Making Hay!!

To the left is a picture of me cutting ridiculously tall and dense grass in the pastures next door on my Dad's farm. I'm using my new Kubota tractor and Frontier disc-mower, which worked extremely well. you can see how the mower cuts the grass at the base and then lays it in a mat to dry. This field was one of the hay fields that was renovated over the last two years by my dad, including plowing, tilling, fertilizing, liming, and replanting a new mixture of Timothy and Festolium srasses as well as clover. The hay that came out of that field was the "Primo", best of the best hay that I've made so far. Though looking back now, it could have been made better, as it was my first year baling hay, and this was only my second field, after the initial "test field". The weather was breezy, sunny, and warm, and the hay dried very fast. Add to that I was having some issues with my baler (I had one setting set wrong, and that slowed down the whole process considerably) and this hay kept getting drier and drier. Hay is not supposed to be baled with too much moisture, but it also shouldn't be bone-dry or "crispy". It should have a small percentage of moisture left in it, and should not be completely bleached brown by the sun. It wasn't until my final hay field, some 2,000 bales AFTER this picture was taken, that I really figured out the correct amount of time the hay should dry, and when exactly to bale so that the hay has the right moisture content and proper "green-ness". Well, as I write this I just received a phone call from my Dad confirming it is going to rain later tonight and so I've got to get the last remaining bales out of the field and under cover. I'll have to do a final check on my bale-counter when I'm done later today, but I know I made over 2,500 hay bales this year! I have to admit I am quite proud of myself. I was skeptical at first about taking on any fields other than my Dad's 20+ acres of hay for fear something might go wrong or I might be too overwhelmed, but everything worked out well in the end, and I hayed for 3 other people, one field of 15 acres, one 8 acres, and one about 2 acres. And everyone said I did a great job and hoped I would be able to hay their fields next year. So I'd say over all, making hay has been a success. I've really enjoyed creating the raw "product" (hay bales), but I also really like interacting with people who want to buy my bales, and it is very satisfying when someone says: "OK, I'll take 230 bales" and then to get a call later and hear how satisfied their animals are, eating "my hay", and how they will be telling their farmer friends that I have good hay, and that they hope to come back to me next year. I will be more outgoing in lining up some new fields for next year. If your interested in my services feel free to contact me for baling your fields in 2011. Right now I have hay for sale, for a LIMITED TIME ONLY $4.00 PER BALE. There is still a slight possibility that I could make a "second cutting" of hay from my Dad's fields. It has rained a few times, the grass is growing, and the clover continues growing even in drought conditions. Bales of "clover hay" would be quite high in protein and really desirable for all you horse owners out there! I'm hoping we have a big dry stretch again and the grass/clover keeps growing. HAPPY FARMING!

Hidden Island's first two pigs!

So last week I bought two "grower" pigs. "Grower" meaning that they are just going to grow until they are "market" size, and then be made into meat. They will be ready for butcher in several months. They arent typical "wiener pig" size, they are about 100 pounds, so they are causing some MAJOR rooting damage. I'm thinking of starting a side businesss of "Eco-friendly rotilling" or "Eco-Friendly Land Clearing" because thats really what these pigs seem to be experts at, ripping up sod, tilling about 8 inches deep! If you want to be able to experience these delicious pigs when they become pork, let me know your interested, and also what cuts of meat and how much you might be interested in buying. For example: 2 pork chops, 2 pounds of bacon. Hopefully I will be using the Island Grown Farmers Co-Op to butcher and process my meats, which will allow me to sell retail cuts of meat, rather than the typical "Quarter, Half, or Whole" animal which doesn't work well for most people, especially those with limited freezer space. Also if I use the Island Grown Co-Op it means I can put my own "Hidden Island Farms" label on the package, which would be awesome! I already have several people interested in pork, so be sure to let me know if you want to be on "the list". The picture shown above is the pigs after only 5 days, showing how much "destruction" they cause (to wet soil anyways). The dog in the picture is my Brittany (Brittany spaniel) puppy (8 months old) named Olivia aka "Livvie" hanging out with her new best friends. The pigs don't have names, I just call them: "pig" and "pig", and occasionally "pigs" (they always come when called! LOL) . The black and white spotted pig is actually a really nice girl, who apparently had no human contact before I bought her. She seems really happy to be living in a nice environment (her previous home was borderline inhumane) and if you pet her, she immediately rolls on her side to get her belly rubbed (if you have never rubbed a pigs belly, and heard the snorts of happiness, then you are missing out on one of lifes minor pleasures!). If she keeps that up I might try to keep her and see if she might be able to raise some babies. The pigs are eating a "grower" ration from Wolfkill Feed in Stanwood, WA.

I'm looking for Berkshire pigs. If anyone knows anyone who has Berkshire's, let me know please. If you don't know about Berkshire pigs, they are like the "Angus of pork" with good meat-marbling.

I also planted three trees yesterday, but that deserves its own post! So until next time, HAPPY HOEING! - Farmer Marshall