Tx Jim
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Mark
Did you ever get any of your Sudan crimped & dry enough to bale?
Jim
Did you ever get any of your Sudan crimped & dry enough to bale?
Jim
TexasMark hay????
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Texasmark
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Jim this is the biggest mess I have ever encountered in the haying business for the last 35 years.
1. I couldn't cut the hay when it was shorter due to the wet spring. So it wound up over 7' tall, even though it was not even in the boot stage and stems were small. I mean it looked really impressive but geez, got to do something with it when it's time to cut and bale.
2. I got it cut with my drum mower which was a "walk in the park" as the pictures show, but the volume was overwhelming for the follow-on processing.
3. I initially tried to crimp it the day after cutting with an IH 404 crimper and it just didn't work due to wet product wrapping around the crimping rollers. So I put it off a couple of days. In addition, the stubble wasn't of the consistency whereby it would put the product high enough for the crimper to pick it all up. So I had to rake it into a windrow and fluf it up to have any success at all. Didn't get much of that done that day.
4. The weather folks said things were going to dry out, but yesterday morning we got 2" of rain on it. I thought that even though the rain came and it was hot and dry today, it had dried enough and I could crimp it but there was still too much moisture in all of it and after 4 clogs, having to cut the product from the rollers I finally gave up and came to the shop and started working crossword puzzles.....the easy ones.
So now, my current feeling is that this crap will just rot in the field before I go back out there and attempt to make something out of it. However since I am a results oriented guy, this will be a challenge for me to wait it out.
Next year, if I don't sprig this patch in Coastal Bermuda over next spring, if I do another Haygrazer crop as I said I will plant it later and harvest it dry. If I only get one cutting no biggie as I have learned that once you incorporate fertilizer into the soil, if you don't remove it via plants, or heavy rains don't wash it away, it will just stay there for when you need it. But watch; next year we will be back in the drought, dry winter and spring and if you wait too late to plane you are just wasting your money and time.
Oh well, so goes farming.
Thanks for the input Jim.
Mark
1. I couldn't cut the hay when it was shorter due to the wet spring. So it wound up over 7' tall, even though it was not even in the boot stage and stems were small. I mean it looked really impressive but geez, got to do something with it when it's time to cut and bale.
2. I got it cut with my drum mower which was a "walk in the park" as the pictures show, but the volume was overwhelming for the follow-on processing.
3. I initially tried to crimp it the day after cutting with an IH 404 crimper and it just didn't work due to wet product wrapping around the crimping rollers. So I put it off a couple of days. In addition, the stubble wasn't of the consistency whereby it would put the product high enough for the crimper to pick it all up. So I had to rake it into a windrow and fluf it up to have any success at all. Didn't get much of that done that day.
4. The weather folks said things were going to dry out, but yesterday morning we got 2" of rain on it. I thought that even though the rain came and it was hot and dry today, it had dried enough and I could crimp it but there was still too much moisture in all of it and after 4 clogs, having to cut the product from the rollers I finally gave up and came to the shop and started working crossword puzzles.....the easy ones.
So now, my current feeling is that this crap will just rot in the field before I go back out there and attempt to make something out of it. However since I am a results oriented guy, this will be a challenge for me to wait it out.
Next year, if I don't sprig this patch in Coastal Bermuda over next spring, if I do another Haygrazer crop as I said I will plant it later and harvest it dry. If I only get one cutting no biggie as I have learned that once you incorporate fertilizer into the soil, if you don't remove it via plants, or heavy rains don't wash it away, it will just stay there for when you need it. But watch; next year we will be back in the drought, dry winter and spring and if you wait too late to plane you are just wasting your money and time.
Oh well, so goes farming.
Thanks for the input Jim.
Mark
OP
Tx Jim
New Member
Mark
Sorry to hear about your problems. At what ground speed are you trying to pull crimper? Sometimes it helps the crimper wrapping issue if you go faster. Do you have any neighbors that wrap baleage?? If so you might get them to wrap it.
Jim
Sorry to hear about your problems. At what ground speed are you trying to pull crimper? Sometimes it helps the crimper wrapping issue if you go faster. Do you have any neighbors that wrap baleage?? If so you might get them to wrap it.
Jim
Texasmark
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Initially I started with my Ford 2000 which has 4 sp and a tranny driven PTO. Needed the separation of PTO and ground speed.
