Hay Stories #3 (Lukáš Balhar, Czech Republic)

Today we are happy to dive into our first hay story from Eastern Europe. Lukáš Balhar, a young farmer from the Czech Republic is not only farming with draft animals but also has some great hay stories to share.

Lets first dive into the hay making techniques Lukáš is applying at his farm:

“I used to try to use a machine for mowing, but at that time I had a smaller heifer that was not enough to keep up with the big cow so I ended up mowing only short strip next to tractor done fields. I am also not sure if the machine was not designed for horses, as it seemed heavier. Otherwise, I try to mow with a scythe what I can and if the weather is bad for drying larger areas, I would pay a tractor from the neighbourhood to mow it. I let the grass dry for one or two days and then I turn it, either with a classic hay tadder for two animals with one drawbar or manually in worse terrain.

I manually rake it into rows from which I scoop it onto a hay cart. I enjoy stacking hay on it.  I'm trying to improve at this but I have a lot to improve…I then take the hay to the barn and to the attic. This year I would like to try the pinwheel rake adapted for a horse that was offered to me by a neighbour. It will be an interesting new experience. I try to save the hay for the winter and feed animals during summer only grass from places in the shade where it dries badly, because I perceive hay as rare and one is not always successful to dry it.”

Its also very insightful to read how he got started in the first place:

“When I was a boy living in the city, I kept rabbits and a dairy goat for which I tried to cut the grass to dry around the city and get ahead of the maintenance of the city's greenery and thus prevent the waste of grass.  I couldn't dry it on spot so I took it home to dry it in the garden and on the sidewalk in front of the house, where - thanks to its temperature - it dried extremely quickly. Later, after moving, I had eight goats and for their care I bought a pony with which I drove hay. The hayloft was smaller and everything didn't fit on it, so I made a stack next to the house which I hid under a sail, but water would collect on it and often part of it would get moldy. Since then I always prefer to store hay under a roof to avoid losses”

About the author:

My name is Lukáš Balhar, I farm with my girlfriend in the Moravian-Silesian region of the Czech Republic on a very small farm, and we use two draft cows for everything, for maintaining small fields, transporting wood, manure, green fodder and of course haymaking.