The Life of a Custom Mowing contractor

[Hay Dude]

Well I got the leak (or should I say flood) source resolved. Previous owner cut a perfectly good steel transmission return line and replaced it with hydraulic hose. Clamp worked loose and bango! Big leak.

24* this morning (T-shirt weather).
I had a tech meet me at tractor cause I had no idea what I was in for and they brought the trans fluid to me via their on-board reservoir, so a bit cheaper.
I was loading bales by 12.

Tomorrow I have to cut a steep field with it, then deliver a “cube” of feed hay. Thanks for all the well wishes & support.

Really a breathren of people here who understand what farming and other impossible work is all about.

 

[japody]

Well I got the leak (or should I say flood) source resolved. Previous owner cut a perfectly good steel transmission return line and replaced it with hydraulic hose. Clamp worked loos and bango! Big leak.

24* this morning (T-shirt weather).
I had a tech meet me at tractor cause I had no idea what I was in for and they brought the trans fluid to me via their on-board reservoir, so a bit cheaper.
I was loading bales by 12.

Tomorrow I have to cut a steep field with it, then deliver a “cube” of feed hay. Thanks for all the well wishes & support.

Really a breathren of people here who understand what farming and other impossible work is all about.

Happy belated birthday! How's the foot?

 

[wmonroe]

Days like that are the worse, seems like everything you touch breaks. Happy late birthday and hope the foot is feeling better.

 

[Hay Dude]

Happy belated birthday! How's the foot?

Better. Aleve works well.

Days like that are the worse, seems like everything you touch breaks. Happy late birthday and hope the foot is feeling better.

It was exactly like that. Was a day from he-ll

 

[bearthebruce]

@Hay Dude - appreciate you sharing the details. Really enjoy reading your thread.

I live in Montgomery County - but do my tractoring in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest VA. Sorry you had such a bad day on your birthday.

Hope the foot heals soon. Sounds like you are not going to let it stop you from gittin' er dun..

Working through adversity is also my mantra. Keeping all our machines running and doing is a chore.. I travel to Virginny one week a month to keep improving the property. Winter months, I usually am not there. I'll get back at in early March - when I can see things and the ground is still frozen. April can be trip owing to mud so I don't go into the low ends of the fields.

We don't hay as we have need for the hay. One neighbor does and we may be turning our fields over to him so he can add more hay for his 100 head of cattle. But if we do that, then I am going to be sad owing to the fact I will not be riding Missy Ferg all those hours mowing. She and I will have to find a new way to have dates out on the land!

Again, keep sharing. I enjoy your stories. And no, I don't enjoy the days that set you back or cause you pain! Still, I like that you let us know what it is really like to operate your business.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

The electrical plug is for turn signals, 4 ways and lights. The “garden hose” lol one next to it is for the hydraulic brakes on the baler.

Thank you, Hay Dude, for sharing. I agree with others who tell you that there are things in your pictures that we never new existed.

When you say hydraulic brakes on the baler, to you mean wrapping net brakes, or wheel brakes?

 

[Hay Dude]

Thank you, Hay Dude, for sharing. I agree with others who tell you that there are things in your pictures that we never new existed.

When you say hydraulic brakes on the baler, to you mean wrapping net brakes, or wheel brakes?

I mean brakes on the axles. No net wrap on a large square baler, just 6 strings.
Bigger balers have hydraulic braked axles, which are activated by my tractor’s brake pedal. Very similar to a truck.
My aft rear axle also steers to increase maneuverability. You can also lock it so it won’t walk when baling across a hill.

 

[Hay Dude]

@Hay Dude - appreciate you sharing the details. Really enjoy reading your thread.

I live in Montgomery County - but do my tractoring in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest VA. Sorry you had such a bad day on your birthday.

Hope the foot heals soon. Sounds like you are not going to let it stop you from gittin' er dun..

Working through adversity is also my mantra. Keeping all our machines running and doing is a chore.. I travel to Virginny one week a month to keep improving the property. Winter months, I usually am not there. I'll get back at in early March - when I can see things and the ground is still frozen. April can be trip owing to mud so I don't go into the low ends of the fields.

We don't hay as we have need for the hay. One neighbor does and we may be turning our fields over to him so he can add more hay for his 100 head of cattle. But if we do that, then I am going to be sad owing to the fact I will not be riding Missy Ferg all those hours mowing. She and I will have to find a new way to have dates out on the land!

Again, keep sharing. I enjoy your stories. And no, I don't enjoy the days that set you back or cause you pain! Still, I like that you let us know what it is really like to operate your business.

