LINCOLN PARISH, La. (RFD-TV) — From cattle operations to racehorse circuits, quality hay and silage can make all the difference when it comes to animal performance and nutrition. In Lincoln Parish, one Louisiana farm family is working hard to produce both.
The Echols family of Downsville is racing against the weather during hay season, harvesting ryegrass silage before incoming rain moves into the area.
Tammi Arender reports the family’s operation supports not only their own cattle herd, but also high-performance racehorses across Louisiana.
“Here in Lincoln Parish in Downsville, the Echols are working on a tight window to get their hay harvesting before the rain comes in. They not only are raising hay for their own cattle but some high-performance racehorses.”
What may look like simple grass fields to some is an important part of a diversified farming operation for Melisa and Malcolm Echols.
“We have chicken houses, we have cows, hay, we have our family — they’re all farmers. We do silage with the rye grass and the Bermuda starts taking over and the warm season grass and then we’ll do the dry hay.”
The family works together throughout the harvest process. Melisa and her friend Beth rake ryegrass silage while Malcolm handles the baling operation. Their son helps wrap the silage to protect it from the elements and preserve its nutrient value.
Silage is a high-moisture fermented forage that provides energy and digestibility for livestock feed.
“Both of our children have taken an interest in agriculture also, and they are following in our footsteps.”
Once ryegrass harvest wraps up, the family transitions into Bermuda grass hay production. Many of those square bales are shipped to horse trainers at racetracks throughout the state.
“When we start baling Bermuda hay, we bale a lot of square bales and provide a lot of trainers for the racehorses that make the circuit through La Downs, Delta, Evangeline for their racehorses.”
The Echols family’s hay has even earned awards at the Louisiana State Fair.
For Melisa Echols, farming is about far more than income: “We’ve been farming for 30 years, and it’s just a way of life. It’s a way of life.”
The operation also benefits from what the family calls a strong sense of farm synergy. Litter from their chicken houses helps fertilize the hay fields, and the hay produced on those fields feeds their cattle herd.
