{leah}“So I guess my questions are, did this start out as a hobby farm or did you marry a farmer? Does your husband have another job outside of the farm? How much do your girls help? Is it something they are expected to do like common chores around the house? How much of farm life […]

Most big bale farmers around here use bale wagons to pick up their bales in the fields. We do it differently, more efficiently (at least in my opinion). I realized after I watched this that I mumbled a lot so you can’t hear most of what I’m saying. You can hear the important parts though. […]

The boys (I guess I should say men but I got into the habit of saying the boys) do the baling: Mr. Ferrero Rocher, his two brothers, and a brother-in-law. Baling is typically done 1 – 3 days after raking depending on the heat. For this first crop they’d start baling around 3am because of […]

Alfalfa needs to dry properly in order to make good hay. If it’s left in a swath then only the top layer can cure. Depending on how hot it is the hay is raked 1 – 4 days after it is swathed. Ideally it is raked when there is the right amount of dew. If […]

I think my children’s favorite part of haying season is the swathing. They get to spend hours on end riding with dad in the mower just spending time talking to him. It’s also fun to watch the hay get mowed. The smell is is even better than freshly mowed grass. This first clip is of […]

I used to think farmers weren’t very smart. I even admitted this to Mr. Ferrero Rocher the first year we were married. I also acknowledged I was very wrong and naive. I had no idea all the things one needed to know to raise a good crop. Most of the things Mr. Ferrero Rocher, his […]

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Only a couple more hectic days left for the first cutting of the season. The girls have one more day of raking while the men have a few more days of baling left. I’ve taken some video of the whole operation and hope I […]