Making Hay 101

[Avodah]

I've read many posts from you folks with LOTS of hay knowledge ... sorry to intrude with some very elementary questions. I admit ignorance ... I'm retired from the USCG & am now land-locked on 64 acres in mid-TN. I can answer all your questions on how to catch high-seas drug runners or return migrants to Cuba/Haiti, but I know nothing about making hay. My goal is to make hay from our ~30 acres of pasture - generally level land. For now we're not seeding ... just want to bale the native grass for the few animals that we keep - horses, cattle, goats. Last year I went through about 20 bales ... that number will grow as our cattle herd hopefully grows (assuming we get rain in future years!)

Assumptions - I'm retired and NOT rich; I'd like to get started in the $6-8K range. Will be looking to buy good used equipment. From what I've been able to learn I'll need a mower (sickle? disc? others?), a rake (will one v-rake/tederer do it?), and a baler. I've gone back & forth about square bale vs round bale ... I'd like to get whichever is more shade-tree mechanic friendly. (Got 3 strapping boys to load square bales, or a spear on my tractor, whichever way we go.) My tractor is about 42HP at the PTO ...it's a Kubota MX5100. I'm generally mechanically inclined to maintain/fix my own stuff. Fire away with your counsel/advice, lessons learned, etc. Thanks folks!

 

[zzvyb6]

With 3 young men to provide help and operations support, all the real problems you normally would face are eliminated. With 30 acres committed to haying, you will have much more hay than you can use at first. So, selling to neighbors with horses can make your equipment pay for itself very quickly. Although your tractor may be considerd light for a disc type mower (usually 50+ hp), it will have NO trouble with conventional sickle type mower conditioners. A hay rake or combo rake/tedder also is probably needed, given an average 3 day haying cycle in 80+ degrees temperature window. A baler for 'small' square bales is also a fairly low power needs machine. Then you will need a wagon or trailer or two to bring the hay back to a storage area; preferably a barn or run it with a good roof.

Used mowers from NH or JD are commonly available from dealers or private sales. Same for rakes and balers. A budget with $2500 for the mower, $700 for a rake, and $2500 for the baler can get you some pretty modern, respectable equipment There is at least one dealer on here who I have followed who has good prices but is too far away from me (central Michigan) to consider. They may make you an attractive offer on a hay production 'package' with all 3 machines delivered and in operational condition.

In my view, I'd take on brands from dealers who are close to you. Someone who knows you, can loan you a spare machine if something breaks that takes some time to fix, and is within say, a 20 minute drive from the fields. That means twine, shear pins, tires, springs, teeth, bearings, knives, guards, clips and lubricants are close by when the time comes.

If this is a long term commitment, your customer base will appreciate good product, on time, well 'packaged' and safe for their animals bales. I go with small squares because my customers are all horse people, women and cautious of too heavy or too light bales and only have small barns to store it in. A pickup with 50 bales on it leaves frequently now. An interesting customer is now a Humane Society agency that has been fostering some rescued abused and malnourished horses. They have money for this, too.

If you buy stuff which still has replacement parts in production you will be much happier in the long run. Your sons will appreciate the machinery maintenance and repair tasks and also inherit good stuff when you quit these tasks.

Ther are some great videos on YouTube of various types of machinery in operation: mowing, raking, baling and stacking. Good entertainment, too. In hay-making as in other life tasks, doing your best is not good enough, you must do what is required to get the job done.

 

[flusher]

Here's what I use (10 acre place, 6 acre hayfield-an excuse to play around with the equipment). Oat hay generally but this fall I may try something like sudan grass, which may be a better choice to choke out the weeds--fiddleneck mostly.

Massey Ferguson 31 sicklebar mower (7ft cutter bar, $550 at auction plus ~$200 new parts)

JD 350 pto-driven, 3pt type 5-bar side delivery hay rake ($800 including new belt and new tines)

MF124 baler (two twine, small squares-40 to 60 lb)

I'm a dry land farmer (plant in Nov, bale the following May near the end of the rainy season). Don't need hay conditioning or tedding since in May the temperature is in the 80s or 90s and humidity is below 25%--so the hay dries in less than 48 hours.

Like you I'm retired (aerospace engineer) and do haying for the fun of it.

If you have $3K left in your budget, I'd strongly recommend getting a drum mower. They are fast and will mow anything. Unlike sicklebars or disc mowers, drum mowers windrow the cuttings which may or may not be an advantage in your case. Do the research and see if a drum is for you.

Good luck.

 

[smstonypoint]

Others have focused on equipment issues. You also need to consider the agronomic aspects of hay production. If you have not already done so, you should take soil samples to determine fertilizer & lime requirements. UT offers soil testing services -- Soil, Plant and Pest Center. The ag. agents at your local Cooperative Extension Service office can be a valuable source of agronomic information (e.g, soil fertility, forage quality, weed control, etc.).

Good luck.

Steve

PS. Thanks for your service in the USCG. There are several USCG veterans amongst the TBN membership. I served from 1965-1969 and ended up as a Quartermaster First Class (E-6). Sadly, I have forgotten everything I learned about celestial navigation.

