We never planned to be farmers. We knew we wanted to be hobby farmers where you have a few animals for yourself, but we never thought we'd actually make money off of our land. It was a dream, but we didn't realize it would be our reality one day.
We became official hay farmers last year. I wish I could even remember the string of events that happened. One thing led to another and the next thing you know there were bales of hay on our fields. Renaissance Man, the oldest girl and the two oldest boys, along with a few farm friends, joined us in the exciting journey of getting the hay off the trailer and then into the barn. It was a lot of hard work, but it ended up paying for our barn roof being repaired and then some of the hay sales during the winter got us through a few dry spells.
This summer we had high hopes for hay again. Now we know why farmers always talk about the weather. Hay is super weather dependent. If you cut the hay too soon then you are in trouble if it rains before it gets baled. If you bale too soon and it rains then you are in trouble because it sat out in the rain. You just can't win sometimes and you can't depend on the weather forecast either as it isn't always accurate. We've waited and waited to cut or bale because supposedly rain was coming, but no, no rain ever came! Very frustrating!
That was our experience this past week. RM had been waiting and waiting to cut - the hay was getting higher and higher and he felt the quality was worsening with everyday. We have some picky customers who like it just the right colour and size and RM was worried that he was perhaps getting too stalky. Finally he decided he had better cut. He risked it knowing there was a chance of precipitation, but he went for it. Bad call. It rained and rained hard. He figured the entire field was garbage and good just for cows who will eat anything. No selling to our picky customers. Still tons of work ahead, but pretty much for nothing. He was very disappointed.
Then he decided after a day or so that he couldn't view it that way. It wasn't a loss. It wasn't a surprise to God. (I hadn't even told him about the "no panic in heaven" thought yet.) So he came to the conclusion, God knew the field was going to rot. He must have had a better plan for that hay, possibly to even heat our home as you can burn hay in a wood boiler which we have, just not set up yet. So his whole attitude turned around and he surrendered his hay. The fast started soon after that.
We got the whole crew out on the field again a few days ago and much to our shock, the hay seemed fine! It smelled good, the colour wasn't bad, the bales were baling great. RM said multiple times that day, "I think a miracle has happened! The hay seems great! I don't think we've lost it!"
Then a day ago, the picky customer came, totally out of the blue, to check on the hay. He took bales apart, smelled it (sometimes he even brings a moisture gauge with him to make sure it has the right moisture).....RM was on pins and needles the whole time. Then, the big announcement, "I'll take all of it." What?! My husband nearly fell over. We knew one of the fields of hay had made great hay, but not that disaster field. He couldn't believe it and ran over to tell me when the guy had left. He was thrilled. All that work wasn't for nothing! Even the boys said, "A miracle happened - that hay should have been ruined!" Did God put a giant tarp over the field when we weren't looking? Or did he send a wind to dry it right away? How did he keep it the right colour and smell for our customer? We don't know, but we are grateful for whatever he did. It is no small thing for us - we see it as another blessing from God. Selling hay is as good as any contract RM would bid on, so it's like we got a small contract. It helps us keep our farm status as well which keeps the property taxes way down, so all round it is a blessing. Never in my life did I think we would be provided for by selling something that grew on our land, but it's happening and we are once again, in awe!
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