FACILITIES & EQUIPMENT

The first question I usually ask a dairyman about his generator is: Who has done the maintenance in the past? They usually respond with, “I have a farm mechanic that is supposed to look after it, but he doesn’t know anything about generators and feels intimidated.

Today’s tractors and implements are truly amazing. Drones and GPS guidance systems, auto steering and implements that tell the tractor to speed up or slow down.

When mowing hay, numerous management decisions contribute to total yield, forage quality and stand longevity. This includes whether you’re harvesting grass hay or alfalfa hay, your preferred cutting height and when the first cutting takes place.

It’s the hottest thing in haymaking. For years, hay producers have obsessed over weather forecasts, watching with worried eyes as red digital rain clouds swept in their direction, ominous circles representing a great threat to the freshly cut hay that’s supposed to be drying in their fields.

Nowadays, everyone wants to know what to adjust on a self-propelled forage harvester to maximize forage quality and minimize fuel consumption. A lot of manufacturers have been able to design machines to make it simpler for the owner to get these results.

One of the items we easily overlook when it comes to equipment maintenance is the stock trailer we use periodically throughout the year – and which otherwise sit parked out of the way, silently waiting for the next time we need them.