Getting
in the Hay
Maine farmers have
probably gotten in their hay for the winter by this time. “Getting in the hay”
has been a farm chore as long as there have been farmers and farms. Farm
families may even think of it as a tradition. In my family I remember two
farms: the Gray farm in Gray, Maine, where my Aunt Alice, husband and children
lived and worked the farm; and the Hilton Homestead over in Bremen where I
spent many a happy day with my two cousins Diane and Mary Sue and my Uncle Carl
and Aunt Freda.
I think there were at
least five boys in the Gray family so there were plenty to go around when
chores such as “getting in the hay” came about. My brothers also spent some of
their summers at the Gray farm helping out and they also helped my Uncle Carl.
The picture below was
posted by a Gray family member recently. Driving the hay wagon is Preston Gray
and up top with tramping duties are Wayne Gray on the left and Foster Ellis on
the right. The picture is probably circa late 30s.
Cousin Diane and I often
got the chore of going to adjoining farms with my Uncle Carl to “get in the
hay” for a neighboring farmer. We “tramped” the hay into the bed of his pickup
truck after my Uncle “forked” it up to us so it would all fit.
The fun part of hay was
when it ended up in the loft in the barn for use in the winter to feed the
animals. It was fun to jump and even sleep in the hay if you didn’t mind the
occasional spider or mouse. We also used to go look for the new farm kittens in
the hay where their new mothers had made a nest to give birth in.
The tricky part of
“haying” is knowing when it is at its highest and best growth and to harvest it
before it rains and subsequently becomes moldy. It’s true that as far as
“haying” goes, you indeed must “make hay while the sun shines.”
The
Beginning of “Haying”
How and why did “haying”
begin anyway? According to Wikipedia early farmers noticed that their fields
produced more fodder in the spring than the animals could consume. Therefore
they cut the grass in summer, let it dry, and then stored it for winter use
when the fields were covered with snow and field grass was unavailable. Some
fields were “shut up” for hay.
Wikipedia continues:
“Hay can be used for fodder when or where there is not enough pasture or
rangeland on which to graze a animal, when grazing is unavailable due to
weather (such as during the winter) or when lush pasture by itself is too rich
for the health of the animal. It is also fed during times when an animal is
unable to access pasture, such as when animals are kept in a stable or barn.
Here is a picture of how
they used to cut hay…by hand.
There are farmers in
France and many other parts of the world who still gather their hay this way.
Because of the steepness of their terraced slopes, the use of machines to cut
and gather the hay is not possible. This picture is of a present day French
farmer cutting his hay. For more information of this practice see www.motherearthnews.
“Getting
in the Hay” today
Today "haying" is done by hay
balers as pictured here; which produces this round bale. The Wikipedia caption
under the hay bales picture reads: “Good quality hay is green and not too
coarse, and includes plant heads and leaves as well as stems. This is fresh
grass/alfalfa hay, newly baled.” For more information about this modern-day
method of “haying” go to:
Cousin Mary Sue, now
owner of the Hilton Homestead posted a video last year of the men and machines
who came to “bale” her hay. It’s a lot easier this way but a lot less fun than
it was “getting in the hay” in the old days.
I hope all the farmers
up home were successful in “getting in the hay” before it rained so that their
animals will be well fed this winter.
Thanks for listening.
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