Making Hay is an art that has been developed through millions of years. Interesting comparison can be made from the techniques of "old" to the high tech techniques of today.
We have used some of the "old" techniques during haying season on our ranch. One of my most fond memories are of driving the old rusty Ford tractor with a push rake on front. I would drive around the field, gathering the fresh bales and push them to the hay wagon, where our men folk would load the wagon. They used the "bucking" method to push the bales up on the high wooden wagon. This includes grasping the tie wires on the top of the bales, picking it up and using the knee to push the 40- 50 lbs bale onto the wagon. There was always another family member waiting to accept the bale. That man would lift the bale up to the stacker who was located on the top of the stack.
We used to ride on top of the stack on the way to the stack yard. The process of unloading the wagon would begin, by a brave soul venturing to the edge of the stack and throwing down the first bale to the tractor driver. He would begin the stack and continue until we had created an adequate "staircase" of hay for all of us to get off the wagon. Sometimes, the young men would just jump off the stack. A lady, however, would wait for the staircase to appear.
Our ranch is located in southwest Wyoming. Due to climate, we can get only two crops of hay. The second crop hay is always dusty and needed to be raked more than the first crop. Many hours have been spent driving the same old tractor pulling a traditional rake behind. The grasshoppers would jump out of the way when they heard the rattle of the tractor. Mosquitoes often swarmed on our unprotected arms and necks. The hot summer sun beat down on our backs for hours at a time. Haying is hard work.
One of the bright moments of the day was seeing the family matriarch, Lila, walking through the field with a big jug of ice water. She would come twice a day to refill our jugs. Every summer, she would pull her camp trailer over to the hay fields. We looked forward to the amazing lunches and dinners that were served daily out of that trailer. Farm women certainly know how to feed a hungry hay crew.
As we have gotten older and some of the younger family members have taken over the running of the ranch, we have gotten more modern in our techniques. We now have a swather that cuts the hay and arranges it into a nice wind row. We let the wind rows dry for a few days. The next step is baling, which is accomplished by pulling a baler behind a new John Deere tractor. The final step is to pick up those bales with a modern stacker, which loads the bales onto a wagon of sorts. Hydralics are used to move the bales off the wagon into the stack yard. Often times, we need to use 2x4's to prop up the stacks or use a fence to support it.
Our little ranch has evolved with the times as the world around us evolved. The hay stack staircases are gone as is the old push rake and rake. Family members have gone to greener pastures above and machines do our work for us now. When I get lost in my memories of the good old days, I must simply bring myself to the present and be happy for the future. We are still a family owned ranch and even though the old ways are gone, the traditions are still alive and well in our children.
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