Follow this step‑by‑step checklist to set up your equipment, cut your first field, and get your hay drying properly.
Based on: 1‑1/2 Acres To Find Out If We Can Make Hay by Justin Rhodes
▶ Watch the source video on YouTube
Have you ever looked out at a field of tall grass and thought — I should be making hay from that — but had no idea where to even start? You are not alone, and that moment of wanting to try something you have never done before is exactly what this checklist was built for.
Here is the hard truth: making hay for the first time is not just about owning a cutter and a baler. It is about wrestling with hydraulic lines that spray oil, implements that refuse to lower, tires that are quietly going flat, and dew that will not burn off fast enough. Most first-timers either give up before they cut a single row, or they cut too wet and end up with clumpy, moldy bales that are useless to their animals. The window between too wet and too dry is narrow, the equipment is old and finicky, and nobody around you seems to have time to help anymore.
But here is what success actually looks like: grass laying down in clean, even rows behind your cutter, a tedder fluffing that cut grass into a loose, airy mat that dries in hours instead of days, and a square baler waiting in the barn ready to turn all of that effort into something you can stack and feed all winter. That feeling — the one Justin Rhodes captures when he says "we mowed it, we mowed it" — is completely within reach for you.
Justin Rhodes has spent over 20 years homesteading and learning hard skills through real hands-on trial and error on his family farm in western North Carolina. In this video, he and his sons work through every single obstacle a first-timer will face: swapping hydraulic lines, greasing seized implements, using a skid steer to force a stuck cutter down, zip-tying a worn cover back on, and getting a tour of a used square baler from the previous owner. Nothing is staged, nothing is easy, and everything is documented so you can learn from every mistake before you make it yourself.
This checklist takes everything Justin and his family figured out that day and organizes it into a clear sequence you can follow in your own field. From pre-cut equipment checks to tedding strategy to picking up your baler, every action is mapped out with specific tips, warnings, and sourcing notes. Print it out, take it to the barn, and check off each step as you go. Your first bale of homegrown hay is closer than you think.
Every checklist item comes with actionable notes to guide you — things like "Don't forget to do this before you start," "Avoid this common mistake," or "Set a reminder for 30 days out." Nothing vague, just clear next steps.
+ 21 more action items inside...
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