Baling Hay with a YM200BD

[scesnick]

I am getting tired of paying for my hay for the horses so I was looking into some rakes and square bailers. ( I have about 50 acres of field on my farm) I was thinking of selling my Case backhoe and my Yanmar and finding a bigger tractor. I REALLY don't want to sell the Yanmar though. It only has 500 hours on it. I was wondering if anyone has used a ym2000 to run a baler or if it is just plain too small to do the job.
Any thoughts would be appreciated....

 

[greatrandini]

Most modern balers require more horse power. You might find an antique or vintage baler that would work. It would take alot of hrs to bale 50 acres. My idea would be to have someone cut and bale it for you. I think I last paid 80 cents per bale to have my pasture baled. It may be more now. I had to pull it out of the field but that was easy enough. If you have fifty acres of grass you can make alot of hay. You can prob find someone to cut it and bale it for some of the crop.......

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Think you are going to find the Yanmar is just too small. A lot will depend upon how heavy the grass/clover/alphfa is.

Yrs ago I had a small haying business. Was running a MF 165D, ~55HP. Lot of fields could easily overload the tractor. A decent field and 1st cutting typ yielded ~4T/acre. Then there were the heavy fields. Not unusual to see tractors with 100+HP in front of a bailer around here

Now, if you could find a self powered bailer so the tractor only had to pull the bailer, then the Yanmar could likely do the job.

 

[scesnick]

Thanks for the reply's I would like to bale the hay myself because my good friend bales his hay and sells it down south and makes a nice profit.. I would like to get in this as a side business. He has been encouraging me to do so since he has the buyers and not enough hay. I'm not looking to make a fortune doing this. Just a few bucks and some hay for my horses.
SO, I guess I'm going to have to look for a bigger tractor to do this job.
Hopefully I can talk the Chief Financial officer ( the wife) into us keeping the Yanmar for "specialized" jobs...

 

[vallyfarm]

The bailer will overload that tractor no mater what kind you have. The tail wagging the dog issue. I have run a New Holland 273 (mid 70's to early 80's) with a kicker and a hay wagon for years with my Super H Farmall. It only had around 30 HP when new, and hasn't been rebuilt yet. The big thing is traction, weight, and TORQUE. This set up shouldn't be too much money, but will get the job done. Live PTO would be real handy sometimes, but I haven't jammed up anything yet in over a decade of this set-up. While you are shopping, look for a mower/conditioner. MUCH better than just a mower. I'd talk to your friend about spending some time working the machines with him. Bailing is a VERY dusty/dirty job,and some folks get choked up badly from the dust. See if he can work your land, and get a cut of the proffits. Save this money for a few years, and the machinery you want will be paid for by the hay. Good luck, Mike

 

[farmerjim]

that little yanmar most likely will have issues w/ a pto baler but it could handle any older jd 14t or nh 77 w/ a pony motor. you would also most likely need a larger tractor to cut w/ as well. i would however keep the yanmar for other hay tasks like raking/ tedder. i currently do about the same amount of hay you plan to do. i cut w/ a jd 50 and sickle mower, then have a jd2010 for conditioner/baling duties and my little jd 790 for the raking/tedding. i'm saving up now to get an older moco or a newer disc cutter and trade the old 2010 in for a bit newer tractor.

 

[roxynoodle]

There are still plenty of people here cutting, turning and baling hay with old iron and implements. That might be your best way to go to save money. Those old Farmalls don't have a lot of horsepower but they produce pretty amazing amounts of torque and definitely have a weight advantage over your Yanmar. I don't think I'd go with anything smaller than an H though. There are plenty of good buys out there on old iron and then you could keep your Yanmar for mowing and any other tasks that require a 3ph and a smaller, more manueverable tractor.

 

[scesnick]

I believe what ever I do I will keep the Yanny. it works great for so many other things. I will most likely just sell the backhoe and then put some money towards the equipment. it is always nice to have an extra tractor anyway..

 

[Mickey_Fx]

I'll certainly second the other comments on using a mower/conditioner over just a mower. Up North, at least here, weather just doesn't permit the use of a non-conditioning mower. Would also second the use of a tedder if heavy cutting in the spring to help with drying.

As for a bailer, based on my experience, I couldn't recommend a JD twine bailer. Mine was new, early 80's model, but spent far too much time making repairs. Broken needles, broken knoter frame and repeated bearing failures.

As for a rake, Don't know if they are imported any longer and was never a popular rake but the side delivery rake my Mads-Amby was a great rake. PTO drive, moved the hay to the side without twisting and had the ability to work like a tedder as well. Loved that rake and after using it, you couldn't ever get me to go back to a convientional side delivery model. The Mads used belts and articulated fingers to move the hay sidways and gave it a kick as the hay was discharged. I could run over a rain beaten row and the row would come out standing 2' high.

Here's a pic I found on the net.

 

[zzvyb6]

I used an 18 hp Yanmar 4wd tractor for baling my own hay here in Michigan. First used a pto sickle bar then graduated to a NH479 mow/conditioner. Raked with a NH 5 bar, baled with a JD 14T. Lack of live power on the Yanmar was a minor problem. Switched to a JD1070 4wd (38 hp), still run the 479. Switched to a Kuhn tedder/rake because of drying time and rain issues. Still use the 14T. Now have a NH staker wagon to pick them up. This ability allowed me to make money selling hay to the neighbors and trade hay discount for help loading into the barn. I do all the work by myself now. Friends still prefer my baled weeds to the stronger hay available at the Co-op. Looks good on the Accountant's side and on property taxes (still agricultural). I do about 20 - 25 acres per year, splitting the fields up into sections based on rain forecast. Most folks are in too big a hurry and don't know the mechanisms involved in cutting, raking, baling and picking up hay. Great chance to learn. Most of my customers are female and they appreciate 40-45 lb bales instead of the 75 - 100 lb bales found elsewhere. Its a lifting thing. I get $2.50 a bale out of the field and $3.50 delivered. Its a great chance to learn about bearings, lubrication, welding, organization, patience and rewards.