2016 Hay season started for me.

[powerscol]

Not on purpose for sure.
I adjusted twice for lighter bales during the first 10 or so bales. Thought I had it down to 60 pounders. I will not make that mistake again.

However, have any of you seen the "Rocky Mountain Bale Sweep". Mounts right on the SSQA, sure looks simple. I might invest in that, then the weight won't matter as much.

I looked at it and quickly discovered you cant stack with it and definitely not pull out of a stack to unload the trailer, or get hay out of the barn. Look at how it unloads on a trailer, then think about the limitations of stacking higher and then getting the hay off of the trailer -it cant cross stack either for stability . The unit I have from Kuhns Mfg LLC | Innovation in small square bale handling. will do the same thing. You dont need the separator bars like this one and others have (grapolator, etc). With all the space between bales they leave you cant get a tight fit on you trailer or in the barn. A true grapple can also cross stack - you just build a square and pick it up from the other side. All of the other grapples are SSQA too. Also look at the cost and compare - a bit pricey for my book.

Hope this helps.

 

[cat fever]

I looked at it and quickly discovered you cant stack with it and definitely not pull out of a stack to unload the trailer, or get hay out of the barn. Look at how it unloads on a trailer, then think about the limitations of stacking higher and then getting the hay off of the trailer -it cant cross stack either for stability . The unit I have from Kuhns Mfg LLC | Innovation in small square bale handling. will do the same thing. You dont need the separator bars like this one and others have (grapolator, etc). With all the space between bales they leave you cant get a tight fit on you trailer or in the barn. A true grapple can also cross stack - you just build a square and pick it up from the other side. All of the other grapples are SSQA too. Also look at the cost and compare - a bit pricey for my book.

Hope this helps.

I hear ya. My biggest issue is getting the bale off the ground and on the trailer. I can't fit my tractor in the barn where I keep the hay, so unloading doesn't matter. I can back the trailer in and unload easy enough.
See my limited height.

My building engineer/designer (me) screwed that up big time.

 

[cat fever]

I've seen several different brands of bale grapple/accumulators that mount on FEL. IMHO any type of mechanical bale handling is better than hay hauler's BACK.

Agree 100%.

 

[cat fever]

I remember hauling hay for various farmers as a teenager and one of them would ratchet his up for 100 lb bales. He was a big, big guy and could carry two in one hand but I was at my fighting weight of 175 lb so I got my workout in. But he paid $0.10 more an hour and sent me home with a six pack. Seemed like a good deal.

For about the last 15-18 years I have been buying hay from a local grower. He bales 100-120 pound bales. I'm glad the price also included loading the hay on my trailer. He has the hay grapple and can load 10 at a time.
All I can say is next year I'll have more bales but they WILL be lighter.

 

[Creamer]

I would think that people buying hay would not want such a heavy bale either.

 

[cat fever]

I would think that people buying hay would not want such a heavy bale either.

Ya really, but he's been doing it the same way for a very long time. His family has owned the farm for over 125 years. Grows really good hay. (alfalfa)
I'm just glad to be growing my own - - - - finally!

 

[wmonroe]

For about the last 15-18 years I have been buying hay from a local grower. He bales 100-120 pound bales. I'm glad the price also included loading the hay on my trailer. He has the hay grapple and can load 10 at a time. All I can say is next year I'll have more bales but they WILL be lighter.

Those are heavy bales. I agree with you that a little lighter is better.

 

[powerscol]

I hear ya. My biggest issue is getting the bale off the ground and on the trailer. I can't fit my tractor in the barn where I keep the hay, so unloading doesn't matter. I can back the trailer in and unload easy enough.
See my limited height.
View attachment 472839
My building engineer/designer (me) screwed that up big time.

The grapple I have would work well in your barn as I have the same limitations. When I set the top row I just dont lift up as far and slide out slowly. My unit is more compact than some.

BTW - do you have room to install a taller door? Neighbor down the road just raised his 4 feet by cutting his posts and having it jacked up and adding extensions. Looks a bit funny now with the gap in the sheeting, but I heard he did it for better ventilation.

 

[powerscol]

I hear ya. My biggest issue is getting the bale off the ground and on the trailer. I can't fit my tractor in the barn where I keep the hay, so unloading doesn't matter. I can back the trailer in and unload easy enough.
See my limited height.
View attachment 472839
My building engineer/designer (me) screwed that up big time.

The grapple I have would work well in your barn as I have the same limitations. When I set the top row I just dont lift up as far and slide out slowly. My grapple unit is more compact than some. Then again I noticed my tractor is a bit more compact than your beauty. Maybe you can talk the Miss's into a Bobcat skid steer and grapple that can work in that space - think of the time savings and your health. Then you would have time for more honey does :thumbsup:

BTW - do you have room to install a taller door or have you thought about raising the structure? With a pole barn its not that hard to do.

 

[cat fever]

It would take some work but I'm sure I could raise the barn. Since I have the new barn I just didn't think I would mess with raising the little one. Plus I will only have 2-3 mother cows and calf's to deal with. So how it sits will be fine. As a last resort I can store lots of hay in the big barn. If I move to a round baler that would be my plan.

You can see the difference in the two barns. The little one has water, power and plenty of storage for just a few cows. Plus a good feeding manger. I built it for the exact purpose of feeding just a few cows. Although in my head it was taller.:confused3: