Finally got the last of my first cutting of hay done

old · Aug 12, 2015

Been a rough year to get hay done. Finally cut the last of my hay today. Even then I had one small break down. Will bale it tomorrow or Friday depending on how things go. Never in the 30 plus years I have done hay on my place have I even done it this late in the year. I hope we get some rain now so maybe I'll have a 2nd cutting

Part Time Pete · Aug 12, 2015

The weather hasn't been real helpful in this neck of the woods either (Central NY) - real dry May and wet June. July was decent, but hard to string enough good days together - that, and not having nerve enough to mow more when the weather was good. I hope to have mine wrapped up in the next couple weeks
Pete

showcrop · Aug 12, 2015

(quoted from post at 17:31:50 08/12/15) The weather hasn't been real helpful in this neck of the woods either (Central NY) - real dry May and wet June. July was decent, but hard to string enough good days together - that, and not having nerve enough to mow more when the weather was good. I hope to have mine wrapped up in the next couple weeks
Pete

Over here in NH June was almost as dry as May but they were predicting 70% chance of rain every other day so I didn't dare cut.

K Effective · Aug 12, 2015

Mowed some second and a neighbor's field of first two days ago. The neighbor's field was just brush chopped the last couple years and real tough to cut, very twisted. Bales up the second cut field tonight after work, made a couple rounds next door until we hit a bee's nest of some sort. Half dozen really mad ones by me on the wagon, one hit to the eyelid. Son took one in the back on the tractor. Time to quit.

old · Aug 12, 2015

Not likely to be bees but more then likely to be yellow jackets which are a wasp not a bee. I hate it when a person calls a breed of wasp a bee but then again I am a former bee keeper

K Effective · Aug 12, 2015

I hesitated to call them bees, but I did get a close look when it stung me on the eyelid. Large and slow, I usually think of the yellow jacket as longer, thinner and quicker. These looked like bees, but am only an aspiring entomologist.

old · Aug 12, 2015

A yellow jacket is a small hornet looking wasp but there is a bumble bee which is about as big as the tip of your index finger and black and yellow and sort of slow and yes they do at times nest in the ground. It is one of the bugs physics say should not be able to fly due to large body and small wings but then maybe the bee did not take physic's

Charlie M · Aug 13, 2015

I'm just west of Rochester and still have 1st cutting in the field. I've never had so many things work against haying as this year - wet June, eye surgery, death in the family in July, wedding in August and of course my job. I guess this is a lot of reasons why I don't farm for a living.

Keith Molden · Aug 13, 2015

My neighbor and my grandson just started mowing my 2nd cutting yesterday so I can bale it Saturday while I'm home. Good thing is it will all be rounds so should go quick if no break downs. I totally agree, not a good year for hay. Keith

JRSutton · Aug 13, 2015

Same here Old - in fact, we actually overlapped last week - starting second cutting in some fields while doing first cutting in others.

Not a lot to show for our efforts either. Much of the hay is horrible. A lot of it had to be sold off as mulch hay.

Second cutting stuff came in beautifully though. So maybe our luck is changing.

RayP(MI) · Aug 13, 2015

When I was a kid, we had a hayfield that was infested with ground nesting bumble bees. By the time we got over it with the sickle bar mower, the hayrake and the baler, they were not in good humor. We had to wait until after dark to go out and collect the bales.

Finally got the last of my first cutting of hay done

old

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Part Time Pete

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showcrop

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K Effective

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old

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K Effective

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old

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Charlie M

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Keith Molden

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JRSutton

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