Before I married the dairy farmer, quite a few of my first summer time dates were spent riding on the tractor with the dairy farmer as he chopped green hay grazer grass to feed the dairy cows. Late this afternoon just before the sun was setting, Ryan and I jumped into the truck and went on a farmer date to drive to the field and check on the hay grazer crop that was planted several weeks ago.
Even though we have only received about an inch of rain since this seed was planted several weeks ago, it has grown waist high--perfect cow candy time! This grass can be harvested by green chopping or baling. When it is green chopped, it is actually chopped up and blown into a truck or wagon that will transport it to the dairy and be fed fresh. If it is baled, it is mowed and baled like hay. Either way it is harvested, the cows love this cow candy! Our dairy nutritionist will formulate a diet that adds cow candy with all the other feed ingredients to make sure that the cows are receiving a completely balanced diet. With the drought that we are experiencing, we are grateful for any crop that we will harvest.
Cow candy and dates with the farmer are all about how we work everyday on the dairy farm to care for our animals and produce quality milk!
