SIFTON, Man. – Making hay was not something Brian Hupalo enjoyed while growing up on a farm.
He remembers the scratches that came from stacking square bales on his father’s land. It was what he describes as terrible, manual work.
Now that he is grown up, Hupalo works as assistant manager at an Agricore elevator in Dauphin, Man.
And in his spare time, he does something that did not strike his fancy as a child. He makes hay.
Hupalo today is recognized as one of the best dairy alfalfa hay producers in the world.
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Last year, his hay won top prize at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin and he has several other awards to his name.
He sells his hay to dairy producers in Wisconsin and other American states such as Iowa and Ohio.
His customers are careful about what they buy for their dairy herds. Hupalo has made an art of producing the kind of hay that dairy cattle want.
“These animals are like feeding your kids. They’re very fussy.”
He grows the hay on 160 acres of his own land and on another 250 acres of leased land.
He looks for varieties with a fine stem, good winter hardiness and good regrowth after cutting.
He also wants a variety with good leaf expression, meaning it produces more leaves or bigger leaves.
Most of his hay crop is alfalfa. Only about a quarter of the crop includes a grass blend of either timothy or orchard grass.
A growing number of Hupalo’s customers are feeding corn-based silage to their dairy herds. That increases the need for a fibre source, something that the timothy and orchard grasses provide.
Hupalo fertilizes his alfalfa fields in the fall with a blend of 50 percent phosphate, 40 percent potash, and 10 percent sulfur. He applies 150 to 175 pounds of product per acre.
He does not apply nitrogen, since one of the things that alfalfa does well is fix nitrogen into the soil.
Hupalo believes the fall-applied fertilizer helps give his hay an early start the following spring.
It also eliminates the risk of not being able to get onto his fields to fertilize if there is a wet spring.
His goal is to get three cuts of hay a year. Under good growing and harvest conditions, the quality of the third cut can be just as good as that of the first, he said.
“There’s no reason that you can’t do three cuts. It’s just a perception that’s out there.”
He typically does his first cut in mid-June. The second cut tends to land in mid-July and he tries to have his third cut done by Aug. 20. If he misses that deadline, it’s best to wait until after the first fall frost, which may not be until September, he said.
Ideally, he likes to cut his alfalfa when the plants are in full bud and before flowers open.
Hupalo prefers to bale in the early morning and early evening. He said dew moisture is not as much of a concern once the hay has cured.
He also prefers to bale when there is 14 to 15 percent moisture in the hay, but he has baled hay when the dew moisture was slightly higher.
“I’ll come back the next day and that stuff’s as soft and beautiful as can be.”
He cuts the alfalfa with a windrower and tries to avoid doing anything afterward that will shake the leaves from the stems prior to baling.
If there’s a chance of rain and the cured hay is drier than he would like, he bales but goes at a slower ground speed than normal.
“You can’t rush. If you do, you’ll ruin the good job you’ve done of getting it cut and putting it up.”
He shipped 1,300 tonnes of hay last year. He grosses at least $100 per tonne provided he gets three cuts of hay and produces the quality that buyers are looking for.
Most of his customers are repeat buyers already familiar with the quality of hay he grows.
Hupalo said it takes a juggling act to stay on top of the haying, his job at Agricore and his family life.
But the haying has become something of a hobby, and he regards the awards he has earned as an added perk from that pastime.
“I don’t strive to win those awards. It’s just a bonus.”
