going off the deep end maybe...first time making hay

[prof fate]

So..have a kioti CK3510hst (30 pto hp, 4300lb), bought an old new holland 276 baler, a massey ferguson 26 3 pt rake and have 10-12 acres of pasture to cut. Gonna start wtih third cutting in a few weeks but have a stand of second to try my skills at.

We'll see how this goes.

The rake is old..may be a ferguson it's so old. All the moving parts are good, $365 needs tires and a belt.

The baler is a one owner, bught it off the grandson. it's been garaged for 2 years, lots of welding fixes on the tongue, rough looking on the outside, but i'm assured it works and never had a tie issue. It runs, no noises or weird shaking, everything I can grab or shake seems solid - chains, sprockets, bearings, etc. Only way to really know is to of course run it.

Got a new woodmaxx flail for cutting the hay - with the back door open it doesn't chop it, just leaves it long and lays it down nicely.

 

[powerscol]

Been there - see my old posts. I am pretty sure the flail will not work, but go with it I guess. Its not meant for hay cutting. For your tractor either a cycle mower or drum mower will work for proper hay cutting and not kill you on power. I bale in midrange (540) and just go slow depending on how the baler is loading. I have the clone of your tractor only older. Also running with the back door open can be dangerous. Just my 02 on safety.

Now do you know about proper drying? If not it is a disaster waiting to happen. Hay will mold or worse yet combust at moisture content over 18%. I bale at 10-12%. Be sure to carry a fire extinguisher with you when baling, especially on older equipment. I have a moisture probe for checking the bales, but the ready to bale test is the bicycle twist test. Take a handful of hay from the inside of the windrow . Then using two hands rotate it like the pedals on a bicycle. It should break at 6 revolutions or less. Any more an is too green.I let my hay lay spread out and flat for 2 days before windowing, then in the windrow for at least a day. I also have a tedder to help the drying if needed.

Good luck

PS search Youtube for videos on hay drying and testing.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Since you are making hay in PA , you would be wise to invest in a Tedder.

 

[prof fate]

Been there - see my old posts. I am pretty sure the flail will not work, but go with it I guess. Its not meant for hay cutting. For your tractor either a cycle mower or drum mower will work for proper hay cutting and not kill you on power. I bale in midrange (540) and just go slow depending on how the baler is loading. I have the clone of your tractor only older. Also running with the back door open can be dangerous. Just my 02 on safety.

Now do you know about proper drying? If not it is a disaster waiting to happen. Hay will mold or worse yet combust at moisture content over 18%. I bale at 10-12%. Be sure to carry a fire extinguisher with you when baling, especially on older equipment. I have a moisture probe for checking the bales, but the ready to bale test is the bicycle twist test. Take a handful of hay from the inside of the windrow . Then using two hands rotate it like the pedals on a bicycle. It should break at 6 revolutions or less. Any more an is too green.I let my hay lay spread out and flat for 2 days before windowing, then in the windrow for at least a day. I also have a tedder to help the drying if needed.

Good luck

PS search Youtube for videos on hay drying and testing.

been around hay for 40 years - but never did the whole process. I like the bicycle test - I will have to try that.

Got to start cheap..neighbor has an old sickle mower...may talk to him, may do a tedder. We'll see...been so wet here this year (well, past 2-3) that getting hay in, keeping it dry, had been a challenge to near impossible. We just had 7 day days - first time since sept 2016 we've had more than 5 in a row. Last year was a record wet year and so far this year we're on pace to set yet another record.

Had rain tuesday - 2" on my rain gage..now prdicting 7 more dry days. Some farmers are just NOW doing this FIRST cutting...august!

 

[Trillium Farm]

If you go with a sickle mower get yourself a hay conditioner or else making good hay may never be possible, in view of the weather nowadays.

 

[thekkfan]

Skip the sickle and the flail. In your moist environment and short time frames, you need a haybine to crimp it soon as its cut. You can get reliable good running 7' machines for $1200-$2000. Look for wear at the wobble boxes and the condition of the rollers- no big cracks, splits or chunks. they will all cause wrapping of the hay when it goes through the rollers rather than passing out the rear.

You will easily reduce dry time by one day (and extra tractor fuel trying to ted it to dry) by crimping it while cutting.

