Haying Season Has Been Great on KMOT-TV North Dakota's NBC News Leader

Haying Season Has Been Great | Video

Andrew Keller

7/24/2009

To farmers and ranchers, a single hay bale doesn`t do much. But a field filled with a ton of bales, that`s a different story. This year, haying and bailing is a family affair for four generations of Malkowskis at their family farm near Fairfield and they`re not going to let this year`s good harvest go to waste.

"Got to take advantage of days like today, you know, maybe take a day off of work to try to get ahead, get it done, before the next rainstorm comes, and before it dries up," says Rancher Qwain Malkowski.

Malkowski says `Where`s the hay?` was the question last year. His father Roger says last year was rough.

"Seemed like everybody managed somehow, either borrow from a neighbor or pay the price," says Roger Malkowski, who`s happy with this season`s hay amount.

This year, it`s `What the Hay!` because there`s such an abundance of it.

"There`s a lot more hay than last year and you can get a lot more bales to feed cows," says Kadyn Malkowski, 12, helping out with the cause.

This year the back of the bailer`s been opening up almost twice as many times as it did in 2008 on the Malkowski farm.

Four miles down the road, Kurt Kordon says in this field here, he`s already baled more hay than he had on all of his land last year.

"What I love about North Dakota, you can have a total disaster one year, no rain, no water, no dams, no grass, and the next year, you have so much grass and hay, you don`t know what to do with it. That`s why I love it," says Kordon.

And he says farmers and ranchers have a small window of opportunity and everyone`s working to get their hay cut and baled before weather impedes the process. He says his brother and daughter are helping out because you don`t let a great opportunity like this get away.

"When there`s hay to make, you make the hay, because the next year it might be dry."

And because of this possibility and last year`s lesson, Kordon and the Malkowskis say farmers and ranchers will probably play it safe this year.

"I don`t really think there will be much hay for sale because I think the ranchers themselves are going to keep it for reserve for a rainy day," Roger Malkowski states.

Remember, for ranchers, a rainy day is when there`s no moisture falling. They say it`s been a beautiful summer. Ranchers in Fairfield say that this year`s hay harvest is the best they can remember.

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