Not that long ago, hay was a scarce commodity as farmers frantically tried to source feed for stock during the drought.

Thankfully a change in season, and fortunes, for farmers means many are now baling hay grown in their own paddocks in preparation for the next dry period.

“Nobody wants to see another drought,” said hay contractor Toby Wilson.

“There’s plenty of feed in the paddocks now, but you’d have to have a pretty short memory to forget how bad it was.

“Some people have decided to slowly build up their own stockpile, preparing for the next drought.”

Mr Wilson said during the dry, hay was being sold for about $200-$300 per bale.

“Now, we can’t give it away,” he said. “At the moment it costs about $35 to mow, rake and produce a hay bale.”

However, he said the threat of damage from mice was preventing many farmers from committing to baling and stacking hay at the moment.

Most recently, Mr Wilson has been baling hay from forage barley grown on different properties at Burren Junction.

While the saying states ‘making hay while the sun shines’, Mr Wilson explained the optimum time for making hay is actually at night.

“Night time conditions are best because once the hay has dried down, the night air helps bring the moisture back up a bit to the right levels to bale.”

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