Rookie farmer gets first Hay Baled - yippee !

[Dave5264]

OK, for those of you who have done hay for years, this is likely no big deal.

to me, and those who have just done this for the first time, its a big win !

After grenading and subsequently fixing my Baler 2 weeks ago, the weather looked ok for 3 days of sun...so I went for it.

So I got about 5 Acres (of 40) hayed on the weekend, cut friday and raked /baled by EOD on Sunday. got about 120 square bales off.

Friday started a bit rough, went to hook up the Hay-Bine and the PTO shaft was 4" too short for my tractor (lesson learned - try out the equipment well in advance) so I had to rush out and get a PTO shaft extension.

then, Im off to the field, I turn off the Driveway and subsequently jack-knife the Tractor and haybine. After getting too close to the pasture fence, i tried reversing it... it seems they dont like reversing out of a tight 150 degree hair pin (with a newbie at the wheel). After disconnecting the bine, draggin it out backwards, we got hooked up again.

Cutting time...well...i know the first time around the fiield is supposed to be counter clockwise...but....being my first time pulling this machine, and that 2 sides of the filed are bounded by a winding river/creek, i decided to go clockwise, (and I pre bush hogged 10' from the river bank in advance). No point in dumpin' a haybine in the water.

the first 2 rounds of the field -- MESSY -- lots of mohawk stripes and un cut corners.

After that -- I got the hang of it and it was all good.

Raking on sunday was great, the side rake is A much more placid and non threatening piece of machinery.

Baler - well I held my breath for a couple of hrs, after breaking it 2 weeks ago and taking 3 days to figure out how it worked and fixing it, I desperately wanted it to go well....and it did.

So....I have a couple of questions based on the weekend events.

1) Cutting -- after I get 3 or 4 rounds of the outside cut...im supposed to be able to go back and forth in a straight line (I didnt). If i want to try that, do I drive through the Un cut hay? or the cut hay? or does that depend on if im goin gup field or down ? (I just kept going round and worked my way to the middle).

if i go in a straigh line, do I always turn to the right ? ...ie the cut area keeps widening from the center out ?

2) the bales -- I got the baler adjusted to a reasonable desity and bale size. but....I have no hay wagon (we picked them up with an ATV and a Trailer) so they fall off the baler and they seem to bend after the land. if I lift them off the baler, no bending. they are sturdy, you can stand on them with no problem

Is that bending to be expected? ie let them fall off the baler from 4-5' up and thats what you get or am i missing something? I did check the manual for misshaped bales, but my feed is consistent and windrows are good. and the bales look great coming out the baler. Its just after they "land"



----


At the end of the day, nothing like looking at a pile of bales in the barn from your own land ! what a great feeling of accomplishment

thanks to everyone who provided the How to advice a few months ago and thos that gave guidance on fixing the Baler

 

[MMagis]

It’s been a long time since I’ve done any haying, but I can tell you what I remember. There are others here who will likely be more help.
I always went in a clockwise circle after the first pass around. I’ve never seen anyone going back and forth. You don’t want to drive through uncut grass.
It sounds like your bales aren’t as tight as they could be if they’re bending when hitting the ground. We seldom had to let them drop, but did on occasion. Only the loose ones would bend.

 

[flusher]

The recommended cutting procedure is to mow the first pass clockwise with the tractor near the edge of the hayfield and the mower extending toward the center of the field. So the tractor runs over uncut hay on the first circuit. Then reverse direction and cut the hay near the edge of the field. Now you're ready to cut the rest of the field. Mow with the tractor running on the already mowed hay with the right front wheel of the tractor running along the edge of the unmowed crop (assuming the track of the front and rear wheels is the same).

I mow in a squared off continuous spiral with my 7ft MF31 sicklebar mower like you did with your haybine. My neighbor uses a different method. He has a swather with a 14-ft wide head centered on the machine. So he opens the field as described above, but instead of a continuous spiral cut, he mows a row, raises the head, pivots the swather 180 deg (on a dime) to reverse direction, lowers the head and mows the next row.

I assume your knotter is making tight knots so your loose bale problem is not knot-related (no pun intended). If so, you need to increase the tensioner setting so your bales are tighter. If that doesn't work, you may have to add wedge type resistors to the baling chamber to tighten up the bales. Also check the hay dogs in your baling chamber--they may be loaded with crud that's impairing their proper operation.

 

[Bob Ha]

I did my first cutting ever this weekend also. Got 30 round bales of bermuda. It was hot and was so happy when fisished. Went to town to get some twin for the baler and someone told me that a 60 year man died after being in the fields all day and went inside to cool off and died of a heart attack. Makes me wonder if my 76 year old dad should be helping but he insists on doing it. Brings back his childhood and loves every minute. Congrats on your first cut!

