Keeping it Clean

This time of year brings equipment out of the barns from where they had been stored. We used this spreader to distribute pelletized lime onto the hay fields. The composting manure that had been layered onto the fields during the winter months adds nitrogen to the soil, the lime then sweetens the fields and gives the grass a quick growth spurt.

The color of the grass growing in the fields changes quickly, sometimes just a day or two if the weather turns warm. The soil soaks in the lime and the grass turns from a bright spring green to a vibrant rich green. Spots that had been missed during the application process can be seen easily.
But the spreading is only half the job. It takes nearly as long to clean the equipment as it took to spread the two tons of lime. This equipment will be cleaned and then dried in the sunshine before gears are lubed and it is put back into storage for the next year.