Mahindra 2615 4WD Gear - Can I Put Up Hay with it

[bobm6996]

Last year we purchased 15 ac. and I had a local farmer till and seed 12ac. for hay. For this year I will have the same farmer cut, rake and bale the hay for me either 50/50 or pay him since we will only get one cutting and we need enough hay to get us to the next year for our horses. Would like to use the next year to begin looking for haying equipment so hopefully next year I can do it myself. It has been many years, but when I was very young a friend and I custom baled hay every year so I have experience, will just have to dig through the cobwebs in my brain to pull it all back. Also, have many friends who farm who will be there to help me get started.

Want at some point to get a bigger tractor, but for now looking for suggestions on what equipment I should look for that my current 26HP tractor can handle. Flat ground, no hills. Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[bigbull338]

the only thing you can do with your currant tractor is pull a rake.you need a 55hp tractor to pull a cutter an square baler.

 

[Tx Jim]

I think you could bale hay with a 35-40 pto tractor but a 26 hp CUT is a little small.

 

[tessiers]

You might be able to do it with old equipment. Sickle mower, ground drive rake and 60 series new holland or equivelant baler could do it. We did hay for years with a farmall H with similar HP. Your problem is going to be weight and the driveline on your tractor. With 4x4 and loader for front weight you should be all right pulling the equipment but the driveline on the compact is pretty light for a baler. Take it easy, reasonable windrows, sharp knives, I would think for the few bales you are going to do you should be alright.

 

[Ed of all trades]

I have baled hay with an old new holland 66 baler and an old farmall A. Would not want to do it every day for 100 ac. but it got us out of a pinch when the 35 hp ford jubilee broke down. Like tessiers said take it easy and you should do fine.

 

[AKfish]

I've been down the road you're on... Tractor with 33hp @ pto; in my case. You can get the job done with your compact 26hp tractor. Probably get by for several years... Three cutting's a year on a good year - probably two cutting's on an average season. Maybe 4 tons/acre yield total for the season. So, that's 48 tons @ 50lbs a bale.. so, you're gonna be in the neighborhood of 2,000 bales.

Three years is 6,000 bales of hay. That's mowing, tedding, raking and baling. And fertilizing, adding lime and spraying weeks. I'm gonna guess that by that point.. the pto clutch on your tractor will be gettin' slower to fully engage. Or maybe it'll be the 2nd stage clutch (engine) that's getting tired. Or the 3pt hitch lift is soft and starts to sag when you don't want it to.

So, you've got a decision to make - get a bigger tractor or fix the one you've got. (But, you've already made the investment in the older, smaller hay equipment...) And, that hay equipment is long-in-the-tooth as well. The older, chain drive balers that will work on 25hp are temperamental and hard to keep consistently baling. The older, sickle mowers are just as temperamental with long hay and any moisture. So, you've got to keep those sections sharp and those guards straight - and find the high clearance guards - if you can.

The more you consider your options - the more you'd like to upgrade those implements, too!

IMO - work out a share agreement with your tenant farmer. Or, if you really want to do your own hay... drive his tractor(s).

AKfish

 

[flusher]

You can do it with your 2615 with only 12 acres.
For plowing, a 6-ft disc with some type of drag to bust up the clods.
Seeding/fertilizing: broadcast seeder followed by a cultipacker
Raking: 5-bar side delivery rake or a newer rotary hay rake
Mowing: 7-ft sicklebar or a new drum mower
Baling: small square two-twine baler (mine is an old Massey Ferguson 124)

As mentioned, old sicklebars can be a real bear to get working properly. Also old balers like my 124 take a lot of TLC.

Good luck

 

[Ted Summey]

We are making hay right now. A sickle mower might not work with the geometry of your 3 pt hitch. The rock shafts that lift the 3 point lift arms maybe too close together for a sickle mower to attach. That is the case with my MX5100. My BIL has an 8 foot disc mower that is used with the M5700. Our sickle mower sits unused under the shed.

Second, your tractor will be fine for teddering and raking hay. I would not want to use a 26 hp modern tractor with a disc mower or for baling unless it is a very heavy tractor (like the Farmalls mentioned above). My 50 hp Kubota and my BIL's 61 HP Kubota do shake a good bit as the bales are packed by the plunger. Yes we mostly do square bales still.

We find that we use three or four tractors when we are making hay on our 65 acres of hay land. One for raking, one for baling and at least one for pulling trailers and wagons.

So my recommendation is to find a good Ford 3000, 4000 or a Massey Ferguson 265 or similar 50 hp+ heavier tractor especially for baling. The alternative would be to hire the mowing and baling and do the teddering and raking yourself.

After all a man needs a couple of tractors around! At least I have my wife convinced of that! LOL

 

[bobm6996]

Thanks so much for the suggestions/advice. I think my plan for now is to ask my friend to cut, rake/tedder and bale the hay for at a minimum this year. I will take the suggestions from you guys and begin shopping around to see what I can find with the tractor being the first order of priority because as @Ted says a man needs a couple tractors around! Once I find the tractor I can then start looking for haying equipment based on the size of the tractor I find. Have been looking around and would love to find an older IH, JD or MF for a reasonable price. I plan on working for another 5 or 6 six years, so my thinking is to get the equipment bought while I am still capable of saving up the money to make the cash purchases. Don't want any payments anymore that just does not fit into the retirement plan. My ultimate goal all along has been to convince the wife that the tractor will be the biggest purchase because I would love to find an older one with a cab, which would be nice to lower the dust while working the hay and would be real nice in the winter. Have seen them out there in the $8-$10k range and I just might be able to swing that price.

 

[aczlan]

I think you could bale hay with a 35-40 pto tractor but a 26 hp CUT is a little small.

Yep. We cut, rake and bale with our L3830 but I wouldn't want to go smaller.

Aaron Z