First Timer - when to do 'third cutting'?

[prof fate]

UPDATE:

overview - yes, you can hay with a CUT...35hp Kioti CK3510HST is plenty of tractor for a new holland 276 or similar square baler.

Education costs - even the school of hard knocks won't be cheap or easy.

So...with the threat of rain approaching I went to put the new needles on the baler...something(s) ain't right. The needles are new and identical (and not cheap) so I wanted to be sure it's all good before I turn on teh PTO. Put the needles in, and they are adjustable...but I don't have enough adjustment...the right needle comes throught the knotter about 1.5" before the left one and rubs too much on the knotter ***'y. A bit of fiddling and it looked to be more than an easy fix or adjustment...

So we made flakes and put them in the barn. About 130 bales worth. By then it was getting dark. And of course we had to do this on the hottest day of the year - ok, maybe not the hottest but it was 91F (only third day this year of 90 plus). Just lucky I guess. LOL

Need a hay wagon..my utility trailer just won't hold enough hay. Tied bales would have been abit better as it could be stacked higher, but not a good choice.

Need more space for hay - knew that going in. Thinking hoop house for next year.

Hay Quantity/Quality - took too damned long to dry - cut last thursday and windrowed some friday, some saturday, turned it sunday, monday and tuesday...It did get sprinkled on sunday late afternoon. Quality is fantastic.

Used an old (but rebuild/restored) ferguson 3 point rake. Can turn all the hay in an hour on the 10-12 acres. Expectations were 100-150 bales. Typically here farmers say they get 150/acre out of 3 cuttings, the first being half the hay for the year or more, the third cutting being the leanest. This being old horse pasture we had no real idea what to expect...1/4 of it produced very little, so little I didn't bother raking it. I feel we got less than half the hay in.

And then it rained...and there's no place to put it anyway. Untied bales don't stack well. Filled 2 stalls (12x12 and 6 ot 7' high) plus another area 12x12 and 4' high plus another 5x6 3' high. If first cutting is this 'overproductive' we'll have 1000 bales to deal with...

the woodmaxx flail with grass blades and open hatch in the back worked perfectly. 6 1/2 hours to mow. first raking into windrows...didn't time that. Had to go to work in between so it was catch as catch can. Rolling the rows was an hour give or take 5min.

Baling..didn't get it all done. Seems to take maybe 2 hours to bale it all..can go nearly as fast as raking but turning is a bit more complex.

Done lots of mowing/brush hogging in the past, first time haying - it went faster and was easier (and used less fuel) than expected. So should be more profitable than expected.

Now the question...what to do with the wet (it rained last night some, more expected today and early tomorrow) windrows still in the field?

And I've learned alot about NH balers and have a lot more to learn - I have learned very few people know jack **** about them! The only advice "it has to be in-time"...which is stupid easy to do, easier than timing a car engine by far. But I'm now into the advanced level class getting the needles into aligment. I suspect bent parts...that's for the weekend.

 

[thekkfan]

Hay Quantity/Quality - took too damned long to dry.... -

the woodmaxx flail with grass blades and open hatch in the back worked perfectly.

So their are two very important pieces of equipment that you have to have at least ONE OF to cut down on the dry time. The first is either a mower/conditioner to crimp as its cut (haybine as suggested earlier to stay in budget) and/or tedder. Whether you believe it or not, I can cut faster with haybine than your flail. Cut is wider AND my grass is getting crimped to dry faster first pass, eliminating one toss you will have to do.

Sounds like you were forced into a windrow WAAAY too early because you only had a rake, and that's the only way you could flip it since no tedder.

Send us a picture of what it looks like after it come out of the flail. I'm sure others are curious too how that came out.

As for the wet windrows, I'd close the hatch on that flail and grind it up.

 

[prof fate]

yeah, good idea on the flail grinding it up! Duh.

