'Slip sliding away' stopped by hay
March 12, 2014
Every year we get some hay that has been damaged, usually by water. We save those bad bales for ice-mud season. You can spread the hay out when the ice starts to get "greasy" looking. The hay stalks bite into the ice and will provide traction as the ice freezes again in the cooler evening temperatures. We prefer this solution to throwing down salt or ice melt, which are hard on the hooves and can percolate into the ground or plowing snow, which while needed for heavy snowfall, creates an erosion problem for our dirt lanes, is hard on the tractor, and time-consuming. The hay on the ground looks messy now, but eventually it will compost down to dirt-like footing.