Low Acreage Haying

[powerscol]

Someone mentioned that us hobby farmers crack them up with our 25K tractors, etc. Well mine only cost 18K but I got it to plow snow in the winter and do clean up chores on the horse paddock. It was not until my custom baler quit doing my place that I got interested. The hay I cut feds my horses for the year.

At first I was offended, then took a deep breath. Do your garden, raise corn, beens and tomatoes?
By your analogy your wasting money....but I bet yours taste better and is healthier. So far I am on track to break even this year, just with my investment. The big deal for me is I can cut when everything is prime, and bale when I believe things are right. In other words I know what I am getting and not depending on others. Do I save money, maybe not, but I have fun and pride in that I did it myself, and in my case folks said it could not be done. I think I get a better product than I can buy. Some folks have hobbies that cost a lot more than a lot of folks here have invested.

Now for the even better part. I now have neighbors asking me to help then out as their custom baler is leaving. problem is their lots are not worth cutting as they don't weed of take care, so its junk. Some understand, while others don,t, so their place goes to weeds ( I won cut if I cant break even, even for cow hay). A few have wised up, killed the weds, and are watering correctly (I had to offer guidance). I can cut and their place looks a whole lot better.. Prices ad down this year and I am selling at the 6 to $7 a bale range. Last year it was at $12, but I have now sold everything I have cut.

Next I need to find a way to gather and haul, so a grapple is in need, but there goes any profit, but it will be another tool and more fun.

Now tonight was frustrating as my sickle mower would not cut worth beens. I guess I need to learn more on the set up and have called in a friends help.

Anyway - no worries to anyone here. Yep I may be nuts and only doing this as a hobby, but I am happy..... so are my horses

Thanks for all the help folks

 

[SwingOak]

Now for the even better part. I now have neighbors asking me to help then out as their custom baler is leaving.

And this is the main reason I'm doing my own hay. When we finally got a good weather window, everyone was making their own hay. Good luck finding someone to cut mine. That, and nobody around here makes small squares - at least not for hire - this is cow county, and round bales are the norm. What's more, I am in full control over the quality of my hay. it will be what I want it to be. I fertilize as needed, spray as needed, mow, rake, and bale when the time is right. i make my bales as light, or heavy, as I want. after all, I'm making hay for personal use and just selling what I don't need. Our horses love our homegrown hay too.

 

[Marveltone]

I fall in the crazy hobbyist category. This year I put up 230 square bales, which is way more than I'll need for my goats. Most of it's what we call wild hay; grass, clover and weeds. The goats eat it just fine. Some of it is payment for stud services. Maybe I might sell some, maybe not. My investment is pretty minimal, as between the tractor, which I use for many things, the mower, rake and baler, I have under $6000 total invested. Will the hay pay for all this? Of course not. Would it be cheaper to buy hay? Most certainly. Would I learn anything by buying hay? Likely not.

My wife and I moved onto her family homestead with the expressed purpose of not just occupying space, but really living there. By really living, we mean to restore the buildings, equipment and land to something useful and alive, rather than some old, forgotten place with derelict buildings and heaps of old equipment rotting in the woods. We mean to produce something worthwhile, rather than just consume. We're learning much about the history of this farm, about farming in general, and about ourselves. The neighbors are interested and delighted by our presence and what we've accomplished so far, and bring their grand-kids to our "petting zoo" on occasion. Meanwhile, our teen-aged daughter is having the time of her life helping to raise animals, while simultaneously educating her long distance urban and suburban friends who have no idea what life outside of the asphalt and concrete jungle is like.

What's the point of this rambling? I guess sometimes, some of us do things for reasons other than the almighty dollar.

Try it. It's kinda fun!

Joe

 

[bjr]

The Haying season is over for me, the old NH 269 finally ties knots, HOORAY! I'll blow out the irrigation system (to keep from freezing) this weekend. I finally broke down and scraped together some money and bought a Hesston 4550 baler. I kind of got a deal on transportation and part of the deal it'll be hauled at the haulers discretion and I'll be lucky to see it before new years. So Now the next piece of machinery to get replaced is the Ol' number five IH side delivery rake. I was really all out of breath over a 3pt Belt Rake, but no one (except me) has ever heard of them. I want something 3pt and close coupled to be able to maneuver in tight small fields. I've read that I should just get a small rotary rake, but, they don't seem to be popping on Craigs lists or any of the local implement dealers lots. I would really appreciate you small patch hay farmers advice on a 3pt. rake. I'm up in E. WA. state. bjr

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I have small acreage and a smallish tractor and I've been looking at wheel rakes. The Befco rake can be configured for spreading, turning or raking.

Info is here: Mini Hay Balers and Compact Hay Balers | Small Farm Innovators

I can't offer any first-hand experience, would like to hear from anyone who can.

 

[petes]

... I would really appreciate you small patch hay farmers advice on a 3pt. rake. I'm up in E. WA. state. bjr

I'm in W. Washington, where it's too wet to get into the field before mid-July, so first cutting can be very tall/thick. I've got a Kuhn GRS-21 3-pt mounted 2 basket rotary tedder/rake that I use. I started haying our 3 acres for the same reasons stated above. Equipment was a JD14T, NH 451 and Kubota B7100. 3 years later, I've "upgraded" to a 24T, a IH B-275 (38hp with a 2-stage clutch) and leasing the 20 acres across the road (2600 bales this year).

