It's safe to say that the first forage harvest of 2023 has gotten off to a good start. The ryegrass that got nipped by the extremely cold November temperatures has rebounded well this spring. The pictures show the excellent quality and quantity of grass, but it's hard to state how well the cows do on this crop. Ryegrass is my favorite "cow fuel" for both meat and milk. However, the hay is not in the barn yet (literally and figuratively). I have about 30 percent of the crop cut down, and we will try to get most of that baled and wrapped today. Unfortunately, we had a breakdown on the hay mower, so I was at the John Deere place this morning when they opened the door to get that part overnighted. And on top of that, several days of possible rain have been recently added to the forecast for later this week. Mother nature has a way of making you pay for any sort of delay, whether due to breakdown or procrastination. We can control procrastination, and we try to avoid that, but we can't always control breakdowns. The best thing we can do right now is bale and wrap the crop that's been cut so far, preserving its quality. We should be able to do this today and tomorrow. The new part will be in before noon tomorrow. We'll get it as soon as it arrives and start the repair. Hopefully, the weather will break in our favor and we'll be back in business.
These are the times growing up when my dad would always say; "If it wasn't so much fun we'd just quit." That's his way of saying; yeah it's tough sometimes, but this is our lifestyle, not just our job, so keep moving.
