RicelandMeadows

June 20, 2025

It is officially the first day of summer. While the grass and hay crops are doing well, gardens and field crops are struggling a bit from the wet weather and delayed planting.

In a short drive around the country yesterday, I saw that most fields have been planted finally. There was water standing in many of them as we got another two inch rain soaker. Farmers have been waiting patiently, and not so patiently, for any window to sneak a crop into the fields. This year diligence paid off!

We managed to get our garden planted somehow, between the drops. The weeds too are liking the wet weather, but we can’t even step foot into it yet. Oh well, it will all work out. No sense in fretting about it!

The hay crop is lush and thick. Many guys made their first cutting and wrapped the bales in plastic for use as silage. This is a great option for guys with cows or other ruminants, but horses shouldn’t eat silage/haylage.

Making dry hay has been a real challenge this year. Guys who are on the stick and not afraid to push hard and waste no time, have made some very nice hay. We have about a quarter of the barn filled and hope to get a little more in over the next few days. Looks like there is a good window of sun and heat to get the crop dry.

Hay weather can be a real problem at times especially when wet weather hangs around. I will not complain though because some areas are very dry. I have seen pictures of shriveled up grass and barren pastures this year. Ours are in need of mowing the grass and weeds are getting rank from all the green growth.

So, hey weather! Can you give us what we need? Lol, this is a farmer’s constant plea. I will not fret. I will just take it as it comes and try to be ready to jump whenever an opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, I will keep working on my barn renovation project, more on that progress soon.