Teddering the Hay Video

Cutting the Hay Video!!

Teddering (or fluffing-up) the Hay

Another sunny day permits the teddering of the hay.  This process spreads-out or "fluffs up" the hay so it will dry.  Shown above is the smaller New Holland tractor and the Claas hay tedder.  If the sun stays out, we hope to have a hay baling update tomorrow!

Mowing Hay

It finally stopped raining long enough to begin cutting hay.  Hay harvest takes at least three days to complete.  The hay is cut (shown above using John Deere tractor and New Holland Discbine).  Then the hay is "teddered" to speed-up drying and finally raked into rows for baling.  We will show hay baling in a few days, hoping the sun stays out.

Corn Planting - 2011

It stopped raining just long enough so we could get our corn planted last week (5/7/11). Pictures show the corn planter in action at the Corn Maze field - (please see www.hhfmaze.com for info on maze).  For the planting, we use Pioneer seed corn.  The seeds are dumped into the planter bin along with liquid pop-up fertilizer, which helps germination, as well as another dry fertilizer.  All of this is very expensive, but helps improve yield and gets the crop off to a great start.  Already the corn is popping through the ground!

Field Work - Fertilizer

After disking the field and prior to planting the crop (corn or soybeans), fertilizer is applied to the fields.  This helps to rejuvenate the soil quality for maximum crop yield.  For example, on our corn fields, we run a fertilizer mixture which helps increase the phosphorous and potash levels in the soil. The top two pictures show us applying the fertilizer with a "broadcast spreader" pulled behind the tractor.  The fertilizer is discharged at a certain rate.  The bottom picture shows fertilizer being delivered to the field from the FS Growmark plant, the company from which we purchase the fertilizer.

Field Work

Field work for 2011 has started.  Very busy disking the land, getting ready to plant corn and soybeans (in between the rain drops).  Disking works-up the soil in preparation for planting.  Also helps the soil temperature warm up quickly so seeds will germinate.