 

[Dave5264]

Thanks, ill experiment more with the tension, I actually backed it off a bit since they were so darn heavy when I started.

thanks for the congrats Bob, same to you.

 

[zzvyb6]

Cut the 1st (outside) round in a counterclockwise direction. Go slower if there is a fence there so you don't snag the wire or posts. Then do the next round clockwise using the mower shoe as a guide to line it up with the edge of the first round. This gives you 2 'rounds' that most folks then rake into 1 windrow and that how its baled (2 into 1). After that, cut strips using the longest direction on both sides of the field, always going clockwise. If the field is very wide, cut another straight section in the middle. This basically divides the field into multiple sections so you don't have to traverse the end sections as often. As an aid, use Google Earth of Bing satellite maps to section up your field. Use trees or flags on the fences to help keep the cut sectons rectangular.

When you rake, I always recommend the 2 into one windrowing because it alows you the freedom to go in any direction with the baler without bumping into bales on the ground. If the cutting is light, do 3 into one. This saves fuel even though you will probably use a slower ground speed to bale.

The banana bales come about because they are still in the bale compression case when they are at the end of the baler. Add another drop pan to the end of the baler (even plywood will do). Hang it using a chain or chains and let the end come pretty close to the ground. The downward incline (decline) will stop the bale bending.

Feels good, doesn't it? A new set of skills, family help, 'free feed' for the critters, sell the extra, and a good nights rest.

Don't ever be in a hurry. That's how mistakes are made, parts broken and people killed or maimed. Watch out for the loose string loops if you bale broken bales or loose hay with the baler stationary. People try to kick it in with their feet. If you get a twine loop caught in your boot, it may pull you in.

If you have a wagon hitch bar on the baler, just put a ball in it and hook the trailer up. I've used a 4 place snowmobile trailer on the back of the baler with some helpers to ease the field retrieval. Its a lot easier to back the baler + trailer system up if you have this kind of rig rather than a real haywagon with a turntable or hitch bar steered front axle.

 

[Dave5264]

ZZVYB6, agree, I made a very explicit effort no to rush.

I actually mowed 10 acres but I only raked and baled 5 for 2 reasons:

1) I couldnt rake and Bale 10 acres inthe time I had'
2) the qulaity of the hay wasnt as goo inthe center section of the field

I looked upon this first attempt as my training field, workin gmy way towards the final 15-20 acres which is the best quality hay.

I have a hitch bar on the Baler, I was going to put a ball on it and use my 2 place snowmobile trailer for the hay ( it works for now.), but I only had my ATV to tow it once its full, and more than 20 bales makes it tough going.

 

[dmay]

1) Cutting -- after I get 3 or 4 rounds of the outside cut...im supposed to be able to go back and forth in a straight line (I didnt). If i want to try that, do I drive through the Un cut hay? or the cut hay? or does that depend on if im goin gup field or down ? (I just kept going round and worked my way to the middle).

Sounds like you did it right. If your mower sticks out the right side, you cut in a clockwise circumference. This way you just follow your last cut 'driveway' working your way into the center. Then tidy up the center as best you can. Your last cut should be counter-clockwise to get the last remaining outside edge. Some people do this first. Choose your personal preference.

2) the bales -- I got the baler adjusted to a reasonable desity and bale size. but....I have no hay wagon (we picked them up with an ATV and a Trailer) so they fall off the baler and they seem to bend after the land. if I lift them off the baler, no bending. they are sturdy, you can stand on them with no problem

Is that bending to be expected? ie let them fall off the baler from 4-5' up and thats what you get or am i missing something?

What is at the rear of your baler that has the bales exiting 4-5 ft off the ground? Share a pic of the rear of your baler. This is WAY to high. You want your rear chute exit rails to be less then half that height off the ground. You dont have a bale kicker on the end do you? Maybe you need to add a 1/4 turn bale chute? This sits about a foot of the ground.

 

[Dave5264]

What is at the rear of your baler that has the bales exiting 4-5 ft off the ground? Share a pic of the rear of your baler. This is WAY to high. You want your rear chute exit rails to be less then half that height off the ground. You dont have a bale kicker on the end do you? Maybe you need to add a 1/4 turn bale chute? This sits about a foot of the ground.

Baler has 2 sections of Ramp/chute (no turns) that I have tilting up (as if they should be resting on a Wagon), If not tilted up otherwise they drag on the ground . No kicker

Maybe thats better than a 4' drop ?. Ive tried adjusting the length of the chains that hold the ramp sections, however as soon as those sections get to be too flat (2' parallel to the ground) , they end up folding back and dragging any way.

Im away from the Fram just now so no pics

 

[MMagis]

More than once I dropped bales off the top of a stacked wagon. As long as the bales were nice and tight they were fine.