Getting back into hay

[wmonroe]

I was amazed at the aging equipment you have in apparent usable condition! Warms the "get by with what we got" heart! It doesn't sound like you are in the high volume hay-as-a-cash-crop business and (thinking I have a pretty clear vision of your circumstance,) why do you bother to use that hay conditioner? Most people in that era used the conditioner ONLY if they had a hurried need to take up the hay a day before it would otherwise have dried. Maybe that hurry is "you" these days with so much going on, but unless you need to expedite things by a day it is wasting a lot of man and machine time IMO. Many in that era used a hay tedder between cutting and raking. The tedder does double duty in that it worked if you had an unfortunate rain too.

I spent some time this past winter going through the equipment to make sure it was adjusted per the manuals. The sickle has actually been working very well and the baler worked well the first round. The conditioner I’m still figuring out….the height adjustment is very particular as far as being low enough to pick up the hay and not too low so the lower roller doesn’t wrap. I’m not looking to make a living off of this, there are some long term plans and possible expansion down the road but right now the plan is to have my kids help and learn the value of hard work and the other lessons that are learned “farming”. I don’t have a Tedder yet so I’m using the conditioner to speed up the drying. The video I posted there was just enough days before rain to get the hay in using the conditioner. I’ll be watching auctions and local sales and would like to get a Tedder and a haybine but I’m not in a hurry at this point.

 

[wmonroe]

That's awesome. I just started getting into it and bought, what appears to be the same sickle mower you have. I bought a JD 37 sickle mower. I don't have rear hydro ports so I ran the two hydraulic lines to my bucket and borrowed 2. The sickle mower blew out the hydraulic cylinder so a farmer up the street helped me replace that. Then the brush guard snapped off so I had to disassemble the pitman arm to clean out all the grass and then take the guard to a welder to fix it correctly. As you say, things will break down and it's been good learning how to put it all back together. I did my soil test last year, added pelletized lime and 19-19-19 and the field is coming on strong.

I’ve had some issues with the JD 37 also but it seems to be running reliable right now. Just cut another few acres yesterday and it worked perfectly. Good luck to you!

 

[wmonroe]

Used to mow with a sickle and conditioner, too, decades ago. Why doesn't your baler's pickup wheel touch the ground? Your tines are above the grass. Would sweep better if they were in the grass.

I’ll have to look at the manual for the pickup again. I set the height to where the tines were just above the concrete floor in my barn. It seemed to pick up the hay just fine but any that gets missed is waste. Thanks for the comment and I’ll check into it and adjust.

 

[5030]

I don’t have a Tedder yet so I’m using the conditioner to speed up the drying.

Why disc mowers and older sickle bar mower conditioners have rubber chevron rolls or flails behind the cutter bars as they 'condition' the hay (break the stems) for faster drydown. I have a Kuhn Tedder in the barn that I've used maybe once in the last 5 years. I bought it as an insurance policy for rained on wet hay.

 

[JWR]

Well it would have been helpful if the article from the Tallahassee Democrat would have at least posted a picture of Vaseygrass instead of goosegrass or whatever type of grass it is that they posted when teaching people how to combat it, this started out with me trying to be helpful to another poster who asked ME what I used to fight Vaseygrass with which I answered with what I have done with much success thru practical experience into you attempting to pick apart what I posted and educate me on what truly should be done although admittedly you have zero experience fighting Vaseygrass , final question for you. Are you an engineer?

Yes.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Yes.

I had that one pegged.

 

[wmonroe]

Took the range finder and one of my kids out to measure the field and it comes out to 1 3/8 acres. It’s an odd shape so that is not a perfect measurement but it’s very close or slightly over. I need to weigh some of the bales but if they’re 40 lbs each it is a net of 2,792 pounds per acre. I don’t know what average is around here but I’m happy with that to start.

 

[5030]

Gotta start somewhere. Myself, I'm all done until the fields grow and they get cut again. Just put on 46 with my 3 point spreader. All the rounds went bye-bye on Saturday morning. Loaded 2 flat bed 48 footers double stacked (2 across on the bottom and a single row on top, plus a tri axle gooseneck). New Kubota round bailer ran flawlessly, very nice drum tight 60" rounds with over the edge net wrap. They smelled oh so good.

I'm happy and mu customer is happy. Life is good.

Just need some precip now.

 

[Tx Jim]

29 bales on a 48' float is a long way from near 50 bales per load that you mentioned a few days ago.

 

[5030]

29 bales on a 48' float is a long way from near 50 bales per load that you mentioned a few days ago.

Just for you I didn't bother to count them... If I did, I forgot how many... Lets say, more then one and less than 200......

 

[Tx Jim]

The way I interpret your reply is you didn't want to prove to me & the other members of this forum that you made a gross mistake on the number of 4X5 rd bales an 18 wheeler trailer can haul when you previously stated "near 50 bales" on a single trailer load! I'll bet total bale count hauled on 3 trailers won't even get close to 100 bales.

 

[5030]

Whatever. You'll never know because I'm not telling you.

Have a nice day

 

[Hay Dude]

The way I interpret your reply is you didn't want to prove to me & the other members of this forum that you made a gross mistake on the number of 4X5 rd bales an 18 wheeler trailer can haul when you previously stated "near 50 bales" on a single trailer load! I'll bet total bale count hauled on 3 trailers won't even get close to 100 bales.

Does it really matter when someone only make a couple dozen bales a year for a retirement hobby and tax shelter?

 

[Tx Jim]

Whatever. You'll never know because I'm not telling you.

Have a nice day

I evidently have a better grip on the number of 4X5 rd bales 3 trailers can legally haul than you do! You're not stating the correct total bale count on the 3 trailers because your previous bale count was so incorrect. I also wish you a nice day!

 

[5030]

My final comment is, at least my bales go to a feed lot for cattle, not to some mushroom company for mushroom bedding not fond of fungus anyway.

Far as the price per bale, I'm not into gouging, just adjusted it to compensate for the added cost of fertilizer and fuel and nothing more.

My customer is good with it and so am I. I don't do this to make a huge amount of money in the first place. I do it because I LIKE to do it. If it became a WORK situation, I'd liquidate everything and park my butt on the porch and watch the world go by.

I'm retired so nothing for me is mandatory and everything is optional.

 

[HayFarmer]

I always set my tines about 2” above the ground (like if the baler was parked on flat pavement). Pickup wheels should not run along the ground and spin, but be slightly above. They should only turn when they are on uneven ground or contact a hump.

Is your baler not a New Holland? The wheel is the only thing controlling pickup height on New Hollands (at least the 310 and 565 I have). 2" above the ground is where mine are, too. It's in the grass and picks up good.