Ken Bolton in the July 2020 issue of Farm Collector questioned how the outside-the-barn operator could effectively trip a load of hay. My father and I put up loose hay well into the 1960s. He maintained that cows preferred the loose hay. I never surveyed the cows about that. We used slings instead of a fork. Because there was just the two of us, I would drive the tow rope with the tractor, and my father would trip the load from the ground. My father could place these loads with a bombardier’s accuracy. So, in our case, the answer was simple: old-fashioned know-how and experience.
Then, came the worst part – moving the hay to the sides of the loft. I still shudder at the memory of the heat and dust.
