Across the road from the RV park in Woodland, this perennial ryegrass field was being harvested for seed. Several decades ago, sheep producers who sold feeder lambs in the spring allowed a portion of the fields to go to seed which they harvested and sold. Seed production became much more lucrative than lambs, so there is far less grazing today and most of the grass is grown to optimize seed production.
This field was cut and swathed a couple of weeks earlier and allowed to dry.
The swath rows are gently pulled into the combine using a pickup reel, a very expensive piece of equipment.
The seed is then combined out and the straw laid back onto the ground.
After the seed is removed, the straw is baled. Perennial ryegrass straw makes superior animal bedding. It is tough but not as stiff and brittle as wheat straw. A lot is exported to Japan where it is used in the production of kobe beef.
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