Hay is dried grass, which farmers now put into bales to feed to the animals in winter. Before machines for making bales were invented, the farmers used to put the hay loose on to wagons and take it to the barn to be stored. They lifted the hay using a hessian sling and swung it into the hayloft. Once balers were introduced farmers could bale the hay in the field. Hay takes up less room in bales so farmer can store more of it.

Nowadays, the farmers make large round or rectangular bales of hay and cover them with white plastic to keep them dry when left outside.

You can see all sorts of balers in the Harvest Building including a straw packer for making bales of straw. Straw is the stalk of the grain once the grain has been removed. Straw is used for bedding for the animals.  

There are threshing machines in the Harvest Building. Each summer there are demonstrations in the summer using the equipment at local farms shows and the Hastings County Farm Show and Plowing Match, which is in Stirling this year, August 20 -21.