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Fletcher Finds Niche With Hay
By Mr Ethanol | March 6, 2008
Mount Vernon News:
Hay is feed for farm animals, and is an essential crop most farmers grow for their livestock herd. Depending on the amount of hay grown and the number in their herd, farmers may have some hay left over which they can sell. Conversely, there may be a shortage and farmers may need to purchase hay.
There are some farmers, a very few, who grow only hay as a cash crop. Chris Fletcher fits into that farming niche. He describes himself as a hay farmer who grows clover, alfalfa and orchard grass, not to feed to his livestock, but to sell as his livelihood.
Fletcher, who grows the hay on 235 acres on Nunda Road north of Amity, said he knows of only four or five farmers in Knox County who grow only hay on their land. Growing hay is a no-brainer for Fletcher. He and his wife, Althea, have no children to help with a farming operation; growing hay is essentially a one-man operation. So that is the niche he chose.
Planting hay is done with a grain drill and one man driving the tractor. Then, you wait until it’s time to cut and harvest the hay. Again, it’s a one-man operation, driving the tractor pulling a haybine that cuts and conditions the hay to cure faster.
Baling the hay only requires pulling the baler and letting it do the job. Fletcher needs only one tractor for all three operations. His choice is a 1973 Allis Chalmers, 65 horsepower diesel that drives both the haybine and baler through the power takeoff at the rear of the tractor. He bales both square and round bales. Read full article.
Photo: Virgil Shipley.
Topics: Agriculture, Ethanol, News |
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