Crop Management - Hay

Hay is cut every 28 days which averages about 4 times per season. About 800 acres of new hay seedings are established each year and most field will stay in hay for 3-4 years. Most seeding are done in August following the removal of the wheat crop.

A Krone "Big M" self propelled mower helps get the hay cut quickly. 25 acres per hour can be mowed with this mower alone. The "Big M" cuts 3 - 10' rows and lays them flat for quicker drying. When turning the "Big M" picks up all 3 mowing decks to keep them from being damaged. The two outside decks fold up vertically while the center deck picks straight up. A Case IH 8880 with a 15' deck is also used to keep up with the mowing.

The flat mowed hay is gathered into rows after is has dried sufficiently. Two 30' mergers are used for this task - a Oxbow 310 and a Miller Pro 310. Three 10' tables work as one continuous table to gather the hay into a row. If the hay is rained on after it has been merged it is then spread back out with a tedder and redried and merged again before it is chopped or baled.