As the great heat of the climate in Palestine and other similarly situated countries soon dries up the herbage itself, hay-making in our sense of the term is not in use. The "king’s mowings," (Amos 7:1) may perhaps refer to some royal right of early pasturage for the use of the cavalry.
Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Mowing
Smith’s Bible Dictionary, William Smith (1863). Public domain, from the CrossWire SWORD module.