Fodder Shocks

It has been many years since I have seen anyone pulling fodder. As a young child, I remember a few old timers who were still pulling fodder, and that was in the 1940s, when a few small-time farmers were still practicing the old-time farming ways. There was a time many years ago when school would let out when it was harvest time. In the Deep South, all hands were needed in the fields when it was cotton picking time, and in our region that task was pulling fodder.

Beginning in August through September, workers would make their way along rows of corn, stripping corn blades from the stalks. When a medium-sized bundle was pulled, it would be tied using four or five corn blades which were wrapped tightly around the bundle and the ends tucked under the wrap.

If the bundles were smaller in size, they were hung on the ears of corn. If they were too large and heavy, they would be stacked upright six together and later hauled to the barn after they were dry.

Fodder was taken to the barn either by mule, horse-drawn wagons or ground shides (wooden sheds). The fodder was then stacked in the barn loft and used along with hay as fodder for the stock during the long Winter months.

– John Coykendall, Master Gardener