What equipment for small scale hay?

[bucktaker]

The one piece of the puzzle left out is time...
You must make hay when the weather is right not when you have time.
You should mow it right after the dew is off, Tedder while still damp, rake it 2-3 days after mowing, Bale it , pick it up, get it under cover before it rains. been there done that on small scale 4ac 1 man hay operation.I used to do 500-800 bales a year that way would sell enough to pay expenses and feed my animals. Lost of few cuttings to rain, Having a job gets in the way of all the above. Found it easier to mow the pastures/hay fields and buy 350-400 bales out of the field.

FYI my equipment is for sale Cincinnati oh area
$2500.00

Ford 501 sickle
IH model 37 hay conditioner
New idea Rake
John deer 24 T baler

 

[Farmwithjunk]

When I first started out, I used all in FarmsWJ's equipment list and did hay with a 22hp Yanmar. Made some money on the little bit of leftover hay and then bought a new 35 hp tractor with live power.

NH 479 mower (parts from TSC: chains, teeth, tines, tires).
NH 55 rake (parts from TSC: teeth, tire).
JD 14T baler (parts from TSC and 3 local JD dealers: twine).

The money to be made is from the tax write-offs I file with my federal and state returns. Its substantial. Customers will search you out for your baled weeds if you keep it 'organic': no manure, roundup, proprionic acid, fence wire, kids toys, snakes, or ex-wives.

Make sure you have an air compressor for tools, and a welder and know how to use them.

Uhhhhh...? It's NOT OK to bale an ex wife ? Or a current one? Dang! There goes MY plan.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

The one piece of the puzzle left out is time...
You must make hay when the weather is right not when you have time.
You should mow it right after the dew is off, Tedder while still damp, rake it 2-3 days after mowing, Bale it , pick it up, get it under cover before it rains. been there done that on small scale 4ac 1 man hay operation.I used to do 500-800 bales a year that way would sell enough to pay expenses and feed my animals. Lost of few cuttings to rain, Having a job gets in the way of all the above. Found it easier to mow the pastures/hay fields and buy 350-400 bales out of the field.

FYI my equipment is for sale Cincinnati oh area
$2500.00

Ford 501 sickle
IH model 37 hay conditioner
New idea Rake
John deer 24 T baler

We brushed upon the time factor a bit when some of these guys were trying to sell us on the idea of doing loose hay.

You cut when it's "ripe", and when the weather will let you. You rake when it's time, and you bale as fast as you can get the hay up off the ground. Then you go into a panic state until it's in the barn....

Then you start over in the next field.....

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Just ran across this article on Southern State's website.

May be helpful in some way to the thread...So....

Haymaking - Southern States

 

[avc8130]

I did a bunch of googling, what is this "shock the hay" for storage?

ac

 

[smstonypoint]

I did a bunch of googling, what is this "shock the hay" for storage?

ac

Making a haystack.

Steve

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Making a haystack.

Steve

Sometimes it's easier to copy & paste than it is to type out a long winded explaination...


An Offbeat Way To Make Good Hay The Contrary Farmer


Although, I don't agree with bush hogging a hay crop.....

 

[FredWalter]

A $20 dollar hand scythe and you could proably cut 1 acre in an hour

A couple of days ago I pulled out a scythe to cut some grass, and that's a lot of work! 1 acre/hour only for people in really good physical condition, maybe.

 

[Duffster]

A couple of days ago I pulled out a scythe to cut some grass, and that's a lot of work! 1 acre/hour only for people in really good physical condition, maybe.

:laughing:

An acre an hour = 12 sq ft a second.

Anybody that thinks they can do that is smoking crack.:laughing:

 

[Rider61]

I have about 2-3 acres of hay pasture at my new house. I also have a Kubota L39 with 3-point hitch and ~30hp pto. What is my best course of action to attack the hay? I do keep goats, so "using" it would be nice.

ac

I'm in your area and I've got just a bit more land in hay--8 acres in one field and about another acre in another--and for years I dealt with custom cutters. They're hard to find and harder to please when you have small acreage. After seeing the prices the equipment was going for at sales, I started putting it all together. My Mahindra 3510 is fine for most of it except for the New Holland baler that requires a little more oomph and gets it from an oooooold IH we bought for that purpose.

It may seem like a bit cash outlay (I put about $11,000 total into it), but when you see how nicely the stuff resells if you maintain it well, it's a worthwhile investment. What it cost me for custom cutting (not counting aggravation and Xanax refills) makes the cost amortize over just five years, and then I'll get most of it back if I quit and sell the equipment. With our iffy weather, storing loose hay is a problem. Baled is so much easier, and round-baled might be better yet since it's goats you're feeding. Round balers are everywhere used and more reasonable than square. A bale spike for your loader and a few (free) used pallets and plastic tarps and you've got your hay stored outdoors and dry.