Today is December 25th - 2021. I am up early waiting on everyone to assemble to give and receive Christmas gifts. It seems in all of the Christmas or "holiday" bustle many forget the real reason there is a Christmas celebration. Simply - it is the Birth of Christ! Though our yields were down this year compared to 2020, we have been very busy on the Jamison Family Farm. Our hay quality suffered due to continuous rain delays and when we did cut, the hay was very mature. After the rain stopped and we got our first cutting into the barn, drought set-in for the remainder of the summer. I did not think it was possible to get a second cutting. Freeze Dried Hay... However, a funny thing happened in September. Rain and warm temperatures came and stayed with us until the first of November - at which point the temperatures begin to cycle from the 20's to upper 60's degree days. There was much breeze and low humidity. During the first and second week of November, with good regrowth, we begin to make freeze dried hay. The goal is to cut the hay in the afternoon when it's dry, spread it out with a tedder, let the frost freeze the moisture in the hay. As the sun rises, the frost tends to melt/evaproate in to vapor and rise off the hay in to the breezy cold dry air - vs reforming a heavy dew. Left behind is very dry hay - freeze dried hay! The hay turned out great and we put a nice cap on our hay season with what we thought was an otherwise impossible second cutting. More equipment... On the Jamison Family Farm, we continue to expand our available hay acreage - taking back old overgrown pasture. This requires more equipment to allow parallel operation, redundancy of equipment as a risk reduction when hay is down and less time hooking and unhooking equipment. From a time standpoint (with me having an off farm day job), it is essential that once on the farm, we can get on a tractor and go - remember make hay when the sun shines and if it is late in the evening, time is of the essence. We like the idea of profit on the farm, so we don't necessarily buy new equipment (though we have) and if we can mash in to service an older piece of equipment requiring only elbow grease and a few parts, it really helps the bottom line. In 2021, we bought three winter project pieces of equipment, all of which will be field ready come spring of 2022. The first is a 500 gallon sprayer. We spend an enormous time filling, refilling and going to the field again and again with our present small sprayer. While this BestWay sprayer looks well used, it has the foundation to make an excellent spray applicator - one we can fill up and perhaps make one trip out on the fields. We will generally run this on our Massey Ferguson 1105 for full loads and other tractors with smaller partial loads. In 2022, we are going to add a round baler - one that makes 4ft diameter x 4ft length bales. We hope to cultivate a market for this hay and use the baler on additional acreage as we expand. In order to handle these bales, we need a loader tractor. We bought another Massey Ferguson model 50 diesel tractor with a MF 100 loader. It is not ready for prime time, but the price was right and it is on the farm. Like the sprayer, it too will be in service sometime in 2022. The last piece of equipment we bought in 2021 was an International Harvester Farmall 350 gas tractor. It is a direct descendent of the legendary Farmall H and Super H tractors. Joan's grandfather on her mother's side ran a dairy in Floyd County VA his whole life. He ran a Farmall H and Super H - but also International trucks. I asked him about why International and he said, "I just like the way they run." He would like this Farmall 350. Over time, we will add a wide front end to this tractor and it will be used for hustling kicker wagons around the farm, general chores, raking and tedding hay as needed. If in a pinch and required (I mentioned redundancy earlier), it can run our John Deere baler and Hesston sickle mower conditioner. These row crop tractors are very stout. They were designed to run full out for days and weeks on end - plowing, planting and harvesting. Because of this, we will use this tractor for any tillage sparing our sub 100 hp tractors wear and tear on the clutch and drive train. The Farmall is a welcome addition. May the Hay Dog... May the Hay Dog has always lived a pampered life. Sleeping more than being awake, residing on the couch or any available bed whether it's occupied by a human or not, she will jump right-in. We are not sure how it happened, but May tore her ACL in the right rear leg; right as you are looking at the rear of the dog as she runs off, ignoring the "come-in" command. In fact, she regards "No" as "Yes" for some reason... She may have torn the ACL doing a vertical stretch coming off the couch... But I digress... So May the Hay Dog is on bed rest orders by the Vet.... She has never been happier... With regards to hay, we are sold out with the exception of bottom bales, and odds and ends. It is not horse quality hay and priced accordingly. If you have any interest in this hay, please contact us at [email protected]. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! This blog entry is checked and edited by May the Hay Dog - WOOF!
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