 

[SLHawkins]

Avodah,
I do not have LOTS of hay experience, I am only on my 3rd season of going at on my own (missed a season due to a deployment to Afghanistan). At a minimum, get something to cut, something to rake, and something to bale the hay. My first year, I had just a NH 492 Haybine (sicklebar cutter) and NH 546 Round Baler. I was fortunate enough to inherit the mower and baler, but have still spent quite a bit of money in order to get them in decent operating shape. A Tedder will help with curing, especially if the windrows get rained on, IMHO it's optional however. For a small operation like yours, a rollabar rake (NH 56 series) will suffice. A rollabar rake can also turn and fluff a wet windrow better than a wheel rake. The wheel rake is much faster and will cut your raking time by at least half. Also, the rollabar can be pulled by a jeep or pick up. I wouldn't recommend doing that with the wheel rake. My local JD dealer let me use a 10-wheel V take to do a neighbor's 30 acre field, it definitely is a time saver! Round bales require less work and are easier to bale, but most folks (horse and goat around here) want square. So, i picked up a square baler. The key to a good round bale is moving from side to side of the windrow for an even bale. With a square baker, you must have the bale tension right, as well as, consistent ground speed and windrow density. It took me a couple passes with the square baler to figure it out and I still got some learning to do with that machine. Good luck!

Hawk

Sent from my iPod touch using TractorByNet

 

[Avodah]

Thanks for your service in the USCG. There are several USCG veterans amongst the TBN membership. I served from 1965-1969 and ended up as a Quartermaster First Class (E-6). Sadly, I have forgotten everything I learned about celestial navigation.

Appreciate the equipment & agronomy advice ... all well taken. I'll keep listening from y'all & doing more research. Another pole barn is going up this fall to store hay, with a separate lean-to for equipment storage. I know there's more than one way to skin the haying cat ... glad I have lots of good options. I already know I need to do some liming next year. I've been mixing some vetch & clover in with the cattle's mineral ... they're spreading it all over the pastures with a dollop of fresh fertilizer. I love to use my tractor but I also like to see the animals earning their keep.

Steve - Maybe, just maybe you'd remember how to do an LAN & a follow-on sunline for a running fix??? Always bothered me that the young pups trusted their GPS too much ... celestial navigation is a perishing skill. Not that we need it much in the hayfield

Cheers,
Graham

 

[bigbull338]

your mx5100 will pull a 7ft or 8ft disc mower no prob.an a old side delivery rake will do raking hay,unless you find a good deal on a wheel rake.now if you have help you could go sq bales.but your tractor would also pull a 4 by 5 baler if you watch what you get.

 

[Ed of all trades]

Thank you for the service to us your country. After you get the equipment, you need to know some of the finer points of making good hay. You don't want it compleatly dry. If you can take a hand full, twist it into a tight "rope" and smell it. It should smell like hay and not show any H2o at the bend. Hay that is dead dry in the field has lost some of its food value. Also, go down to the local diner early in the morning and sit in on the local breakfast club. Find an old retired or semi retired farmer who has a name for being a good farmer. He can help in the middle of things when the baler breaks ect. The "club" might be a good place to get leads on good used equipment too. Good luck and God bless.

 

[HayDR]

Take a look at the HayMAG drum mowers You can handle a 165 or 190 drum mower. The drum mowers will be half the price of a 7-8' disc mower. $3000-4000 new
Your tractor can handle these round balers: Vermeer 504 I,& L , 5400 & 5410 : Hesston 530 & 540

 

[DwayneB]

I've read many posts from you folks with LOTS of hay knowledge ... sorry to intrude with some very elementary questions. I admit ignorance ... I'm retired from the USCG & am now land-locked on 64 acres in mid-TN. I can answer all your questions on how to catch high-seas drug runners or return migrants to Cuba/Haiti, but I know nothing about making hay. My goal is to make hay from our ~30 acres of pasture - generally level land. For now we're not seeding ... just want to bale the native grass for the few animals that we keep - horses, cattle, goats. Last year I went through about 20 bales ... that number will grow as our cattle herd hopefully grows (assuming we get rain in future years!)

Assumptions - I'm retired and NOT rich; I'd like to get started in the $6-8K range. Will be looking to buy good used equipment. From what I've been able to learn I'll need a mower (sickle? disc? others?), a rake (will one v-rake/tederer do it?), and a baler. I've gone back & forth about square bale vs round bale ... I'd like to get whichever is more shade-tree mechanic friendly. (Got 3 strapping boys to load square bales, or a spear on my tractor, whichever way we go.) My tractor is about 42HP at the PTO ...it's a Kubota MX5100. I'm generally mechanically inclined to maintain/fix my own stuff. Fire away with your counsel/advice, lessons learned, etc. Thanks folks!

I'm mowing 25 acres twice a year. I have an old 445 long with 42 pto hp. I've got a Haymaxx 165 drum mower, a new Holland 55 rake, and a nh 849 round baler. 2k for the tractor, 800 for the rake, 2k for the baler. Bought the mower new for around 3k. Tractor has enough power to run the baler but, I'd never bale on hillsides, baler weighs more than the tractor. I've got 9 angus and 5 horses. They eat a lot, lol. Good luck.