Why anyone would want to cut with a sickle, then hit it with a conditioner in a second pass is beyond me. Maybe you have plenty of time on your hands..... :confused3:

 

[Trillium Farm]

Skip the sickle and the flail. In your moist environment and short time frames, you need a haybine to crimp it soon as its cut. You can get reliable good running 7' machines for $1200-$2000. Look for wear at the wobble boxes and the condition of the rollers- no big cracks, splits or chunks. they will all cause wrapping of the hay when it goes through the rollers rather than passing out the rear.
You will easily reduce dry time by one day (and extra tractor fuel trying to ted it to dry) by crimping it while cutting.
Why anyone would want to cut with a sickle, then hit it with a conditioner in a second pass is beyond me. Maybe you have plenty of time on your hands..... :confused3:

He wants to keep the cost down, but IMO if you don't go with modern tools you're waisting time & money. Tools don't have to be new, but nobody can say that a discbine will not shave at least one day off drying and depending on circumstances a tedder or/and a rotary rake another day (maybe). Maybe he only wants to make hay for his own use and doesn't care how good it is.

 

[aczlan]

Been there - see my old posts. I am pretty sure the flail will not work, but go with it I guess. Its not meant for hay cutting. For your tractor either a cycle mower or drum mower will work for proper hay cutting and not kill you on power. I bale in midrange (540) and just go slow depending on how the baler is loading. I have the clone of your tractor only older. Also running with the back door open can be dangerous. Just my 02 on safety.

Meh, it's not going to be any more dangerous than running a discbine.
Width will be narrower though.

Now do you know about proper drying? If not it is a disaster waiting to happen. Hay will mold or worse yet combust at moisture content over 18%. I bale at 10-12%. Be sure to carry a fire extinguisher with you when baling, especially on older equipment. I have a moisture probe for checking the bales, but the ready to bale test is the bicycle twist test. Take a handful of hay from the inside of the windrow . Then using two hands rotate it like the pedals on a bicycle. It should break at 6 revolutions or less. Any more an is too green.

A moisture probe is MUCH cheaper than a new barn, or a vet bill for an animal that couldn't handle mouldy hay.

I let my hay lay spread out and flat for 2 days before windowing, then in the windrow for at least a day. I also have a tedder to help the drying if needed.

We cut with a sickle mower conditioner (NH 469 IIRC), then tedd right away, then tedd 1-2 more times depending on how fast it dries down.

Since you are making hay in PA , you would be wise to invest in a Tedder.

Yep, we couldn't get hay in without one.

He wants to keep the cost down, but IMO if you don't go with modern tools you're waisting time & money. Tools don't have to be new, but nobody can say that a discbine will not shave at least one day off drying and depending on circumstances a tedder or/and a rotary rake another day (maybe). Maybe he only wants to make hay for his own use and doesn't care how good it is.

A discbine will also need a lot of HP and is expensive to buy. Probably worth it, but perhaps not for a small plot.

Aaron Z

 

[thekkfan]

Bologna! He can run a 7 ft Haybine with 30 pto hp no problem, and his tractor weight is fine also.

I also said haybine (sickle) not a disc bine.

How is he gonna be cheaper by buying a flail and then a conditioner? He's in PA, which is gonna be very hard to get drying done without a conditioner or crimp as it was cut is going to add AT LEAST an extra day. Here we cut and crimp same time, then can tedd later in the day. Tedd tomorrow morning and bale (under good weather obviously).

 

[zzvyb6]

I used to run a NH479 haybine with a 22hp yanmar tractor. No live power just 1 clutch position, wheels and pto. A NH 55 rake can be pulled with an ATV. I also ran a JD 14T baler with the yanmar.

I now have a 35 HP JD1070, 2 stage clutch. Same mower, rake and baler. Added a NH 1012 stackwagon to the machinery inventory. No problems, ever.

Tried a new procedure this year. In stead of cutting around the outside of the field a few rows and then mowing rows inward. I started in the middle of the field and cut sequential rows outward. My plan was to cut at my baling speed. That's because my baler puts out a bale every 12-14 seconds (1 flake per plunge and 1 plunge per second). My stackwagon can hold 56 bales plus another 8 on the second table without lifting them. My customers can fit 50 - 64 bales in their truck and trailer combinations, so I mow for 16 minutes and bale for 16 minutes (same ground speed and same path for each machine). In my fields, that means 6 rows at 10 bales per row. I run the stacker backwards on this path. This gives me 60 - 64 bales that a customer hauls away when I return from the field. No more loading into a haymow ! The cut rows are straight, the machinery is happy and there is no more overlap of crooked rows. I do 2 fields the same way each day and 2 customers show up to haul it away. They pay cash and the only problem now is forgetting to take my wallet and my phone out of my pants when tossing them into the washer.

BTW, I get much better hay by setting the mower to windrow and do NOT rake it. The baler picks up the dry hay from the windrow created by the mower. It takes me 2 - 3 80+ degree days to get nice and crunchy hay. I was told once a long time ago that you should be able to hear the hay crackle when it enters the baler throat. And, It does !