This week’s featured video has nothing to do with Florida farming or ranching, but I thought it was worth sharing because it showcases a farming innovation for a very different climate than the Southeast. Recently more than 1,000 County Ag Agents from across the U.S. met in Salt Lake City, Utah for the annual National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) Conference. One of the vendors who took part in the trade show there was Staheli West, the manufacturer of the “Dewpoint Hay Steamer.” Learning about this equipment and the problem it addresses made me shake my head. In the western states, where high quality alfalfa hay is produced on a wide scale, it can actually get too dry to bale hay. In Utah and other desert climate states the morning dew is unpredictable. All of their hay is grown with irrigation water; not from wells, but from reservoirs of melted mountain snow collected for use throughout the growing season. In the heat of the summer it can get so hot and dry in Utah that the leaves fall off of alfalfa when it is baled with too little moisture. A Utah farmer came up with the “Hay Steamer” to apply moisture just prior to baling to improve hay quality. It just goes to show, there is no place that has perfect weather for producing hay.
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If you enjoyed this video, you might want to check out the featured videos from previous weeks: Friday Features
If you come across a humorous video or interesting story related to agriculture, please send in a link, so we can share it with our readers. Send video links to: Doug Mayo
demayo@ufl.edu - 850-482-9620
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