Hay Isn’t Just Hay
- Gwen
- Jul 23
- 2 min read
When I first started farming, I knew hay was dried forage (grasses and legumes) 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 was how variable the hay bales we are taking off the field can be with weather playing a very significant role. In dry years, you can see the impact just by looking at the field—or counting how many bales come off it. This matters because we do need a minimum number of bales. I also realized that hay quality changes from year to year. Our sheep nutritionist asks us to send in samples twice per season to test for nutrients, and the results are always different. This year’s hay is never the same as last year’s.
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. 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. What else is 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 to provide nutritious balanced 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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