Enjoying the Little Wins

#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk

I began this week raking hay that had been cut last week. The grass/alfalfa hay had a few days to dry before I came in with the rakes to flip it before it got baled that afternoon. This took me most of the morning and into the afternoon, since there were three consecutive fields that had been laid down. The fourth field had been cut later than the others, and I was only able to do the outside outlining rounds. After dropping the tractor and rakes at the fourth field, I got my exercise in with walking back to the pickup and headed back to Kevin’s to get some swathing done.

As the week continued, I worked further on raking, starting where I had left off and finishing the fourth field. After fueling up the tractor, I headed to another field to the west that had been cut later than the ones I just finished. This funny shaped field didn’t take long, and I was headed down the road, north, to Highlands to rake outside rounds on three fields there; I also raked passes along the gravel road. When I finished those fields, I turned around and headed back south to drop the rakes off at a large field that would done at a later date. After getting a ride back, I hopped back over to the swather to knock down more hay behind Kevin’s. I finished the field I had started previously and got some outlines done for later cutting.

Continuing on my haying tasks, the middle of the week brought me to spend the majority of the day cutting hay behind Kevin’s, trying to keep hay in front of the rakes and baler. That evening, I filled up the auxiliary tank and got the tractors topped off with diesel and ready to go for further field work. After fueling them up, I got them moved out to the next fields and, after supper, got a rundown on the baler. This was handy to learn; it allowed me to get ahead in the mornings and bale before it gets too dry.

Thursday morning C&B, John Deere dealer, brought out a demo set of rakes for us to try. We spent that morning getting them set up, and after a practice run, got put to use right away. I followed in the baler, making as many bales as I could before it got dry. After finishing baling, once again I fueled everything up, and hopped back in the swather to cut again.

To round out the week, I spent the day cutting the remainder of the fields behind Kevin’s. There is something very gratifying about seeing bales in a field knowing that you cut, raked, and baled that hay. Some days can be challenging and tiring, but little wins like that make it all worth it.

Submitted by: Jaxon Ondracek
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team