Dick Lacey

This last March Dick celebrated 40 years of grinding hay in the communtiy with over 350 guests at his home. Farmers used to grind their hay to cut down on waste; a hay feeder can lose as much 10 to 20% of the hay. Now many farmers grind hay because they feed their hay out of a feeder wagon.

Grinding 30 to 80 bales an hour

Today, with many farmers using a feeder wagon to feed their cattle, grinding hay is almost a must. Dick is using a 500-horse cat to grind between 30 to 80 bales an hour with each bale weighing around 1,500 pounds. Many farmers grind hay every month and some grind every week.

Over 40 years of grinding hay

Dick--Wes calls him "the old cow poke"--has been grinding hay for over 40 years in the Elkton area, and he said he will continue grinding hay until they push the dirt over him. Besides running the hay grinder everyday, Dick farms 3,000 acres of hay.

Friends and fishing

I caught Jerry coming out of HyVee. He told me now that he's not farming or building homes, he has more time to spend with friends over a cup of coffee or to go fishing. He said one year he went fishing nearly every day.

Prairie Gold

I am sure there are farmers out there who remember the day that they had to milk 10 to 15 cows by hand, morning and night, and thought it was a big job. Today, at Prairie Gold, they milk a hundred at a time.

Steve

No matter how hard Steve works, or how long his day may be, his job is never done on a large dairy farm. He no more than gets finished, and the following day there are just as many cows that have to be bred.

Steve and Randy

Randy, who is from California, is talking things over with Steve about last minute things that have to be taken care of on the dairy farm. On a large dairy farm there are always things that pop up out of the blue.

Michele at the dairy

When Michele has a Saturday morning free, she spends it out at the dairy farm working with Steve. Some young ladies might find this a bit different, but Michele looks forward to her day on the farm.