Equipment advice

[ikold]

We are haying 30 acres and could use some advice on what equipment to get bang vs buck.

Its 30% alfalfa and the rest is grass hay. Irrigated and we get three cuttings a year.

We need a mower / baler / rake -- What should we get as in what models / years would be best bang for our buck we can spend up to 30k for it all but would prefer to get used equipment and spend less.

We are new to all this so could certainly use some help / advice ...


Our tractor is a 7130 (110 PTO).

 

[JimRB]

Where I live people either do round bales because it is relatively easy to move or they have hay picking up equipment for small squares. It seems that where I live not many people want to hand pick up squares and stack on a trailer. New Holland 1033 Bale Wagons and Retrievers | C & K Equipment Inc. SHERIDAN, WY or search for NH 1033 One of my hay neighbors uses something like this 1038 N H Balew Wagon

What is your goal? Retail sales to horse people sometime like rounds but often small squares.

 

[bigbull338]

you need a cutter an rake for starters.an then you need to decide on what kind of baler you want round or square baler.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Well....You have enough tractor to handle just about any baler, and you have plenty of budget.....

I sell ALL of my hay. In past years, I've been doing all small squares. This year is different. I found out there's a perfectly valid market for big rounds, and that's DEFINATELY easier on the ol' back. I bought a demo Vermeer 5410 Rebel (4'X5') I bale 4' X 4's. They sell really good. I get as much per bale w/4X4 as I do 4X5 and get more bales per cutting that way.

This is also the first year (in more'n 40!) that I'm NOT cutting with a sickle bar mower. I found a nice New Holland 489 moco. (Which still employs sickle bar technology) I'd suggest finding a disc mower with the budget you mention.

Get a good rake and a tedder. Rounds don't require a loader on the tractor, but they make life a LOT easier.

I'd start off by asking around in your area to see what is selling...small squares or big rounds. Then

 

[ikold]

I'll ask around about whats selling, but I would guess that on a per lb basis small squares yield more money but it comes in little amounts. whereas round bales could be all bought at once or taken to the auction and sold, but I'd get less for them. Not sure which is the way to go small squares / rounds...

As for equipment; Sounds like I should shy away from sickle machines and go with a disc machine moco. I'll look for those.

What should a tedder in good shape cost me ?

I'll look at stackwagons too.

 

[ikold]

Can you use a swather to cut winter wheat and bale it into bales ? A neighbor just bought a 40 acre place thats in 40 acres and they asked if we would cut it we could keep all of it. Not sure what I would could do with it...

 

[flusher]

We are haying 30 acres and could use some advice on what equipment to get bang vs buck.

Its 30% alfalfa and the rest is grass hay. Irrigated and we get three cuttings a year.

We need a mower / baler / rake -- What should we get as in what models / years would be best bang for our buck we can spend up to 30k for it all but would prefer to get used equipment and spend less.

We are new to all this so could certainly use some help / advice ...


Our tractor is a 7130 (110 PTO).

Rake: get a rotary rake

Windrow Hay Rakes

There's an interesting TBN thread going now discussing rotary rakes vs wheel rakes

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/ag-tractors-machinery/211762-wheel-rake-vs-rotary-rake.html

Mower: 8-ft disk mower or moco (NH 474 $3500-5000 on eBay)

Baler: for small squares, JD 336 ($3500-5000 used on eBay), NH 269 ($1900-3500 used on eBay)

 

[ikold]

Has anyone ever used a Hesston 1270 Hydroswing ?
What are your thoughts on them ?

J

 

[ikold]

Just bought the Hesston 1270 swather that I looked at and a 4590 baler... No I need to learn how to get them home and set them up...

Anyone in Northern Colorado that wants to teach a new guy how to setup his baler / moco ? There's a free steak dinner in it for you.

 

[DanD78]

That's crazy talk picking square bales up off the ground by hand. We pull a rack wagon behind the baler and stack on the wagon right out of the baler. We have three wagons for this use and they are good for a lot of other things as well.

Dan