Cutting and Bailing Hay

[Paystar]

I'm no farmer and am curious. We have two new threads today about preparing the field planting hay, now I'm wondering......for a very small operation what is the smallest implements for cutting and bailing hay on the market. I'd like to see what is available and how small a tractor you could get away with.

 

[capt_met]

the smallest i have come across are the BCS two wheel tractors with implements. they have a small round bailer. not sure for a ride on tractor.
here is a link http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/

 

[tessiers]

Hay was cut for years using sicle bar mowers on tractors like the farmall cub at under 15 HP. Sicle bars are relatively cheap and do not require much power. There are even some old ground driven sicle's available if you look hard enough. Rakes and Tedders are a dime a dozen and ground driven ones are easy to find and even PTO driven ones don't require much power. We raked 5000 bales per year with a 23 hp 8N for years and Years. The Baler is the hard part. With small windrows and reasonable speeds you can run an old baler with a 30 hp tractor but a little more would be better. There are also small baler available at www.smallfarminnovations.com, although I have never seen them or tried one out. A friend of mine actually mowes his hay with a bush hog and although it is chopped a little finer he swears by it. On the farm (50 head Dairy plus sell about 300 tons per year) we mowed with a 80 HP tractor Tedd and rake with a 45 HP and Baled with a 80 HP tractor.

Bottom line I would feel comfortable with a 30 HP tractor if you are not in a hurry 45 would be better if you could swing it. In todays day and age of bigger and better I am sure others will have different opinions.

 

[flusher]

I'm no farmer and am curious. We have two new threads today about preparing the field planting hay, now I'm wondering......for a very small operation what is the smallest implements for cutting and bailing hay on the market. I'd like to see what is available and how small a tractor you could get away with.

I have 10 acres--6 acres available for a hayfield. So I qualify as "very small". All my haying stuff is used. Very few small haying operations can afford the price of new haying equipment.

Mowing: I have three sicklebars--

---a 7-ft 3pt hitch variety (a Massey Ferguson 41, $550 at a local auction a few months ago)

---a 7-ft pull type sicklebar (Allis Chalmers 80T, $150 from a neighbor)

The 80T is shown attached to my 2008 Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto) which is overkill for this mower. I could easily handle it with the 1951 Minneapolis Moline BF (27 hp engine) that I'm restoring now. Same goes for the MF-41 sicklebar

--- a Farmall Super A (23 hp engine, 18 hp pto) with a 6-ft mid-mount sicklebar mower ($1300). CalTrans used this mower for highway mowing.

My baler is a Massey Ferguson 124 two-twine small square baler

The MF-124 baler is speced at 30 hp pto (min), but there's a YouTube video showing this size baler being operated by a Super A.

YouTube - FARMALL Super A

Of course, mowing and baling are only part of the haying story. You need tillage, planting, spraying and bale handling equipment also.

 

[Duffster]

The MF-124 baler is speced at 30 hp pto (min), but there's a YouTube video showing this size baler being operated by a Super A.

How does it pull with your pickup?

 

[flusher]

How does it pull with your pickup?

It's slow going and difficult to hook up the baler's pto.

 

[Rara Avis]

Small Acreage Haying Equipment...
AGRIQUIP.com :: Star

 

[BeezFun]

I'd think about making stacks rather than bales for a small field. We used a sickle mower and a dump rake to put in windrows. Then piled it into stacks either in the field or on wagons to haul to the barn. I guess you could make a pile in the back of a pickup. There's a trick to making stacks in the field so they shed water properly, if you don't do it right they can get moldy or start themselves on fire. But to answer your question, even the smallest tractors can operate a sickle mower and a dump rake. Put some forks on the front bucket and lift whatever amount you can, as high as you can. We had special hay forks for the tractor that had wooden tines and stuck out very far in front so you got a lot higher lift and could make really tall stacks.

 

[Mingy]

I bought a 9' haybine, a large round baler and a tedder (all used) and cut my hay with my L3010 (30HP). Although I was warned I'd destroy the tractor and probably kill myself, I had no problem at all with such a small tractor.

Probably if I had a lot of hills it would be challenging. Also, at the time I didn't hay a haywagon, and pulling a fully loaded hay wagon with a small tractor is dangerous.

Besides that, as noted, the need for power comes when you want to plant or re-seed. You can pay somebody to prep your field, if you want.

 

[HayDR]

The CCM T135 Drum mower needs only 20 PTO Hp and will mow any hay crop in any conditions as fast as a you can ride your tractor.