Buzzard Off!

Many thanks to all for your wonderful comments yesterday. Those who failed to comment have had their names added to a list and come the day comrades.....come the day.....'nuff said!

This chap was following a tractor with his mate, they were being hounded by seagulls who were unhappy at their presence.
The tractor driver was turning hay he had cut yesterday. Pieces of fieldmouse, voles, rats all sorts were being exposed so it was roadkill BBQ time for the hunting birds.
While I was watching all this another farmer came by and explained the processes involved. (Happy times for me, meet someone new, learn something new)
Process one is the old fashioned way. Cut the hay, leave it, turn it, bale it into the original rectangular bales; total time required, about 5 days. The dry hay is relished by horse owners as it suits their animals and works well in feed bags. This was what the farmer I was talking to was about to do as he has a 5 day weather window.
Process two is the new way, which had totally confused me as we watched it in action across the valley. Cut the hay, wet or dry, turn it, bale it into huge rounds and wrap in plastic; it doesn't matter if it's wet, in fact that aids the process of rotting down into sileage. The resulting morass is preferred by cattle, as it has suddenly become nutritionally better for them and is easier for the farmer as he can place huge equipment in a field and get the job done quickly, plough, reseed etc.

I wrote a while ago about 10 tons of fertilizer being spread on about 25 acres in the field adjacent to the one I have just been wittering about. It turns out that the farmer had spread the fertilizer to feed flower bulbs, they were lifted yesterday morning, in the afternoon the field was ploughed and harrowed thereby helping the combination of the fertilizer into the soil, then last night and this morning new brassicas seedlings were planted. So, not a moment has been wasted, rotational cropping is maintained and it's farm/land management at it's most efficient; all aided by a contingent of the hardest working Polish and Latvians you could ever meet.