sweltering summer day

sweltering summer day – 

a farmer drives backwards down 

a windrow baling hay

In a laudable act of conservation and economy, this farmer has cut the grass in the easement between the highway and his cornfield. After raking the grass into one long windrow and  allowing it to dry for a couple of hot sunny days, the farmer is out baling in 98 degree F (110 with the humidity factor). Since this is a such small area, not a big hayfield, he is making small rectangular bales, rather than the huge round bales that weigh 660-880 lbs (400-400 kg). The farmer's small Farmall tractor does not have an air-conditioned cab like the big tractors, only a large green umbrella for shade and a blue jug of water for hydration. He drives his tractor backwards, turning around in his seat to guide the baler down the windrow. This type of mobile baler, which both gathers and bales the hay, was first developed around 1940. A cylindrical corkscrew picks up the grass, sends it to an inner chamber where it is packed into bales and wrapped in heavy twine. Then the bales move up a chute and drop to the ground. Periodically the farmer, sporting a white walrus mustache, gets off his tractor to lift the 70-100 lb (32-45 kg) bales from the windrow and set them down next to the fence. I can't believe he's doing such hard labor in this heat, but farming is always tied to crop and weather conditions. Ideally, the hay is cut when the grass is tall and the seed heads are not quite mature. Once it's cut, moisture in the form of rain or humidity can spoil the hay, so there is only about a two-week window for haymaking. Farmers work in all kinds of weather and around the clock when they have to, and it's still a risky business. But this farmer is completely cheerful, stopping to answer my questions and exchange compliments about our straw hats.