The writing is already on the wall – there is going to be a terrible shortage of hay this coming winter.
The weather has been hot and sticky, with rain showers few and far between. Even though our first cut, here at Westwind Farms, was only a third of previous years, it is not going to be a problem due to the fact that our Boer meat goat population is still hovering one short of a single score.
That, of course, will change in the weeks just past September. Oliver, our strong-muscled, newly-introduced leader of the flock, has been running around with a smug look on his face, a tucked-back goatee, and an occasional curled upper lip, so I know he is doing the job that is intended.
Boer goats, with five months’ gestation, give birth to their young three times in a two-year period, so that is the reason for the unusual birthing dates. They average better than two per litter, with triplets often outnumbering single births.
Even though our goat population could more than double by the time the frost is on the pumpkin, we still will not face a shortage of hay, as we have fertilized our hay fields lightly just after harvesting, and with a little shower of rain now and then, the second cut should more than equal the first. Needless to say, that is not going to be the story spelt out for the surrounding cattle farmers; the shortage of pasture grass has already turned the critical point, and many are selling off much of their young stock.
I rubbed shoulders with five or more cattlemen when I was indulging in a coffee and a chunk of homemade apple pie at the lunch counter over at the Keady Livestock Sale barns.
They all had the same story to tell: “I don’t have enough grass to feed what I have now, and I still have a couple of dozen cows soon to drop more.” Though they were receiving a reasonably good price for the yearlings as they came up on the auction block, it would not come close to the receipts after a good summer’s grass gain.
On the way to and from the Keady market, it was interesting to see the number of hay fields already cut and being cut. There were tractors buzzing this way and that every which way you looked.
But the thing that struck my interest most was the fact that they were cutting anything and everything in each and every nook and cranny. Some were even bailing the roadside cut. It is a good indication of the expectations ahead.
In the meantime, back at my canary castle, there has been a lot of activity going on within the walls of the tiny incubator that I have had the pleasure of owning for well over 30 years.
Within its womb, I have placed three goose eggs, ten white pecan duck eggs, six peacock eggs and, at each setting, a selection of 40 or more eggs from my fancy show bantams. At present, I have the Gold Laced Cochins, both Gold and Silver Sebrights, White Silkies, Old English Game, and the Black Minorca Bantam. There will be interesting times ahead, showing them at the local fairs in the fall.
Garden wise, with the exception of the cut-short season of strawberries, the drought has not done too much damage, as we had the opportunity of mixing heavily with mulch just before planting, and we have been able to set up the sprinklers almost every day.
This, of course, brings also an unending new crop of weeds.
Take care, ‘cause we care.
barrie@barriehopkins.ca
519-986-4105