Hay Isn’t Just Hay
- Gwen
- Jul 23, 2025
- 2 min read
When I first started farming, I knew hay was dried grass and that we needed enough of it to feed our sheep through the winter. Beyond that, I didn’t know much.
One of the first things I learned about hay was how variable the hay bales we are taking off the field can be. Twice a season, we take core samples of the hay and send them in to the sheep nutritionist who then formulates our pellet based on what is in the hay. We get a report and the first thing that jumped out was how different the results from year to year could be. In short, this year’s hay is never the same as last year’s. This partly due to the weather. In dry years, you can see the impact just by counting how many bales come off it. This matters because we do need a minimum number of bales, so the hay starts to become more and more important.
Actually, I should back up. The very first thing I noticed when we moved to the property wasn’t hay at all—it was Canada Thistle. If you don’t know this plant, lucky you. It’s tall, prickly, spreads aggressively, and our sheep won’t touch it. (I envy farmers who have sheep that will eat prickly things.) My parents spotted it right away on our first tour of the farm, and unfortunately, it’s everywhere and very hard to get rid of. It’s going to take years (decades?!) to get rid of which is a slightly depressing thing to write down.
But Canada thistle isn’t the only thing growing out there, so the question that follows is what exactly is growing in the pasture? I’m not 100% sure yet—so this summer, I’ve given myself a little project: to identify as many plants in our fields as I can. After identifying them, I want to learn what role (if any) they play in our sheep’s diet. After all, the ultimate goal for these pastures is not just a minimum number of bales but a nutritious, quality forage for our sheep. My starting point is the ability to identify clover, ryegrass, trefoil, and a handful of others. Hopefully by the end of summer, I’ll recognize most of what’s growing. I’ll be sharing what I find in our stories on Instagram and Facebook—so feel free to learn along with me, or send help if you already know all this!
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