2016 Hay season started for me.

[TomSeller]

About 200 rounds are put up. About 1/3 of those are haylage

 

[cat fever]

A question for the growers out there;
I was able to get an average of 1.66 tons per acre. Is this good, average or low yield? Also consider this is only watered by Mother Nature in Utah.
It was probable 70% oats 30% alfalfa. And a few uninvited weeds.:laughing:

 

[D2Cat]

Cat Fever, you don't need to buy a small round baler to get small round bales. You can buy any round baler and make them any diameter you choose. Just tie them before the baler is full! You can put a mark to indicate where you like to quit so the bales will be the same diameter.

 

[farmer2009]

Cat. I'm not sure what is considered a good yield in your part of the country. Here that kind of yield is very poor. That's about what my thin hay made this year. My highest yielding field this year made over 3 tons per acre. This is fescue and orchardgrass. But we get the rain also.

 

[farmer2009]

66 bales under tarp. First year using a tarp.

 

[cat fever]

Cat Fever, you don't need to buy a small round baler to get small round bales. You can buy any round baler and make them any diameter you choose. Just tie them before the baler is full! You can put a mark to indicate where you like to quit so the bales will be the same diameter.

Thanks,
Good to know. Being new to this I'm sure I'll have some more dumb questions.

 

[cat fever]

Cat. I'm not sure what is considered a good yield in your part of the country. Here that kind of yield is very poor. That's about what my thin hay made this year. My highest yielding field this year made over 3 tons per acre. This is fescue and orchardgrass. But we get the rain also.

If I got that much I'd have to buy more cows.:laughing:
I have been raising one cow for my own family, but, I can feed for sure 2 and maybe 3 cows. Then sell the calf's each year and try and make a little money back to replace all I've been dumping into equipment and barn.

 

[Tx Jim]

Here in Texas back during the drought 1.6 tons per acre per cutting would have been considered a bumper crop. 1st cutting of Coastal this yr only made 4 rd bales (4X5.5) to acre that I'm guessing weight around 1000#s each which equates to 2 ton per acre.

 

[cat fever]

Here in Texas back during the drought 1.6 tons per acre per cutting would have been considered a bumper crop. 1st cutting of Coastal this yr only made 4 rd bales (4X5.5) to acre that I'm guessing weight around 1000#s each which equates to 2 ton per acre.

We only needed a couple more weeks of rain and I'm thinking I could have got 2 tons per acre. Mother Nature had different plans and just shut of the tap. It was still a very good year for me.

 

[powerscol]

Nice, I sure enjoy seeing a nice green field.

I was able to get my bales out of the field and in the barn. I weighed a few and the average is 90 pounds. Yes my back hurts.:mur: next year they WILL be lighter. I ended up with 8.3 tons.
Here's a couple pics.
View attachment 471211View attachment 471212
All put up.
View attachment 471213View attachment 471214

You need to get a bale grapple like I have :thumbsup: Its small and I can work in the barn too. - Save the back