The Overlapping of Strawberry Season and Hay Season

I knew when we planted Strawberries that they would be harvested during what is one of our busiest times of the year, hay season. So far, we have managed everything, but I was right. It's a lot. The U-Pick strawberry events that we have hosted have been great. It has been such a joy to welcome folks out to the farm. We have met many new friends who share our passion for farm-fresh food, and we have reconnected with familiar faces from the past. The strawberries have been delicious, and everyone who leaves with a bucketful seems delighted. Many have even returned for multiple visits. Even though we are still learning more every day about this new endeavor, in my estimation, strawberry season is going great. Hay season, on the other hand... Normally, cool-season annuals like ryegrass provide a guaranteed crop. That, and the fact that ryegrass is a fantastic forage for dairy and beef cows, makes it a reliable staple of our system. What makes this grass so reliable is the predictability of rainfall in the winter and spring. We just can't usually bank on summer grasses to get adequate rainfall. This year, however, the spring rain just hasn't arrived. We finished approximately half of the hay crop so far, and as I predicted, we are tracking for about half the volume of our normal crop. Thankfully, the quality is still great; there just isn't as much of it. In the top photo above, you can see how good the grass looks in a lower spot of the field where more moisture is retained. In the other photo, you can see that most of the grass is about half its height. We will be forced to rely heavily on summer forage this year and pray that it gets the necessary rain.