It’s that time of year.
The time to reflect on the past 12 months, and the time to look forward to the next 365 days. It’s time to break ice in water tanks, time to break out the Carhartts, and perhaps time for a vacation. It’s also time to start heading south.
I have no idea what the horse population is in Florida in July, but I know that it exponentially increases each winter around Christmas. Early January is when many eventers make the trek, and this year is no different. But– before you start getting ideas, I am not one of those fortunate ones. Oh, I make the journey to Florida; in fact, I woke up in Ocala this morning. But I don’t get to stay.
For my husband and I, it’s That Time of Year: the time to travel south with semi-loads of hay to provide forage for those thousands of horses invading the sunny south. It’s Hay Selling Time.–
All summer, we’ve watched grass grow…err, well maybe not during the monumental drought. With much of the country suffering from the same poor growing conditions, hay will be at a premium this year– the basic economics of supply and demand. We expected to yield about 50,000 bales; unfortunately, weather this year provided us with just about 15,000 of high-quality hay. While we sell some locally in the central Kentucky area, much of our orchardgrass and orchard/alfalfa mix is hauled to Florida during the winter months.
So, twice a week, the truck heads south with 540-600 bales at a time. Occasionally I tag along for the trip, to keep my husband awake and enjoy a change of scenery. It’s a pretty easy drive, barring any snowstorms on Jellico Mountain. Around the holidays, most of the weigh stations are closed and it’s smooth sailing. (Of course the Florida Ag Inspection station is never closed, so no one ever think about by-passing it! We saw them run down a U-haul van last night.)
To all whom are headed to Florida this winter– may you have safe travels and a wonderful season in 2013. And please enjoy the hay…it was baled and delivered with care!
