Didn't say you were wrong, just said it was odd that I had never had any trouble doing anything with hay without the pitchfork..
Sorry if it came out sounding like I did...
-shrugs-
Anyway, I went out and purchased a pitchfork on LC, and nothing changed when I crafted or fed.
Hmm does seem like a maybe unused/soon to have a purpose tool to me. 
Added (2013-05-01, 6:06 PM)
---------------------------------------------
Just asked two mods if the pitchfork really had a use.
One said yes, can't craft hay without it. Other said they didn't know.
lol
Seems I'm an oddball because I was able to craft hay without having the tool, and now since I have it, it's fixed itself.
-mutters about coding language she doesn't understand-
So maybe you DO need it to craft hay. Unless of course you're like me...