So next I got out the 3000 which has Live PTO and 6 speeds. That worked a lot better but due to the fact that I have an irregular field, I wound up with clumps where the wads were huge and even thought I stopped the tractor to let it digest what it had, with 6-7' stems it would reach out and pull in more thus jamming up.
I did get the first lap rolled over and crimped as it was cut a day earlier than the rest and was drier. Convinced letting it dry out will solve the problem.
I think the baling part will be on the order of a row or so at a time, giving me time to rake out the next row(s), crimp them, re-rake them and then bale. That way I will have room to spread out the piled up corners. If I had a long rectangular field it wouldn't be as bad a problem trying to get it all up and crimped but I have an irregular square(ish) field with 2 of the 4 corners in the order of 120 degrees.
But I'm retired and have lots of time. Tractors are very fuel efficient so diesel is not a problem.
Will keep you posted.
Thanks,
Mark
So next I got out the 3000 which has Live PTO and 6 speeds. That worked a lot better but due to the fact that I have an irregular field, I wound up with clumps where the wads were huge and even thought I stopped the tractor to let it digest what it had, with 6-7' stems it would reach out and pull in more thus jamming up.
I did get the first lap rolled over and crimped as it was cut a day earlier than the rest and was drier. Convinced letting it dry out will solve the problem.
I think the baling part will be on the order of a row or so at a time, giving me time to rake out the next row(s), crimp them, re-rake them and then bale. That way I will have room to spread out the piled up corners. If I had a long rectangular field it wouldn't be as bad a problem trying to get it all up and crimped but I have an irregular square(ish) field with 2 of the 4 corners in the order of 120 degrees.
But I'm retired and have lots of time. Tractors are very fuel efficient so diesel is not a problem.
Will keep you posted.
Thanks,
Mark
Texasmark
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2:24 PM update from this morning's crying spell.
Around here the good-ole-boys have a sayin: "When in doubt, whop-it-out".
Okaye. "Whop" what out? ...................er ah the Tedder, what else? Grin.......
Okaye. Since I had exhausted all other alternatives and it looked like this once beautiful crop was going to wind up in the garbage, I got out the little 2 basket Morra Tedder I bought from ASC about 8 or so years ago for $1400ish.
So the weather is finally holding with Southerly breezes and nice sunshine, tired of working crosswords and just wanted "closure" on this mess........ I got her out.
While doing the job which went without flaw, even though I had some huge wads of half cured hay (the little Morra just blew right through it) I realized something:
The nice, soft, succulent stems that were young enough to not be into the flax stage as yet, at 6-7 feet long had to pass through the passageway between the two baskets at a pretty high rate of speed.......dahhhhhhhh the old brain it working and all. The basket fingers overlap about 4 or so inches. Any stiff item that was subjected to this vortex would have to conform, aka, be Zeed by the overlap.
Brain still in high gear.....you don't suppose I am getting crimping plus dispersion so that I don't have to rake and then come back with the 404 crimper and then rake and then bale?
So I get off the 2000 and pick up a discharged wad and lo and behold, it is nicely crimped about every 6 inches.
Now after it dries, all I have to do is rake and bale weather permitting.
Life is good after all my man. Just never know where you are going to get your breaks.
"Beins" (local jargon for since) you are in the business, you may come upon a situation where this little tidbit may be of interest to you and your pocket book.
Mark
Around here the good-ole-boys have a sayin: "When in doubt, whop-it-out".
Okaye. "Whop" what out? ...................er ah the Tedder, what else? Grin.......
Okaye. Since I had exhausted all other alternatives and it looked like this once beautiful crop was going to wind up in the garbage, I got out the little 2 basket Morra Tedder I bought from ASC about 8 or so years ago for $1400ish.
So the weather is finally holding with Southerly breezes and nice sunshine, tired of working crosswords and just wanted "closure" on this mess........ I got her out.
While doing the job which went without flaw, even though I had some huge wads of half cured hay (the little Morra just blew right through it) I realized something:
The nice, soft, succulent stems that were young enough to not be into the flax stage as yet, at 6-7 feet long had to pass through the passageway between the two baskets at a pretty high rate of speed.......dahhhhhhhh the old brain it working and all. The basket fingers overlap about 4 or so inches. Any stiff item that was subjected to this vortex would have to conform, aka, be Zeed by the overlap.
Brain still in high gear.....you don't suppose I am getting crimping plus dispersion so that I don't have to rake and then come back with the 404 crimper and then rake and then bale?
