Communities at Work: Hay Fever July 17, 2010
This edition of Communities at Work gives a glimpse into one of the most traditional professions in Moffat County. Although methods and machinery have evolved throughout the years, many ranchers have cut and baled hay for as long as cattle have roamed their land. The scales of these haying operations are varied. Some ranchers bale just enough to feed their own livestock, while others sell hay throughout the state. The majority of crops in Moffat County rely on rainwater for nourishment while some larger operations irrigate with sprinklers and ditches. Once grown, the hay is cut down and put into rows for a baler to form into small squares or larger round bales. The baled hay is then sold or transported to a storage barn to keep dry and out of reach of elk and deer looking for a free meal. Ranchers who pioneered in Moffat County might be jealous if they saw the air-conditioned tractors some of today’s ranchers tote their balers and push their swathers with, but they would probably also be proud that some form of their way of life lives on.
Doug Camilletti drives a swather to cut hay Thursday at his ranch north of Craig. After storing enough bales to feed his cattle and horses through the winter, the rancher sells about 500 tons of hay, mostly to the Front Range, he said.
Doug Camilletti drives a swather to cut hay Thursday at his ranch north of Craig. After storing enough bales to feed his cattle and horses through the winter, the rancher sells about 500 tons of hay, mostly to the Front Range, he said.
Mark Voloshin pulls a baler down rows of cut hay Wednesday at his ranch on Knez Divide. Voloshin has been haying most of his whole life. Consider him impressed by advances that have been made in haying. “It’s gotten a lot easier than the old days,” he said.
Mark Voloshin looks over a field of cut hay from an air-conditioned tractor cab while baling hay Wednesday at his ranch on Moffat County Road 33. Voloshin and his family ranch and hay plots of land spread throughout Knez Divide.
Shirley Lawton pulls a twin rake, turning two separate rows of cut hay into one, Thursday on a field owned by Kathy Janosec north of Craig. The Lawtons cut and bale hay from the Janosec’s ranch with their own equipment as part of a profit-sharing system the families worked out years ago.
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Should high school officials be allowed to withhold diplomas from students as punishment for behavior deemed inappropriate during a graduation ceremony?
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