Topic: Farm
I've written about my errors on the farm before. When we make mistakes on our farm, real life consequences occur. Sometimes something dies.
We made a whole lot of hay last week. It was good weather. I have never made such good hay. It was rich, green and cured well. This was the first time I ran the baler. We borrowed a neighbor's instead of hiring the job done.
My two older boys, 15 and 12, were on the rack, stacking the bales. They did a great job. But I made a mistake. I should have gotten off the tractor and checked the bales more closely. It wasn't until I was helping unload them into the barn that I realized how loose they were.
Loose bales are hard to stack. They are difficult to move around because they blow apart easily due to the loose twine. But most importantly, in this case, is that we planned to sell them. That meant the buyer would have difficulty with our product. I don't like that!
I always want quality to be top of the list. We already are inundated with poor quality products in a Wal-Mart marketplace. Our products are supposed to be high-quality here at SLF.
But baled hay is already baled. It can't be redone (without an unacceptable investment in time and money). We sold a batch of it Saturday at the local horse auction. It brought an average of $1.90 per bale. I was hoping for $3.00. Loose, low-weight bales will not bring a good price. My mistake cost us 37% of our ask price.
The price we received was probably fair. The market called for $120 per ton for good alfalfa hay squares. Ours were "good" in terms of quality of hay. The bales were light, though. So if we averaged 35 pounds per bale, the 100 bales we took should have brought $210. Instead they brought $190.
The bales should have been around 50 pounds. If they were, that load would have brought $300. We still have the same amount of hay, even though its in lighter bales. But people want a 50 pound bale. Transportation costs, storage, etc. are all real costs.
The good news is that my step-father heard me lamenting my lack of a hay baler. I told him we were going to buy one with the cash we would get from the bales we just made. He said he has a baler that he left at a buddy's farm when he quit over 17 years ago! He also said I could use it for as long as I needed it.
Praise God for His provision. I am grateful for my step-father's willingness to let us use his baler.
Now if only we could overcome our spiritual errors and live as God would have us...