tractor that we acquired with the farm to spread the fertilizer.
He quickly learned that the buggy and weight of the fertilizer is a bit too much for our tractor to handle. While he didn’t experience a serious accident, the instability of hauling so much weight with a machine that can’t quite resist or control what’s behind it is dangerous. Having felt that this year, we know we’ll have some work to do getting the right equipment onto the property next year if we see success from this initial test.
All things with time, right? Looking forward to seeing what this step in the process can accomplish for us down the road.