ROAD DITCH BALERS

[Dotch]

I think he is too!  I don't know who they talked to about farmers not planting hay because the corn price is high and that may apply to some areas, but if you're in the livestock business in this area of MN, you're still going to have some hay ground regardless. Feeding ditch hay to dairy cows, lactating ewes or even lactating beef cows for that matter generally doesn't cut it. Unfortunately, and the article fails to mention it, there was a large amount of alfalfa "winterkill" due primarily to some being encouraged to take a late cutting last fall. The brain surgeons who keep promoting this practice finally got burned. The bad part is they're not the ones who have to deal with it. Fields farmers assumed would be productive never even got out of the blocks this spring. The result has been fewer critters in this area not more ditch baling. That's hard work and it's no gimme. Ditches are tough on equipment. Corn price is a factor but the issue is a lot more complex than the article would lead one to believe.

[HD]

Dotch, you mentioned the ditchs being tough on equipment.....you hit the nail on the head there buddy!

That's one of the reasons, if not the most important reason we walk the ditches before we cut.
Them beer bottles can do a number on the rollers, and cutting aluminum beer cans with the sickle sure dulls um up in a hurry.

Sorry.....a little off topic.............


Hunter

[Randy Kaar]

great post Dotch!

randy

[Dotch]

Thanks Randy. Your avatar makes me want to marinate another batch of lamb this weekend! 

Took a look around yesterday between the soybean fields I was scouting just to see how many of the road ditches were mowed in an area involving the towns of New Richland, Waldorf, Pemberton, Janesville, St. Clair, Mankato, Madison Lake, Waterville, Elysian, Waseca, Otisco and last but not least, Vista. I gotta honestly say, there are fewer ditches mowed this year than there have been most years. The ditches that were mowed were ditches that have been routinely mowed since I've been tramping around fields in roughly a dozen counties some 23 odd years. One thing I did note, a lot of the places where there was once hay burning livestock even 4 or 5 years ago are empty. If there are people around here baling road ditches intending to haul that stuff to the sale barns thinking they're going to get rich, they may be in for a rude awakening, watching those round bales rot next summer.

[Randy Kaar]

save me a lamb chop for when i get down in that area! 
hope you survived the storm!

randy

[PJ Maguire]

In Nodak they can't mow the ditches till later. I think that is a great idea for MN. Man I am pumped to hunt some ditch chickens. I missed the opener last year because I was duck hunting in Nodak. Never again as long as the populations are up.