Hay Cutting/Baling

[JoeinTX]

rvb, you may be in a tough spot.


I can understand most of the custom operators looking over your operation........too small to worry with and all.


Your little tractor can do pretty much everything except actually baling the hay. It can disc it, plant, cut it.......but I don't think there is a baler out there (unless you invest a few thousand in some of the micro-balers out there on the net) that you can handle.

You need either a bigger tractor and the tools to do so or need to offer more to the custom cutters doing this for a bare profit.

[SPYDERLK]

I have 10 acres. Most of it is grass. I would like to use my large pasture (about 6 acres) to grow hay for my two horses. I've looked for someone to come cut and bale it for me, but have had no luck.

So, I'm wondering... What do I need to do it myself? I have a New Holland TC 30 (30 HP) tractor. Can I do what I want with my tractor? I just bought a FEL with quick attach and pallet forks. I really don't want to have to upgrade, but need to know my rig is viable for hay making.

I use an IH 37 baler on my BX1500. Slow on hills, but still Ok for reasonably tight bales. We dont like them too tight so that excess moisture is not trapped. Our Kubota L2550 28ptoHP tractor has plenty of power to do anything the baler is capable of on any terrain. I also use it to run the 7' Hesston Haybine and the 16' Tedder. The 70HP is total overkill and I only ever use it for the weight when pulling the hay wagon behind the baler. Based on what Im hearing about other balers requiring lots of power and tractor weight I would recommend the IH if you can find one in good condition.
larry

[Mickey_Fx]

Just a little advise, if you do end up with a baler, try and make the bales twice as long as they are wide. This is needed to aid in stacking. Hard to make a decent tight stack if the bales are more than 2x the width. Use bale tension to control the bale weight, not length.