Making Hay

by Verlyn Klinkenborg, Gordon Allen (Illustrator)

From the wonders of alfalfa, the "miracle plant," to barbed wire, dances at VFW halls, and the myriad difficulties of operating tractors and siderakes, renowned author Verlyn Klinkenborg paints a stunning and memorable portrait of American family farms and the fascinating characters who work them.

Making Hay gives us an unforgettable glimpse of everyday life on the family farms of northwestern Iowa, southwestern Minnesota, and Montana's Big Hole Valley. In beautiful, deceptively simple prose touched with humor and affection, Klinkenborg evokes a way of life at risk, and weaves an unforgettable story of the richness of rural living.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Memoir, Agriculture, History

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Verlyn Klinkenborg is a member of the editorial board of The New York Times. His previous books include Making Hay, The Last Fine Time, and The Rural Life. He lives in upstate New York.

Reviews

[Debbie W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why I chose to read this book:
1. a farm girl all my life, I especially enjoyed reading Goodreads friend, Bob (aka Bobby Lee)'s review of this book. Since then, Bob has graciously gifted his copy to me! Thanks so much, Bob!
2. summertime on the farm is the perfect time to read this book; and,
3. August is my self-declared "As the Spirit Moves Me Month"!

Praises:
1. while author Verlyn Klinkenborg writes about the times that he has helped out during haying season on relatives' farms in the Midwest and Montana, I enjoyed connecting to all the farm lingo: types of haying equipment used; the various plants processed as hay crops; the typical workload on a farm; all the costs involved in farming; fast-acting fatal diseases that behoove cattle; neighbors sharing equipment; knowing not only how to operate said equipment, but also being able to maintain and repair it during breakdowns; even the NAPA parts store!
2. mindful that this book was published over 35 years ago, I had fun comparing haying methods here and there, then and now. Compared to this book, nowadays haying equipment has improved greatly, saving on labor and time in the field.
I did learn about a practice that I've never knew existed! It was invented in the Big Hole Valley, Montana, and is still in use today! Extremely labor-intensive, it involves the use of buckrakes, wheelrakes and beaverslides. Wheelrakes aside, what the heck are those other things? I found an excellent 20+min. YouTube video by Mike Ness titled Stacking Hay in the Big Hole Valley, Montana (dated Aug. 21, 2021) that explains and depicts this interesting haying method! and,
3. Klinkenborg's descriptive writing had me chuckling at times, and Gordon Allen's detailed black & white illustrations are quite helpful to the uninformed.

Niggles:
1 I wish my biggest question was answered! Since some of these farmers were using heavy-labor methods, I wondered just how many head of cattle did they have to feed? and,
2. my biggest concern was Klinkenborg's incoherent writing style. At times, I wasn't sure which setting I was supposed to envision - Montana or Minnesota, July or October? Often, he would digress within and between paragraphs that I would struggle to keep track of his thoughts and actions.

Overall Thoughts:
I enjoyed relating to the farming lifestyle described in this book as well as learning about haying methods in parts of the U.S. during the 1980s.

Recommendation?
If you are familiar with and/or actively involved in farming, or you just want to learn more about haying season on the farm, then check out this fun memoir!

[Irma · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. Cows, alfalfa hay- the making of it, the machines, the people and their everyday life. I really loved this book. Thanks, Debbie.

[R.L. Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly delightful read, highly recommended for anyone with a love of farming and rural life. Although not lucky enough to have been born into a farm family, it is in my blood and hopefully in my future. Making Hay describes the process of harvesting the hay crop, one of the most pleasurable tasks on any farm, one that even my father who did not particularly like farm work otherwise, had to admit that he enjoyed. This book describes haymaking in an easy to read style that puts the reader on farms and ranches in different parts of the US. Various techniques and equipment are described, all in a nontechnical manner. I have done a bit of haymaking myself, helping farm friends with theirs and also at a farm related theme park I used to volunteer for. And so I can attest to the fact that haymaking is truly a relaxing activity--the kind of work that doesn't even seem like work. I have tried to include a bit of the fun of haymaking in my second novel, It's A Place For Trees, in a chapter where my characters pitch in to help with the baling on a farm they are visiting. And so, I can recommend Verlyn Klinkenborg's book, Making Hay, and for anyone who has not participated in the actual haymaking operation on a farm, give it a try, for some real fun and a great workout that sure beats working out in a gym any day!

[Mike Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Verlyn Klinkenborg has a polished voice for the pastoral. He uses the seemingly esoteric endeavor of haymaking as a metaphor for a lot of life's challenges: timeliness, the inevitability of change, hard work, human relationships and so on. Don't read expecting a neat narrative arc, or as a real how-to of the art of making hay, you will be disappointed. Read it if you enjoy the pastoral mode, engaging patterns of language, and extended metaphors.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't say it any better than Lisa from KS (amazon):
"If you're curious about haymaking and/or curious about whatever Mr. Klinkenborg's curious about (that's why I read it), then what the hay! It was pretty good and I learned about hay."

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

yay for hay!

[Gretchen Beerline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I would enjoy this book, as I live in an agricultural community. The author’s style is nice but I got too bogged down in farming equipment terminology. I probably should’ve tried to push on, but gave up after 3-4 chapters. Too many more engaging books out there to keep slogging through this one. I think someone with a stronger ag background might really relate and appreciate his writing.

[Sandy D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir recounts life on family farms in Minnesota and Montana in the middle of the 20th century, with some history (of farming, alfalfa, tractors & other machinery, like beaverslides and combines), and beautiful descriptions of land and people. It isn't a fast read, but it is an enjoyable one if you're at all interested in agricultural history.

[Ray Metz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yep, I grew up on a farm where putting up hay seemed to something we did a lot! Was it a great book? No. Did it bring back some good memories? Yes.

- all their dogs were called Sam (or for me… Tuppy)
- mower, crimper, rake, baler
- old cookhouse, a hot-weather kitchen annex that stood near the well
- Case, older Ford, Farmall H (tractors)
- Harlan
- wear an International Harvester cap stained with sweat and every liquid a machine can exude
- smell of newmown hay
- chores twice a day
- 2-4-D
- “vetinary”
- missing digits

[Cheryl]

I could not follow the author's train of thought. Almost every sentence was a tangent, but there was no base from which they sprung. My mother read it first and loved it, but I could not finish it.

Perhaps part of the problem is that I've been reading works by farm boy Michael Perry and the memoirs The Crops Look Good: News from a Midwestern Family Farm and The Country Kitchen and others, and so I have a certain expectation. Still, I'd recommend any of those over this, even had I finished this.

[Lynn Guelzow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book. Could read this one every year