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Picture of a grain silo8/11/2023 Once cut, it was raked into small piles, or haycocks, and left to dry, or cure, in the field. Through the nineteenth century, hay was routinely cut by hand with scythes. The counties with the most acreage in hay are in the Adirondacks and Southern Tier, while the highest average yields per acre are found on the rich farmland of western and central New York. More recently, hay production has fallen off in the region surrounding New York City. Before the advent of the automobile and the decline of horse-drawn vehicles, hay was harvested throughout New York State, with high concentrations in the Hudson Valley to provide feed for horses and other animals in the city. Hay, the grass crop the barracks protected, can be grown on hilly terrain and in heavy soils that are not well suited for grain or other crops. They were most common from the seventeenth through the early nineteenth centuries, although contributors to the agricultural press advocated for their construction as late as the second half of the nineteenth century, and some older structures were still in use into the twentieth century. Hay barracks were erected from Long Island to western portions of the state. The initial use of hay barracks is associated with New York’s Dutch settlers, but the form was adopted by New Yorkers of other ethnicities as well. Other barracks were portable, set on skids so they could be moved to wherever they were needed. Some hay barracks had a permanent location on a farm they might have a stone foundation or posts set into the ground. Used to cover stored hay, these simple open-sided structures consisted of four or more wooden posts supporting a roof, usually of thatch, which could be raised or lowered to protect hay stacked beneath. Hay barracks were introduced in the New World by Dutch settlers to New Netherland, and the form continued to be used even after the English took control of New York. The following excerpt is from Chapter 3, “From Haystacks to Silos.” Storing Hay Throughout History Falk explores the evolution of rural architecture and agricultural technology including advancements in hay cultivation and storage. In Barns of New York: Rural Architecture of the Empire State, author Cynthia G. Corresponding additions to the farm landscape, including various silo forms, were the product of experimentation by early American farmers to increase the longevity of harvested grains. Effective hay and silage storage was essential to European settlers in the New World, where there was great demand for animal feed and the terrain was well suited for hay production.
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