Thanks for those thoughtful words, from all of you. I am on the mend. I can walk ok again. I can’t believe my foot survived that one. I was sure it was broke.
Share some pics of your land in Virginia.
Virginia is beautiful, as is West Virginia.

 

[Hay Dude]

Today was a fairly normal day…..at first. It started off getting the Challenger hooked up to the CX-15 to mow about 10 acres for a ~10 acre property that is very steep. I thought that would be my only one challenge of the day-don’t roll over. But that wasn’t the only challenge I faced.

While mowing, I noticed a large, dark mass laying in the field. As I approached closer, it appeared to be a large, dead animal. I throttled down and climbed out of the cab. Sure enough, it was a large dead dog. Still had a collar on it. Looked to be dead only a short period of time, maybe 1-2 days?

I texted my customer from the tractor cab. Told them what I saw. Then I heard silence. It was their dog. It had been missing for weeks, but must have returned and more recently died on their property.

Here they are mourning the loss of their dog, laying in the grass just to the left of them, between them and where the branch is sticking up. Felt terrible for them.

I was able to finish their field and went back to the shop, feeling sorry for their loss. Snapped a quick photo of their house & property I mowed. It’s the one with the mowing across the hill, not the one in the foreground.

About 12:30 I disconnected the CX-15 and delivered a hay cube to one of my horse hay customers. Here they are chowing down on one of my yummy feed hay bales. She’s been buying hay from me for at least 10 years.

See a couple Osage Oranges laying on the ground?

Heading home, I passed through a local intersection I drive through very often.
Here’s a “dog missing” sign. It was their dog. They must have really loved it.

 

[Molalla1]

Wow, what a day HD! Yes, you have to feel sorry for the dog owners . . .

 

[Hay Dude]

Wow, what a day HD! Yes, you have to feel sorry for the dog owners . . .

I’ve had some real crazy days lately. I don’t know what it is about the farming/custom mowing/property maintenance life.
I think you get to know people through the land they own & cherish. It means a lot to them.

 

[Molalla1]

I’ve had some real crazy days lately. I don’t know what it is about the farming/custom mowing/property maintenance life.
I think you get to know people through the land they own & cherish. It means a lot to them.

HD, you are spot on. People that prefer to live let's say "out in the boon docks" have a different mine set, they get married to the land. Others because they prefer less neighbors . . . or both .

 

[Lastkidpicked]

I mean brakes on the axles. No net wrap on a large square baler, just 6 strings.
Bigger balers have hydraulic braked axles, which are activated by my tractor’s brake pedal. Very similar to a truck.
My aft rear axle also steers to increase maneuverability. You can also lock it so it won’t walk when baling across a hill.

Thank you for that, Hay Dude.

It's great to come on these boards and learn new things.

 

[EddieWalker]

Sad about the dog. Especially that it was so close to their house. It really makes me wonder what happened?

 

[Hay Dude]

Yeah really strange. Dog missing for 4 weeks, then returns and dies maybe within last few days…

 

[Up to the Axles]

I still like what I do, but the hay farming part is really tough.

At a certain USG location in the {very} general region around DC, there's large fields on all sides around the buildings. (To keep prying eyes at a safe distance....) A mentor of mine, now a tenant at Arlington, was in charge of it in the 1970's-80's.

He initially hired a farmer nearby to cut it, but even then, that was surprisingly expensive. So he made a deal with the farmer. The farmer provided 3-4 horses at a time, and they did most of the 'mowing.' He paid the farmer for real mowing when needed. Unlike the farmer, they did not require a security escort.

It was sorta weird to be there in a classified meeting on some technical issue, and hear unexpected noises, such being one or more 'mowers' outside the window, working away.

 

[workinonit]

@Hay Dude - appreciate you sharing the details. Really enjoy reading your thread.

I live in Montgomery County - but do my tractoring in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest VA. Sorry you had such a bad day on your birthday.

My wife is from that area. All of her family still lives there. Jonesville/Pennington Gap area. We go up that way a few times a year.

 

[Hay Dude]

My wife is from that area. All of her family still lives there. Jonesville/Pennington Gap area. We go up that way a few times a year.

We talking Montgomery Co, PA? Or a different Montgomery Co?

 

[workinonit]

I was referring to where he has his farm/tractor play land in Virginia. You don't run into many people familiar with that corner of the world. Gorgeous part of the country though.

 

[dodge man]

Haydude you have a picture eating hay out of a small green structure. Is that a deer stand? I’ve seen people around here do the same thing. Do you pick it up somehow and set it over a hay bale?