Managing Maintenance for Production

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This week was a much more slow-paced time focused on haying, machine maintenance, horse management, and working with farriers. A large portion of this week was focused solely on checking, greasing, and charging a lot of the farm equipment used for haying. Greasing all the machinery, charging a dead battery on one of the tractors, and doing daily maintenance on the machines that are beginning to be used consistently, were all priorities this week. We also raked three pastures and have begun to bale in two, filling one of our horse trailers. Another project that went on was bringing horses down from one of the many land leases that are used. With four trailers worth of horses and the lease being located a decent way away, that task took a large majority of time on Thursday. The next day, we had a large group of those horses shoed by two farriers that worked with us for the first half of the day, while also vaccinating and worming all the horses that we had brought in.

While this week seemed to be a mix of a lot of tasks that have already been experienced, and that I have become fairly familiar with, there were still some moments where I thought there could possibly be more done. One of the reoccurring issues that we have had to deal with continues to be the weather. While normally after baling a field, we let them stay out to dry more, that wasn’t a viable option due to a rainy forecast for the next day. While the weather continues to be a huge concern going forward in the height of hay season, what is the best form for the hay to be in and the ideal amount of time for it to be left out to dry in ideal weather?

Some questions I still have are mainly surrounding machinery and business. One of the biggest questions I have around farm machinery is, what are the essential machines and what is the normal lifespan for them? With some of the equipment still being used here coming from the sixties, is the timeline for newer machines longer or shorter in comparison? I am also curious about how everything is recorded and accounted for in a business aspect. Are there certain people who only handle certain aspects of the business this way or is it a mix of everyone working and inputting information separately into a shared program?

Going into next week I plan to use all the information and knowledge I have gained around machinery maintenance to keep the machines that are being used in good condition. I also intend to use some sudden information about doctoring horses to help with one of our geldings that was injured this week. I plan to use more observational skills around machines after each day in order to keep them in good, running condition and to be aware of any mechanical issues.

Submitted by: Olivia Halter
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team