As I write this it is mid-June haying season is well underway. I had delayed haying to allow more time for the wild birds (redwing blackbirds, etc.) to complete their nesting in my fields. My entire 57-acre farm is in pasture and hay for my 120 head ewe flock (plus spring lambs) and 20 head goat “flock”.

At present, my pastures are as tall as the fence posts, probably due to good soil and several years of natural fertilizing by the sheep and some timely rains. 

I needed some small square bales first so I just completed haying a 6-acre field which yielded 395 bales. I’ll now let it alone for the rest of the season so it will then be an additional fall pasture.

I like to use a 3 pt mounted sicklebar mower on my tractor. It is an Italian made Enorossi, rebranded as Farm King, 7-foot double acting blade (which does not plug like older sicklebar mowers) with hydraulic lift (so you can go through tight places without lifting the heavy bar manually), Model BFS 210-H, which I ordered and purchased through Birkey’s Farm Store, Williamsport, Ind.

I also use it to mow paths in my pastures so my sheep with spring lambs and goats with kids can see through the tall grass over their heads how to get back to the barn quickly if they need to.

For raking the hay, I use a simple ground-driven New Holland 356 rake.  The baler I use for the small squares is a 1960s era New Holland 69 which is old and still running.

Attached to the baler I use a Kuhns 4-bale accumulator and then later pick up the bales with an 8-bale grabber that fits on the loader of the tractor or skidsteer. With the grabber one person can pick up the hay bales out of the field by machine and stack them in the barn seven bales high without using a human hand. Since I am a woman and do this by myself, this is the only way to go. I purchased my accumulator and grabber through Glascock Equipment located in Veedersburg, Ind. That’s what I use for small square bales.

Now for round bales. My next haying sessions I will be using my 3x3 round baler. Mine is a Model TRB 910 string tie. The thing that drew me to this baler is that it makes smaller round bales which are safer for sheep and goats, can be operated by a smaller tractor with PTO of at least 18 hp and it has an internal hydraulic motor powered by an electrical cord to the battery of the tractor rather than using hydraulic hoses to open and close the door to eject a bale. I always have trouble connecting hydraulic hoses to tractors, so this was a plus for me.

It’s nice to be independent and to be able to provide food for your sheep and goats yourself rather than being dependent on finding a busy local farmer who has the time to do it for you. Happy shepherding!

Joyce Weaver can be contacted at lambjoyw@gmail.com