Did a little hay last week ...

[Depmandog]

I had an 8 hour long drive today through the countryside. Plenty of time to think, remembering the days of long ago. Doing a bit of reminiscing....smelling all of the fresh cut hay.

I got to wandering, when is the last time you saw anyone put up small round bales? Does anyone still roll up the small ones? (hay bales)

As a teen, me and a buddy sure put up our share. Wish I had a nickel for every bale that I bucked!

 

[blueriver]

I had an 8 hour long drive today through the countryside. Plenty of time to think, remembering the days of long ago. Doing a bit of reminiscing....smelling all of the fresh cut hay.

I got to wandering, when is the last time you saw anyone put up small round bales? Does anyone still roll up the small ones? (hay bales)

As a teen, me and a buddy sure put up our share. Wish I had a nickel for every bale that I bucked!

How small? I do 4x4's and have always thought about smaller to see if customers would buy a 2x4 ... just so much time to roll them and tie them off.

 

[pacerron]

I had an 8 hour long drive today through the countryside. Plenty of time to think, remembering the days of long ago. Doing a bit of reminiscing....smelling all of the fresh cut hay.

I got to wandering, when is the last time you saw anyone put up small round bales? Does anyone still roll up the small ones? (hay bales)

As a teen, me and a buddy sure put up our share. Wish I had a nickel for every bale that I bucked!

You must be referring to the little round ones that aren't much bigger around than a small rectangular bale?
There's a guy a few miles from me that still does about a 20 acre field of them.
I would think a lot of storage space would be lost when stacking them in a barn unless they are rolled awfull loose and compress from the weight of the ones on top.
I think that was not real popular but was part of the transition from rectangular to rolls back when tractors didn't have much horsepower and very few gadgets.
Were they easier to buck than a rectangular bale?

 

[MotorSeven]

Coming up on two weeks and of course the guys have not showed up to hay my West field, or my partners field. So, there go the seeds and now come the weeds which is exactly why I would rather do it myself. A neglected hay field just burrows under my skin and irritates me to no end. I know they are busy doing other fields, but dang it I can't wait 'till next spring when I can hit my own with a new baler.

The COOP has a brand new Krone KR125 sitting out front so I have to pass by it everytime I go into town.

{sigh}

 

[pacerron]

How small? I do 4x4's and have always thought about smaller to see if customers would buy a 2x4 ... just so much time to roll them and tie them off.

Aren't your 4x4's between 500-600 pounds?
A lot of folks don't realize that they are relatively easy to handle.
3 on a standard pickup bed, tailgate open, are not hard for a good horsewoman to get off and roll a few feet by hand to the storage place in the barn and then flip up on end on a pallet for use. For two people to handle it's a piece of cake.
I agree with you that making a 2x4 roll would be too time consuming. More string, twice as long to stop and eject the same total tonnage, and twice as many times getting a new roll started properly.
Ladies and daughters think nothing of having a 1000-1200 pd. horse leaning into them while picking up a hoof to clean and pick and have learned how to use the horses weight as leverage against it. It is just a matter of learning to use the weight of a roll and the slope of the ground the same way. My wife, 5'1" ties any loose ends of the roll string in the field and then flips the roll over into a flat bottom FEL bucket for me and I spear another on the back when the field is close to the barn, and she is 70 years old.
Ron

 

[Depmandog]

You must be referring to the little round ones that aren't much bigger around than a small rectangular bale?
There's a guy a few miles from me that still does about a 20 acre field of them.
I would think a lot of storage space would be lost when stacking them in a barn unless they are rolled awfull loose and compress from the weight of the ones on top.
I think that was not real popular but was part of the transition from rectangular to rolls back when tractors didn't have much horsepower and very few gadgets.
Were they easier to buck than a rectangular bale?

Yes, the little ones. Used to be real popular in north MO through the 70's. AC Rotobaler. Found a video of one in operation. See the little round bales? I have bucked A BUNCH of those!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4bJM9pHxMY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[Depmandog]

The little bales were wound pretty tight. I would guess the average bake weight was 55-60 pounds. Every now and then you would get a bale of johnson or slough grass and I'd bet those weighed a 100 pounds.

Much easier to buck than squares, if you had a hay hook.

 

[blueriver]

Aren't your 4x4's between 500-600 pounds?
A lot of folks don't realize that they are relatively easy to handle.
3 on a standard pickup bed, tailgate open, are not hard for a good horsewoman to get off and roll a few feet by hand to the storage place in the barn and then flip up on end on a pallet for use. For two people to handle it's a piece of cake.
I agree with you that making a 2x4 roll would be too time consuming. More string, twice as long to stop and eject the same total tonnage, and twice as many times getting a new roll started properly.
Ladies and daughters think nothing of having a 1000-1200 pd. horse leaning into them while picking up a hoof to clean and pick and have learned how to use the horses weight as leverage against it. It is just a matter of learning to use the weight of a roll and the slope of the ground the same way. My wife, 5'1" ties any loose ends of the roll string in the field and then flips the roll over into a flat bottom FEL bucket for me and I spear another on the back when the field is close to the barn, and she is 70 years old.
Ron

I've never weighed one but I believe your right ... I do them for that purpose, the horse people who don't want squares or my 4x5.5 bales.

 

[blueriver]

Coming up on two weeks and of course the guys have not showed up to hay my West field, or my partners field. So, there go the seeds and now come the weeds which is exactly why I would rather do it myself. A neglected hay field just burrows under my skin and irritates me to no end. I know they are busy doing other fields, but dang it I can't wait 'till next spring when I can hit my own with a new baler.

The COOP has a brand new Krone KR125 sitting out front so I have to pass by it everytime I go into town.

{sigh}

I know ... used to happen around here years ago and they always had an excuse. Thats when I took the plunge and I am darn glad I did ... started with an old JD sickle mower, 256 NH rake and my little case IH baler ... all under $4k ... after the first year doubled my money on the sickle mower and rake ... still use the baler AND I'M IN CONTROL !!! Making better hay and more of it ... thus selling a bunch as well.

I searched my baler on tractor house and darn its almost worth twice what I paid for it ... used equipment valuse keep going up!!

 

[pacerron]

Yes, the little ones. Used to be real popular in north MO through the 70's. AC Rotobaler. Found a video of one in operation. See the little round bales? I have bucked A BUNCH of those!!

Video of Allis-Chalmers Roto-Baler Baling Hay - YouTube

That's neat
I've never seen the guy using his baler, just the little rolls/bales laying in the field before pickup.
As I guessed, a precursor of today's round balers.
Add thousands of dollars worth of electrical and hydraulic gizmos and cover
all the drive belts for todays safety laws and you have today's monsters that require a much heavier tractor to operate.
Today's roll balers sure have a much better pick up though.
That thing about destroys the windrow before it gets to the forming chamber.