So I get off the 2000 and pick up a discharged wad and lo and behold, it is nicely crimped about every 6 inches.
Now after it dries, all I have to do is rake and bale weather permitting.
Life is good after all my man. Just never know where you are going to get your breaks.
"Beins" (local jargon for since) you are in the business, you may come upon a situation where this little tidbit may be of interest to you and your pocket book.
Mark
OP
Tx Jim
New Member
Just be sure it's dry before you bale it or you will have rd bales that resemble TOBACCO!!!
Texasmark
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Hear you man. Just gotta wait it out. Looks like the weather will hold till Thurs. where there is a 20% chance of rain. Then clear again. Promised myself I'd sit tight today and tomorrow and look at Tue and Wed to to the baling.....if it's ready. If not I'll do what is as some is thinner and curing faster, and if some gets rained on again Thurs then I guess it gets rained on.
Thanks,
Mark
Thanks,
Mark
OP
Tx Jim
New Member
I'll take rained on cured/dried hay any day over uncured/tobacco/burn't looking in a bale rolled up to beat a rain hay.
Texasmark
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As a Johnny Come Lately to the farm scene it took me awhile to realize the importance of what you said. I am doing the best to control my "results oriented" self and wait for the quality product, not to just "get-r-done. As time and experience passes, it's getting easier.
I said I would stay off the field but this afternoon I came back (farmer lust syndrome) with the tedder and gave it another working over. Weather was perfect and with a nice Southerly breeze wasn't all that hot. Going to lay off tomorrow and Tuesday I will start in on it. It will take a few days as I am going to get the dry part and let the other dry more. No doubt, even with these huge wads of long stem product, getting the weight and "glue" of the water out of the hay really makes a difference in getting it to scatter without clogs.
I know Eli Whitney is famous for the Cotton Gin and I know not who fathered the idea of the Tedder but he/she needs to be right up there with Eli. The Tedder saved this crop.
Mark
Texasmark
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Since I had hay everywhere and where to start, I thought I'd ww the first round and bale it getting it out of the way so that I could start to work the rest.
The ww was so high that it repeatedly got tangled up in the baler tongue so I ran down it with the tires on the 2000 to flatten it and then made a shield like I think I saw in the 1209 owner's manual to deflect the hay.
I got half way around the field and realized this just wasn't working. The hay was scattered all over the field with mounds here and there, especially around the 2 bad corners. It was plentiful and not too high. I wondered if the pickup on the 375 could reach out and pull in from the sides without it getting all tangled up.
I guess the long stems helped on this one as I got about 40% of the field baled yesterday afternoon without a hitch. Interesting thing, maybe due to stems again, maybe just because the mouth had plenty of hay to fill it, but the bales are the best looking bales I did yet with this baler.
One thing I did notice however, my little Cummins worked it's fanny off as with the hot afternoon, AC, hyd. fluid cooling coil, and amount of hay the baler was digesting, she ran around center scale on the temp gauge and slightly above, having never done that before.
So, I guess there is light at the end of the tunnel.
I thought you might be interested in this method of baling when and if you get into a similar situation, if you haven't already tried it in the past. One thing for sure. The throat on the JD works, being it open or closed; assume open.
Mark
The ww was so high that it repeatedly got tangled up in the baler tongue so I ran down it with the tires on the 2000 to flatten it and then made a shield like I think I saw in the 1209 owner's manual to deflect the hay.
I got half way around the field and realized this just wasn't working. The hay was scattered all over the field with mounds here and there, especially around the 2 bad corners. It was plentiful and not too high. I wondered if the pickup on the 375 could reach out and pull in from the sides without it getting all tangled up.
I guess the long stems helped on this one as I got about 40% of the field baled yesterday afternoon without a hitch. Interesting thing, maybe due to stems again, maybe just because the mouth had plenty of hay to fill it, but the bales are the best looking bales I did yet with this baler.
One thing I did notice however, my little Cummins worked it's fanny off as with the hot afternoon, AC, hyd. fluid cooling coil, and amount of hay the baler was digesting, she ran around center scale on the temp gauge and slightly above, having never done that before.
So, I guess there is light at the end of the tunnel.
I thought you might be interested in this method of baling when and if you get into a similar situation, if you haven't already tried it in the past. One thing for sure. The throat on the JD works, being it open or closed; assume open.
Mark