OPINION
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Making hay, that is. Down here in southern Tasmania, it’s a seasonal thing. Depending on the weather, you will encounter machinery on the road, a tractor towing a mower, a hay rake or a hay baler. Like many human activities, we have mechanised and upscaled it, and instead of the once ubiquitous small 30kg ‘square’ bales, many farmers, especially on large pastures, are making very large round bales, each of which equates to around 16 of the smaller bales. Like many seasonal harvests, haymaking time can be a source of anxiety. The making and baling of hay in either form calls for experience, judgement and a spell of fine dry weather.
The base material is of course, grass, but a very different kind of grass from that which you mow every fortnight at home. Worldwide there are about 12,000 species of grass, or Poaceae, ranging from cereal crops like millet, to the giant bamboo. The Poaceae are the most economically important plant family, providing staple foods from domesticated cereal crops such as maize, wheat, rice, oats, barley, and millet for people and as feed for meat-producing animals. They provide, through direct human consumption, just over one-half of all dietary energy.
The grasses which we grow for hay are pasture grasses, which for a large part of the year are used for grazing, and at a time judiciously chosen, are ‘shut up’ to avoid being trampled by livestock, and domesticated grazing animals are excluded. But few livestock farmers can afford to fence out the now ubiquitous wallaby, and around 20% of hay grass is lost to them. The grasses used to make hay are largely introduced, as distinct from native species which can have their place in the grazing cycle, but do not make as nutritious hay. Pastures are cultivated prior to grazing or haymaking. Soil is worked, seed is sown and pastures are fed, or fertilised.
Paddocks which are routinely grazed must be harrowed prior to being shut up, so as to distribute animal manure, especially that of cows, which if left intact, forms tussocks which are avoided in grazing. There is a good example of this on a large paddock just north of Margate where at some time in the past, cowpats have been left undisturbed. Notwithstanding, the pasture is used for silage or haymaking, depending on the season. Silage is not as weather dependent as making hay; the grass is baled green, not dry, and sometimes treated with molasses to make it more palatable, and cured in a plastic wrap, or in bulk, under a cover. Round bale hay is netted. Hay has to be got under cover once made. Silage bales can be left out in the weather. Pasture mixes are carefully calculated: in areas of relatively high rainfall like Southern Tasmania, phalaris, fescue and a variety of clovers may be used. Like all human activities, digital and mechanical technology is a major part of pasture management and haymaking on large properties.
For smaller holdings, human judgement is still holding its own, and the smaller square bales are an economical way of growing and making hay. The small, easily portable and fed-out bales are especially popular with horse owners. Weather is an important factor. To make it, you first have to create, then manage, pasture. Timing is all. With due regard to the weather forecast, the grass is cut, then left as it falls from the mower to dry out. Grass baled too green can turn mouldy in the core. Mouldy hay can be dangerous for horses and should never be fed to them. It can produce mycotoxins that can cause a variety of health problems, including respiratory problems, such as heaves, which is similar to asthma in humans. After about six days drying, depending on the weather and the availability of contractors, the hay is raked up into windrows, down which the baler will be driven.
Then the race is on to pick up the bales, cart them, and unload them under cover. This is very much a group activity, requiring those many hands which make light work. A crew will involve a ute, preferably four-wheel drive, and driver, a flatbed trailer, and a pickup crew of three or four. The cost of paid hands is prohibitive, so friends and relatives – men, boys and strong women – are recruited to help. If the weather is good, it is a happy time.
We humans like to work together cooperatively. Traditionally the owners lay on a copious supply of non-alcoholic liquid refreshment and high-sugar snacks. When the last bale for the day is in, the barbecue is lit up, and everybody relaxes, happy in the knowledge that a challenging job has been well done. Haymaking is one of a dwindling group of activities where a bunch of moderately fit amateurs can make a serious and valuable contribution. I recently had the privilege of participating in haymaking (as an observer: I can’t chuck heavy hay bales any more) at ‘Fort Chimo’, an Angus beef property near Kettering.
If the chance to participate comes your way, seize it!
John Fleming II
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