MN Cattlemen' Summer Tour

[Stocker Steve]

Attended his years tour based out of Cando, MN -- which is in SW MN close the SD line. This area has a lot of corn and beans, along with some pasture meadow and wheat. Most tour stops were family owned diversified operations that had seed stock (mostly Simi) and/or feed lots (mostly mono slope barns) to support multigenerational operators.

 

[Aaron]

How is their hay-making coming along in that part of the world? Drowned out like the rest of us? I cut my first 2 (two) acres yesterday, and really wish I hadn't. One neighbor has had 80 acres down for 2 weeks on Saturday. Can see in the field where he randomly flipped it by hand and it is completely black underneath. Other neighbor has 130 acres down (over 3/4 of his entire fields) for about a week. Completely clueless as to weather and his outcome will be much the same. Might be able to sell some of last year's hay here yet! Sitting on about 800 bales of last years and even if I kept everything, I'd never feed it all this winter.

 

[Stocker Steve]

It was very dry here this spring, and proactive folks got into meadows that had not been hayed for 2 to 3 years. No mosquitos (I have killed only two YTD) and hungry bears are being sighted in many places. We got 5 to 8 inches of rain in the last week and now bales are floating...
SW Minnesota did not get this heavy rain, but there were still a number of ditch hay bales in standing water.

 

[Stocker Steve]

it is completely black underneath.

do you have access to rental bale wrappers to make balage?

 

[Aaron]

it is completely black underneath.

do you have access to rental bale wrappers to make balage?

That neighbor, whose hay rotted, has kids with their own wrapper. Problem is his kids are the definition of lazy.

In general, there is getting to be a lot of wrappers around here. I don't know how beef cow guys justify it, but I guess as long as wifey keeps working, justification is not required.

 

[kickinbull]

How is their hay-making coming along in that part of the world? Drowned out like the rest of us? I cut my first 2 (two) acres yesterday, and really wish I hadn't. One neighbor has had 80 acres down for 2 weeks on Saturday. Can see in the field where he randomly flipped it by hand and it is completely black underneath. Other neighbor has 130 acres down (over 3/4 of his entire fields) for about a week. Completely clueless as to weather and his outcome will be much the same. Might be able to sell some of last year's hay here yet! Sitting on about 800 bales of last years and even if I kept everything, I'd never feed it all this winter.

Aaron, sounds like your setting good. Can you pasture your hay fields lightly and feed lightly and still have hay to sell?

 

[Aaron]

How is their hay-making coming along in that part of the world? Drowned out like the rest of us? I cut my first 2 (two) acres yesterday, and really wish I hadn't. One neighbor has had 80 acres down for 2 weeks on Saturday. Can see in the field where he randomly flipped it by hand and it is completely black underneath. Other neighbor has 130 acres down (over 3/4 of his entire fields) for about a week. Completely clueless as to weather and his outcome will be much the same. Might be able to sell some of last year's hay here yet! Sitting on about 800 bales of last years and even if I kept everything, I'd never feed it all this winter.

Aaron, sounds like your setting good. Can you pasture your hay fields lightly and feed lightly and still have hay to sell?

I'm pasturing the majority of my fenced fields. There are a few big fields with no fences, so I will still have to cut 150 acres this year. One neighbor might be short of hay, so I am hoping he will take 30 acres of that off my hands.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Don't you expect to get some haying weather is August?
Hay making here ends when the snow gets deep.
Usually there is a window in November/December when meadows are frozen and open

 

[Aaron]

Usually get 2 weeks of good weather end of July, first of August, to get the majority done.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Raining every other day here. Really odd for July. Usually hat and windy small grain harvest weather at this time.
Cut a field for balage but even that is not working...

 

[Craig]

We are having the same problem down here. Waiting to cut third crop on some. Just finished second crop on 30acres that has been down over a week. Was not good. Started to rain as I finished baling. Been wet ever since.

 

[frieghttrain]

We are having the same problem down here. Waiting to cut third crop on some. Just finished second crop on 30acres that has been down over a week. Was not good. Started to rain as I finished baling. Been wet ever since.[/quote/]Yep, alot of people are knocking it down this weekend.

 

[Aaron]

Finally got a solid week of good weather this past week. Lots of hay put up everywhere. I haven't went this hard at haying in a number of years.

 

[Stocker Steve]

I haven't went this hard at haying in a number of years.

Let me know when you are done hay'in and ready to go fish'in. :cboy:

 

[Aaron]

I haven't went this hard at haying in a number of years.

Let me know when you are done hay'in and ready to go fish'in. :cboy:

You can keep your fish. I'm going fencing!

 

[frieghttrain]

I haven't went this hard at haying in a number of years.

Let me know when you are done hay'in and ready to go fish'in. :cboy:

You can keep your fish. I'm going fencing!

:lol: