Hay production is important to farmers in southwest Ohio and southeast Indiana. In Butler County, we harvest more than 30,000 tons of hay from 10,000 to 12,000 acres each year.

The hay that is sold by Butler County farmers brings in more than a million dollars a year. They usually only sell about half of their production each year, feeding the rest to livestock and horses. We have planned a field day on July 14 to show producers some of the latest technologies available.

The Southwest Ohio Hay Day program features demonstrations of the latest harvest equipment from four local equipment dealers.

Silage (baleage) balers, round bale hay balers, discbine mowers, small bale square balers, tedders and rakes, including a double rake, will be shown by College Corner Implement, Koenig Equipment, Steinke Equipment and Zimmer Tractor.

The field day is open to the public and is at the farm of Mike and Janet McDonald, located at 2850 Lanes Mill Rd., near McGonigle, Ohio.

Registration begins at 12:30 p.m. and the program begins at 1 p.m. Bill Weiss, Ohio State University Dairy Extension Specialist, is our Ohio expert on the secrets of making quality baleage. He will be with us to discuss this harvest technique. Making baleage, instead of dry hay, allows you to cut hay one day and bale it the next.

Making hayleage is not new for those who have silos, but for those without this asset, this is a way you can make quality feed from first cutting forages. We will have a local farmer, who has been making baleage for several years now, bring a bale he made last year for you to open up and see the quality of the feed for your animals. Baleage should not be fed to horses. It is great feed for cattle, sheep or goats.

We are requesting preregistration at 513-887-3722 or 513-424-5351 ext. 3722.

If however, you decide the morning of July 14 to come and have not preregistered, that’s alright. We just would like to have some idea as to how many people to expect. We will be charging a $5 registration fee the day of the event.

This farm news was published in the July 5, 2006 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.