25 Acres worth buying hay equipment?

[herm0016]

i have about 25 acers in hay. my neighbor has the equipment and i run some on my tractor, usually I will rake and ted or flip the we bail my 3 on shares, 50/50. in good years he gets my overage from feeding my small flock. In bad ill take a few of his on credit to a good year. He also does quite a bit of off farm bailing. i would never consider all the equipment with that small of an operation.

 

[airbiscuit]

I am way out of the loop on large baling equipment and costs. I do know that I have a friend who does a lot of haying, and his large round baler broke right in the peak of haying season. The repair cost him $7,000. There are always breakdowns, you only have a small window of time when you can "make hay" , and costs are way higher than they used to be with a small square baler.

 

[Farmer495]

I am way out of the loop on large baling equipment and costs. I do know that I have a friend who does a lot of haying, and his large round baler broke right in the peak of haying season. The repair cost him $7,000. There are always breakdowns, you only have a small window of time when you can "make hay" , and costs are way higher than they used to be with a small square baler.

Very stressful running older gear. Never know what is going to fail. Usually at least 3-4 break downs a season, some can be dealt with in an hour, others end a season. Had two major breakdowns in the last few years; one ended up in having to have last of the hay custom baled ($$$ PLUS $$$ to repair) the other ended up with buying a new machine since I couldn't afford to wait for repair.

 

[Hay Dude]

Very stressful running older gear. Never know what is going to fail. Usually at least 3-4 break downs a season, some can be dealt with in an hour, others end a season. Had two major breakdowns in the last few years; one ended up in having to have last of the hay custom baled ($$$ PLUS $$$ to repair) the other ended up with buying a new machine since I couldn't afford to wait for repair.

Truth spoken.
Haying is no joke. It’s dead nuts serious if you are committing to supplying hay to buyers and expecting to make a living doing it. Major breakdowns are very costly-especially on larger equipment.
Every time I set out to square bale a field, I say a small prayer that I won’t suffer a costly breakdown

 

[Farmer495]

Truth spoken.
Haying is no joke. It’s dead nuts serious if you are committing to supplying hay to buyers and expecting to make a living doing it. Major breakdowns are very costly-especially on larger equipment.
Every time I set out to square bale a field, I say a small prayer that I won’t suffer a costly breakdown

Every time I open the gate to drop a bale it is a feeling of relief.

Older equipment first random idiotic breakdown last season, pickup mount broken off. Lost a couple hours welding it back together to bale.

 

[airbiscuit]

Agree. That $7,000 repair wasn't done on older equipment. and you really do have to make hay while the sun shines. Both the equipment and you have to be available to do the job.

 

[Hay Dude]

7 days per week.

 

[hosspuller]

Haying is a full time job when the hay AND Weather is ready. Too early and the yield is down. Too late and the hay is past its prime. Rain in the middle of the process ruins the product.

While you're in the oil field, you can't be on the hay field.

Consider getting a partner to do the hay. When you retire than get into making hay... I did and do.

 

[leonz]

Subscribe to hay and forage grower magazine before you waddle into
the haying ditch please.

Buying a rock picker, buying a three point mounted Brillion sure stand grass
drill with a fertilizer box and transport wheels.

If you invest in a northwest tiller with a packer wheel sized for your 9540
you could do custom tilling as its 15 inch tilling depth breaks up hardpan
and increases water penetration on the first pass and the soil is ready for
planting.

If the weather cooperates you could be blessed with 3 cuttings of alfalfa
a season and 3 cuttings of red and white clover.

Mowing to close to the ground ruins the hay quality and the hay will have
more dirt and ash in it and can make cows and horses sick.

You need to mow high enough to leave the entire field green after you
are done and off the field to allow it to regenerate in the same season and
after the last cutting.

Every 4th or 5th year plan on plowing under the hay ground and letting
it go fallow for one year or plant a green manure crop with your grass seeder.

The other thing is you have to have good drainage especially in the lowlands
and adding drainage tile will only help you with the timetable of haying.

Are you near Morgan City or Franklin?

 

[EddieWalker]

Subscribe to hay and forage grower magazine ...

I never heard of this before, so I looked up their website.

Hay and Forage Grower Magazine

Hay & Forage Grower magazine

hayandforage.com

I'm going to spend a little time seeing what they have to say. Thanks!!!