The Kuhn does a great job making fluffy windrows, but I am sometimes frustrated at how it blows hay outward around corners (into fences, tall grass, etc.) and occasionally balls up in really heavy/tall grass (6ft tall Reeds Canary). ( A Haybob "trails" around corners and might throw it out less), I find it doesn't pick up quite as well as a a side delivery rake, especially 2nd cutting when the pieces are short. Since it rakes to the center combining windrows takes 5 passes to get ~20ft into one row vs. 2 passes with the side delivery. That said, it's easy to maneuver, load on the trailer behind the tractor, and I still use it (depending on conditions). It's great for running down a settled (or twisted) windrow to fluff it back up. I'm glad I've got both.

 

[SwingOak]

I would like to have a tedder AND a rotary rake. The general consensus is that machines that are designed to do more than one task do not work as well as a single task machine. For me, I'd rather have a rotary rake and a tedder, instead of a combo machine. I am looking to get a tedder first - I can still use the NH 256 to rake before baling. There's no question rotaries make a nicer, fluffier, non-roped windrow.

 

[powerscol]

BJR - you will love your Hesston 4550, just be sure to feed it good twine. Briden 9600 is what I run. It breaks other brands. Also do not set the tension too tight as it will make very heavy bales. It will make beautiful straight 50 to 60 lbs one though.

I also have been looking at rotary rakes and tedders. Most of the Italian and German units are good, and the equipment NH, Deer, MF, carries is usually re-badged Italian.

Some tedder and combo models I am looking at are NH 255, Hesston 3750 or equal...New Idea etc.,TR 90, Enorossi, Fella, Kuhn Hay Bob,Kuhn GF 5000 or GF 5001 - 4 rotor and Kuhn GF 502. I used the Google search engine and have been doing a lo of reading. I just wish Craig's list had an option to alert you when something comes up. I missed a buy on a rake last week.

However for forming the windrows, I still will use my side delivery rake. Compared to my neighbors Kuhn, my rake does a better job in the field cleaning up the short stuff.

Last there are other sites to check out, such as Haytalk, mytractorforum, and thecombineforum. All have specific topic areas on hay equipment.

My big investment this year has been a 23' deck-over PJ GN trailer to haul my equipment around, and I will be buying a grapple for my tractor.

Hope this helps

 

[flusher]

The Haying season is over for me, the old NH 269 finally ties knots, HOORAY! I'll blow out the irrigation system (to keep from freezing) this weekend. I finally broke down and scraped together some money and bought a Hesston 4550 baler. I kind of got a deal on transportation and part of the deal it'll be hauled at the haulers discretion and I'll be lucky to see it before new years. So Now the next piece of machinery to get replaced is the Ol' number five IH side delivery rake. I was really all out of breath over a 3pt Belt Rake, but no one (except me) has ever heard of them. I want something 3pt and close coupled to be able to maneuver in tight small fields. I've read that I should just get a small rotary rake, but, they don't seem to be popping on Craigs lists or any of the local implement dealers lots. I would really appreciate you small patch hay farmers advice on a 3pt. rake. I'm up in E. WA. state. bjr

I bought this pre-owned JD 350 3pt side delivery rake a few years ago for $800.



These rakes show up on eBay a few times per year.

Good luck with your quest.

 

[DaveOmak]

The Haying season is over for me, the old NH 269 finally ties knots, HOORAY! I'll blow out the irrigation system (to keep from freezing) this weekend. I finally broke down and scraped together some money and bought a Hesston 4550 baler. I kind of got a deal on transportation and part of the deal it'll be hauled at the haulers discretion and I'll be lucky to see it before new years. So Now the next piece of machinery to get replaced is the Ol' number five IH side delivery rake. I was really all out of breath over a 3pt Belt Rake, but no one (except me) has ever heard of them. I want something 3pt and close coupled to be able to maneuver in tight small fields. I've read that I should just get a small rotary rake, but, they don't seem to be popping on Craigs lists or any of the local implement dealers lots. I would really appreciate you small patch hay farmers advice on a 3pt. rake. I'm up in E. WA. state. bjr

I use a 2 wheel rake I modified from a 4 wheel rake... 4 wheels made too large a windrow and it took too long to dry... I turn with the 2 wheels and combine 5 rows into one... takes awhile to get it done but my alfalfa is dry and baled in 3-4 days, depending on the weather... then the water gets turned back on... I get 4 cuttings using that method... 30-32 days per cutting..
Wheel rakes don't throw the alfala too hard so there's no or little leaf loss unless it gets too dry...
Most, if not all wheel rakes, can be "adjusted" to spread the hay or windrow... Getting them set up to do a good job of raking takes some time... balance of the spring tension... left and right tilt for even ground contact... but they do a good job when adjusted correctly.... I've seen rakes with bent tines... folks put too much ground pressure on them... the tines should just "tickle" the ground, so as to not throw dirt into the hay...