Peak Cutting Season: Our Busiest Stretch in the Fields

When the summer heat sets in, this is when the fields demand the most from us. The long, hot days that send most people indoors are exactly what our crops are built for, and from late spring straight through summer, we're in our busiest stretch of the year, cutting, drying, raking, and baling in a rhythm that barely lets up. It's hard work under a relentless sun, but it's also when we put up some of the best hay we'll bale all year.

Alfalfa keeps us on a tight schedule. In the heat of summer, a field is ready to cut again about every month, which means we're working several cuttings across our acreage at once: one field going down, another drying in the windrow, and a third already greening back up for the next round. Staying ahead of that calendar is everything. Cut too early and you lose yield; cut too late and you lose the tender, leafy quality that makes all the difference for the animals eating it. Timing each field just right is a craft we've spent years getting dialed in.

Our Bermuda, meanwhile, is right at home in the heat; it's a warm season grass that does its best growing when the thermometer climbs, which is why our summer bales come out so strong. Most days start before sunup, when the air is cool enough to work and the dew is right for cutting. From there it's a careful dance: letting the hay cure in the windrows, raking it to dry evenly without shattering the leaves, and baling it at just the right moisture so it stores clean and never molds. Every bale gets a look before it's stacked, because we won't send out anything we wouldn't feed to our own.

By the time those bales reach your barn, they carry a whole season of early mornings and long days behind them. Whether it's alfalfa for the dairy herd, Bermuda for the horses, or Teff for an easy keeper, our goal every summer is the same: premium hay that keeps your animals healthy through the heat. Thank you for letting us be part of your ranch. Stop by the store or give us a call anytime, we're always glad to talk hay.