I have the flail...I've seen haybine (disc ones) for $1200 with no rollers (broken/worn) or double to triple that in good working condition. May work up to that.

everyone here says you need a tedder. But then we're coming off the two wettest years on record - some folks this year have yet to get their SECOND cutting in (mid sept..usually done mid-july). There are areas in our pasture that I just this past week was able to mow...still wet and it's on top of a hill, not bottom land.

We just had our longest stretch of no-rain days in 18 months - 5 days of no measurable rain. 80% humidity...but no rain. Dew? Yeah, that we got in spades. And fog too. So things get a tad, um, damp overnight.

 

[5030]

Why I round bale everything and the 575 high capacity square baler stays in the barn like it has for the last 3 years now. It's for sale. 15 grand in mint condition, has hydraulic tension and super wide pickup and runs sisal or poly.

 

[prof fate]

yeah, feeding rounds to horses in stalls is way too much work. need small squares..large squares are nice but I don't think my little tractor will run that kinda baler.

Part of the reason we're doing this is so many are moving away from small squares it's hard to find them. and wtih 2 years of wet weather hay is scarce here. 2 regular suppliers..one is only doing rounds and the other doesn't have as much to sell as in the past.

Considering buying a big round, roll it out. rake it and bale it to small squares. 4x5 rounds can be had here for $35 delivered. If that's 800lb, it's 20 40lb squares, which run $4 each delivered (from our regular guy..some are charging 6, 7 a bale, agway is asking $9/sq bale!)

 

[5030]

Your 'little' tractor won't power a large square baler. Most are around 150 pto input horsepower.

I've already sold everything I made, sold it right out of the field except what I need to feed my cattle and my wife's horse.

 

[Hay Dude]

Did ~15,000 small squares/year until my shoulders couldnt take it anymore.
Switched to 4x5 round bales and never looked back.
It has been tough to convince customers that round bales can be fed in a Hay Hut with little loss of quality, but some of my customers that somewhat "overgraze" their paddocks will use a Hay Hut all day and then feed small squares at night when they want.
The ones that have employed this method have become long term customers and thank me for showing them this way of saving $ on hay with this method of feeding.

 

[Citydude]

Did ~15,000 small squares/year until my shoulders couldnt take it anymore.
Switched to 4x5 round bales and never looked back.
It has been tough to convince customers that round bales can be fed in a Hay Hut with little loss of quality, but some of my customers that somewhat "overgraze" their paddocks will use a Hay Hut all day and then feed small squares at night when they want.
The ones that have employed this method have become long term customers and thank me for showing them this way of saving $ on hay with this method of feeding.

15K bales a year? Your no hobby farmer

 

[5030]

I have a NH 575 high capacity square baler in the barn I haven't used in at least 5 years. Has a hydraulic tongue, hydraulic bale tension and a thrower and it sits. I only run round bales in net now and I have one customer who buys it all right out of the field. he brings in his trailers and I load them and he pays me in November, in cash.

Great deal for me. At my age (70), I have no business fiddling with square bales or horse people. He's a cattle rancher that also raises high buck bucking bulls. Sold my hay racks a couple years ago. kept the baler, don't know why but it's there if I need it I guess.

Had some 15K years myself, 15K in hay and 12-15K in straw. Not no more.

 

[prof fate]

and the issues is here I can buy horse hay round bales for $40 anytime, 25 much of the time, cow/goat hay is cheaper yet. So that's what, 800lb bales, so $100/ton?

Squares are getting harder to find, but feeding horses in stalls it's really the only way to go. We're getting it for about $4/bale, 35-40lb bales, so $200/ton. DOUBLE the price.

And some (at the race track in particular) are getting, 6, 7 even $8 per bale (race track prices for $8).

Wanna DOUBLE or TRIPLE your income? Do squares.

You can get self loading wagons, with bigger tractors you can get accumulators and loader grippers.
Kuhns Mfg Small Square Bale Handling System Overview - YouTube