Patches of unplowed prairie that persist in the Poteau River Valley do so because they have been (and are being) used as hay meadows. Repeated mowing can tend to favor grasses over forbs, and farmers prefer hay with more grasses and less wildflowers. But without this haying history it is unlikely any of these prairie fields would remain. Pictured is a horse (or mule) powered baler that belongs to Wes Pickle. The baler would be set up in a field and the hay had to be brought to the baler. Someone would stand over and feed the baler by hand as the mules turned the whole apparatus in a circle. We will visit Wes’s hay meadow that his family has been mowing for over 100 years on our Nuttall field trip June 3.