The Art of Baling Hay

I haven't actually learned the art of baling hay but I have seen a lot of it already baled.  There are different ways to bale hay, such as in square bales or round bales.  Above, you can see some round bales.  I've learned that some people bale their own hay from their farms and some bale hay for other people who have farms and then keep a percentage of the profit for themselves.  People will buy hay to store up for the winter to feed their animals.  By the way, hay is not straw.  The person who gave me all of this information will remain anonymous but I will tell you that she is a teacher and she does the hay baling on the side.

You know you're in the country when all the teachers you work with spend their break time discussing how they bale their hay.

I spent my summer teaching for a Hispanic summer program in another county.  The majority of my students have parents who work on farms for a living.  Some of my students help their parents work in the fields after school.  This is where I learned how big tobacco is in Kentucky.  There is an art to that too.  It has something to do with the plant starting to bloom and then you have to "top" it, which means cut off the top where it is starting to bloom.  (When it's growing, it looks like oversized lettuce leaves.)  After you top it, you will eventually cut the stalk and then you have to let it hang to dry.  You can see it hanging in the picture below:

I suppose after it's done drying, it gets sold and turned into cigarettes and then New York sells packs to people for $12.00 each.  Now you know where it comes from!