I'd like to try my hand at making hay. I have a tractor, & a rotary cutter
, but am curious how cheaply I could give it a try?
What would I need? I'd prefer the square (rectangular) bales vs the big, round jelly-rolls.
Is this a situation where the "cost-to-enter-the-market" is so astronomical you'd never "just give it a try"?
A rotary cutter (i.e. brush hog) is not the best hay mower. A sicklebar, disc mower or drum mower is much better. The rotary cutter will chop the hay and fling it around instead of cutting it cleanly and allowing it to drop onto the stubble. It's important that the hay lay on the stubble, not on the ground, so it dries quickly.
I have 10 acres, 6 of which I plan oats (plant in Nov, harvest the following May). Here's a list of my equipment:
Tractor--2008 Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto, 2WD, gear tranny), FEL with 6-ft bucket. Cost new: $19K. The photo shows the 5525 pulling a 10-ft wide grain drill--an old Minneapolis Moline P3-6 drill. Cost: $275 for two units. Used parts from both drills to make one good one. Drilling seed generally is preferred to broadcast seeding because of the better germination (90% for drilling, 60% for broadcast). You can improve broadcast seeding germination somewhat by using a cultipacker to press the seed into the soil.
Probably the best seeders are Brillion and Landpride seeders which are drop seeders with dual cultipackers.
Offset disc- pull type 6-1/2 ft for primary tilling. Cost: free (gift from a neighbor). I had to replace a few pans (the discs) and lube it. I built a simple drag out of old tires or a hunk of chain link fence with concrete weights to bust up the clods.
If you're doing annuals like oats, beardless wheat, etc. you don't need to work the soil deep with a moldboard plow- 3-4 inches with a disc is sufficient. However, if you plan to do a perennial like alfalfa, which is deep rooted, you need to plow deeply or rip the soil to break through the hardpan so the roots can get established.
Tandem disc - pull type 7 ft for secondary tilling. Cost: $200. YOu can get 3pt hitch type tandem discs.
Mower: 7-ft Massey Ferguson model 31 sicklebar mower. Cost: $550. Put about $150 in new parts into that mower. Rebuilt it 3 times. It still doesn't cut perfectly. You can find refurbished sicklebars but expect to pay $2-3K for them. New ones are $5K or more.
I plan to get a drum mower next year and junk the sicklebar.
Rake: mine is an old John Deere 350 model (3pt hitch type) 5-bar side delivery rake. Cost: $800. These side delivery rakes are being replaced by wheel rakes and rotary rakes nowadays.
I'm looking for a wheel rake (4 wheels) for next haying season.
Baler: mine is 1970s Massey Ferguson 124 2-twine small squares baler. Cost: $2000. Works OK.
Hope this helps.
Good luck.
