Hay Baling Then and Now

Hay baling today is a far cry from how it was done many years ago.  Back then, beans called something like O Two Ten were planted for hay and in the fall the beans were cut.  The mower was pulled by a team of mules and then beans were raked — the rake was pulled by mules as well.  Even before hay baling season, wooden pieces were made on which to stack the bean plants.  This was a six of seven foot tall 2 x 2 maybe and near the bottom had some cross bars to hold the beans up off the ground.  The bottom of the main piece was sharpened so it could be forced in the ground.  After the “hay” was raked in rows it had to be manually moved from the row to the wooden structure.  The stack was quite high and it stood there for a period of time so the beans could dry.  Now the hay baler arrives and this is a big job.  The baler is stationary, but the baling part is pulled by a mule.  The hay has to be transported from the stacks to the baler.  Of course, back then the hay was baled in square bales and tied with baling wire. After all this was done, the bales were hauled to the barn in a two-horse wagon and manually hoisted up in the loft to be stored for winter feed for the livestock.

Hay raking

Today the crop itself is no longer beans, but it’s grass.  I remember when we first bought this farm and lived in Georgia, we saw some Tifton 44 grass sprigs advertised at a place in South Georgia. I was delegated to fetch same and have them ready for the trip to the Windy Knoll on a Friday afternoon.  Needless to say Saturday was spent setting out the sprigs — we still remember the hard work.

Back to hay baling,  now the mower is a rather long blade of a sort mounted on the side of a large tractor and pulled there with.  This grass, too, has to dry a few days, but it is not stacked as the old-time farmers did — its left on the ground to dry.  After the drying is done the tractor–pulled rake, with huge wheels (rakes), arrives to rake the dry grass up in rows.  Then the baler arrives.  The baler straddles the raked up rows, picks the grass up and makes it into a bales. Sometimes its baled in square bales, but most times today its made in large rolls.  Here again the hay must be taken from the field and stored for winter feed.  The large rolls are moved with a long prong attached to the front of the tractor; however, the square bales are loaded on a trailer and moved to the barn loft.  Unlike the hoisting of years ago — there is a conveyor belt that moves the bale from the trailer up to the loft.  Somebody still has to be in the loft to keep the bales moved on.

Baling in Progress

Here on the mountain we see lots of hay baling and hauling taking place at this time of year — after all this is country living.