Farming Diary

62

- jobs for May

Buying good quality hay can be a fraught business. It’s important to think of it as an investment in your stock’s health which is why you need to break open at least a couple of bales chosen at random before buying.

A good bale should:

look slightly green have a high leaf content, and no sign of thistle, dock, barley grass or other weeds fall apart rather than stick together smell sweet

Tip: dry, low-nutrient hay will still smell sweet – don’t use smell as your one judge of hay quality.

Don’t:

buy mouldy, dusty or musty smelling hay buy hay from the bottom of the stack where it has been subject to damp

ignore a heavy bale – it’s possibly a bale is heavy due to tight packing, but more often it’s because it’s wet