Haying Time

Cutting alfalfa
approximately 1978
south of the farm house

If I close my eyes and concentrate, I can hear the steady beat of windrower as clears field and smell the sweet, fresh-cut alfalfa. I can almost taste the sweet and tender stem of alfalfa plucked from the windrow.

Cutting alfalfa
approximately 1978
south of the farm house

No doubt, you've heard the term, "making hay while the sun shines," but truth be told, farmers and ranchers often work long into the night to put up the hay. Notice the light on the black bar directly above the right-hand tire in the photo above. That is a headlight for cutting alfalfa at night. My brother was often in the field well past dark because he put up hay on two farms that were 10 miles apart. Other farm chores - milking and irrigating - took precedence during daylight hours.

Family members often pitched in to help during haying. Sometimes, my brothers-in-law helped with the harvest when they visited. Their help during this busy time was greatly appreciated by my mother and brother.

My four nephews (when they were old enough) helped when my brother was confident they could handle the equipment - windrower, baler, and truck. He preferred to run the stackwagon and the chopper himself.

My oldest brother repaired equipment and helped out in the field whenever he could. I even baled hay one summer on the north farm. (I preferred cultivating corn to baling hay because very little can break down on a cultivator, and a LOT can go wrong with a baler, which is like a huge sewing machine pulled behind a tractor - large needles, twine instead of thread, and perfect tension needed for a tight bale.)

My mother prepared meals and took them to the field when the crew was working on the north farm. At lunch, she would usually get a list of repairs that were needed. Then, she would drop the lunch dishes at the farm, change clothes, and drive to town (30 miles one way) to pick up the parts or more twine for the baler.

Some years, it felt like the equipment was never idle and that when the first cutting was off the field, it was time to begin the next cutting. Three cuttings of hay were typical for the summer and a possible fourth if the weather held in the fall. The final cutting was usually chopped instead of baled.

Haying time was a busy time for everyone on the farm.