The sounds and smells of silage cutting and summer

Sunshine brings with it silage cutting. The trundling of the tractors, the movement of the mowers, the grass in the air all make for a cacophony of sound and smells that make me smile.

At the end of the lane, I meet young teenagers, hoping to be let up for a spin as a machine es. The pace of the runs are intense, the farmers doing their utmost to get the winter feed into the pit. That means piling the cut silage and packing tightly in the pit so that it’ll ferment and be preserved for when the cows need it.

What I’ve noticed this year is that there are more tractors travelling on the main roads because they are working on outside farms as well as their home farms, so it means they are travelling longer distances.

Some drivers on the tractors can be as young as 16 because that’s when you can legally drive a tractor, and most young lads grow up wishing away the years so they can get on the road. I must say, any new face I have seen has been respectful and patient and diligent about their job, which is great to see.

I do my best to let a tractor out of a gap, or pause to let them turn. because I know they are on the clock, possibly with another farm to do after the one they are on at that time.

The silage season is early this year, because the weather has been so good.

Ricky, at a mere five years old, is watching the different crews and figuring out who is who and who is doing what. He gets wildly excited when he spots an uncle or grandfather on a tractor and is even more delighted when they invite him up on to the enger seat for an hour or four.

He absolutely has the bug and he was telling me this morning that it will only be just over ten years before he can be part of a crew. He was naming out all the different configurations of machines he could drive and jobs he could do, whether it be on a harvester, a tractor or the loader, up on top of the pit, which is quite a precarious but important job.

Our young boy has been warned about always watching and listening to instructions when he is around the process of making silage or in fact doing any type of farming.

We stress to him how it is all considered work, can be dangerous, and we take it very seriously. He understands that as exciting as being part of it is, there are times he will need to stay at home and he can only when he is invited by the grown-ups doing the job, and he must behave impeccably every time so that he will be invited again during the second cut later in the summer.

I think I am hardest of all on my son when it comes to farm safety. I haven’t been on a tractor since Dad could lift me in, but I see the sparkle in my little boy’s eye.

I know deep down he doesn’t see the danger in the revving of engines, so sometimes I feel like a bit of a killjoy when I’m harping on about being careful, but I don’t want anybody I love to end up in a farm accident.

Farming is fabulous and I love how visible it is at this time of year.

I want my words to remind everyone to be safe, slow down, and give all drivers the space they need to get their job done.