The hay harvest at Maurachhof
Every year when the days get longer and the nights shorter, the hay harvest arrives. It’s always a huge spectacle for our guests, because they are welcome to help out themselves and experience the action up close.
To harvest, we needed at least 3 days of nice weather to make sure the hay would be dry. It was often very stressful, because in the old barn we still had no hay ventilation and much less space. Most of the time it was a challenge to always bring a good feed for our animals, to the barn (in dialect ,,Zimmabruckn”).
When building the new barn, we made it a little easier. With our new hay aeration system, we can make optimal hay with as little as 12 hours of sunshine. A new hay crane was also installed. This is used for feeding the hay aeration box.
Our special mountain machines include Muli, Metrac and hand mowers. These are very suitable for slopes and maneuverable. When harvesting, my dad Toni usually drives the Metrac. My uncle Gottfried with the mules and I Toni jun. or my brother Hannes with the hay crane.
The Metrac is used for mowing, tedding and raking. The mule to pick up the hay or fertilize. The hand mower can only be used for mowing on extreme slopes. These slopes must then be hayed down by hand with the rake. Without these machines it would not work in today’s world, it would be too much work to rake everything by hand.
My mom Karin and my big sister Carina as well as my little brother Markus also help. That’s where you notice our good family cohesion!
You are also welcome to help with the haymaking. It’s sure to be a lot of fun!
