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Dive into hay experience at Husker Harvest Days

Alfalfa fields are cut and processed during the three-day event in Nebraska.

Mindy Ward, Editor, Missouri Ruralist

September 5, 2024

1 Min Read
Husker Harvest Days attendees are invited to see hay equipment work in real conditions
UP CLOSE: Husker Harvest Days attendees are invited to see hay equipment work in real conditions, whether dry or wet. Elizabeth Hodges

Editor’s note: Husker Harvest Days is Sept. 10-12 in Grand Island, Neb. Visit HuskerHarvestDays.com.

Bright green alfalfa spills from the rear of a mower. Take a step, breathe it in and start sifting through the leaves.

Husker Harvest Days offers visitors a hands-on experience in alfalfa fields. Through hay demonstrations, visitors not only see the latest equipment, but also examine the results from beginning to end.

Head over to the north end of the show site, Field 4, for the demos happening daily at 2 p.m. Here’s the order of events:

  1. Mowers. See machines sweep through the fields, setting the stage for harvest.

  2. Rakes and windrowers. The equipment precisely arranges the cut alfalfa into a windrow, optimizing drying and preparation for baling.

  3. Field inspection. Step into the windrows and take a closer look at the freshly cut plants, examining stems and leaves to gauge quality and readiness.

  4. Baling. Watch as large round balers, ranging from pull-behind to self-propelled models, gather the hay to produce uniform bales.

  5. Tech talks. Meet engineers and product managers of leading hay equipment.

Read more about:

Hay

About the Author

Mindy Ward

Editor, Missouri Ruralist

Mindy resides on a small farm just outside of Holstein, Mo, about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis.

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism, she worked briefly at a public relations firm in Kansas City. Her husband’s career led the couple north to Minnesota.

There, she reported on large-scale production of corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and dairy, as well as, biofuels for The Land. After 10 years, the couple returned to Missouri and she began covering agriculture in the Show-Me State.

“In all my 15 years of writing about agriculture, I have found some of the most progressive thinkers are farmers,” she says. “They are constantly searching for ways to do more with less, improve their land and leave their legacy to the next generation.”

Mindy and her husband, Stacy, together with their daughters, Elisa and Cassidy, operate Showtime Farms in southern Warren County. The family spends a great deal of time caring for and showing Dorset, Oxford and crossbred sheep.

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