Hay is a cheap and valuable food for livestock. Adam Henson explains what it is and how its made
Make hay while the sun shines. You don’t need to be a farmer to know the famous saying about making the most of life’s opportunities when you have the chance. It’s a phrase that dates back to at least the 1540s, when it first appeared in a book of English proverbs:
Whan the sunne shinth make hay
Whiche is to say
Take time whan time cometh
Lest time steale away
The rhyme might be medieval but it’s as true today as it was 500 years ago. Our modern farmers, like their Tudor ancestors, still need good weather to make top quality hay
What is hay?
It is food. Hay is simply grass that’s been dried, baled and stored for feeding to grazing animals – cattle, sheep, goats and horses. Hay is probably the cheapest, most efficient and environmentally-friendly way for most farmers to provide essential nutrients to their livestock. For cattle in particular, hay fibre stimulates the production of butterfat and improves the quality of the milk.
What’s the difference between hay and straw?
Hay is not to be confused with straw, which is the dried stalks of cereal crops once the grain has been
removed. Straw is used for bedding but it isn’t very appetising or nutritious.
How is hay made?
The hay growing season is spring and early summer so with the right combination of sun, rain and fertiliser the grass should be in tip-top condition. The conditions have to be just right – if the winter and spring are too dry the grass won’t grow well.
If it’s too wet in the summer, it can be impossible to cut. It needs at least a couple of days of dry, warm weather for mowing and drying in the sun. Hay that is cut when it’s wet will be poor quality, unpalatable and livestock will probably turn their noses up at it.
First the grass is mown and left in the field. As it’s drying in the sun a hay bob, pulled by a tractor, will rake over the hay to help speed up the process. When it’s ready, a baler will compress the hay into manageable blocks tied with twine before the spikes on a front-loader lift the bales on to a trailer.
Just a few generations ago, farming was a community affair and hay making would see plenty of unskilled workers, even children, in the fields to lend a hand. Those were the days when haystacks could be seen all over the British Isles. Thanks to technology, it takes just a few people to do the same job today.
The larger the farm, the bigger the amount of hay produced, so the machinery used becomes more industrial. Round balers that produce cylindrical or ‘rolled’ bales are more popular than ever. Round bales are now as common a sight in the fields of Britain as the traditional haystack was 100 years ago.
- Top 10 farm experiences for children
- Hands on holidays: the best farm stays for an educational adventure
- Harvest on Adam Henson’s farm
- Best agricultural shows and events