My husband and I have recently purchased a small (16 acre) hay farm.  I have no farming experience at all and my husband has a little.  We plan to continue with the hay fields as well as grow a "family" vegetable garden and raising some laying hens.  We would like to approach some local farmers about working our hay fields for now, since we don't have any equipment yet.  We have found our local cooperative extension office to be far from cooperative.  Any suggestions on getting started will be welcome.  Thank you.

Welcome to the Hobby Farms forum!

You don't have to work with the County Extension in your county--if yours isn't helpful, approach County Extension in an adjoining county. If they ask why you aren't dealing with the one in your county--tell 'em.  :o)

Actually, even though the folks at our Sharp County, Arkansas, County Extension are awesome, we've asked for help at the Oregon County, Missouri, Extension (we're only about two miles south of the Missouri-Arkansas state line, at least as the crow flies) and they were also very nice.

Are you thinking of haying on shares or renting your land?

You might want to restate your question under Hobby Farms Discussions, too, as not a lot of folks will see it here. This forum heading is actually just for posting guidelines, though lots of newcomers make the same mistake. :o)

Sue